What’s the back-to-school buzz in your building?
We started school this week. I don’t know about you, but I always forget how exhausting it is and always sleep extra-long on the first weekend back!
This year is different for several reasons for me:
- I’m only technically a school librarian in the mornings. In the afternoon, I become “staff development facilitator,” meeting with teachers to integrate 21st-century learning strategies into their teaching and planning/leading after-school profesional development. In other words, aren’t I still a librarian in the afternoons, too? :) It’s a one-year-only job, but offers lots of opportunities to really put my thinking to the test in a larger arena.
- Luckily, my district still supports full-time elementary librarians, so I’m now job-sharing, which is another new adventure.
- I’m also starting the year with a fantastic new student teacher, which continuously has me reflecting on why I do what I do. But as can happen with a fantastic student teacher, I’m also learning like mad!
So I’m multitasking in new ways, with more time spent planning with adults than working with kids, which is an unusual new dance.
I’m wondering what instructional trends you’re seeing in your building or district. Our district seems to be exploding with a new sense of energy/urgency:
- Lots of lower elementary teachers interested in The Daily Five approach to reading and writing.
- Lots of K-5 teachers doing district-sponsored work with Lucy Calkins’ writing program.
- Lots of interest in tech tools like Moodle and wikis as our district’s Ignite program expands.
- Renewed district interest in developing Professional Learning Communities.
- Deepened energy invested by district media specialists in going deeper with K-5 learning, primarily with inquiry.
- Big administrative interest in Classroom Instruction That Works and the “Marzano 9″ strategies.
- Continued work in deepening classroom culture with our building book club with The Morning Meeting Book.
This is the first time in my five years with the district that there are so many initiatives that correlate to books. Warms my li-berrian heart.
What’s the buzz in your district?
I have found a blog that I get an RSS feed for that I absolutely love!! http://www.freetech4teachers.com/ Richard Byrne is awesome. He finds free technology for teachers and even gives how they can be used in the classrooms.
Something worth checking out.
Lisa Huelle – First year media specialist at Dardanelle Middle School, Dardanelle, Arkansas.
Speaking of professional learning communities, take a look: http://www.ready-about.com/resources.html “Confronting Malfunctioning Groups and Building Accountable Teams”. The description of the types of professional communities begins on page 5 of the document. Powerful, but may be uncomfortable for some.
We now have a second grade teacher who spends one day per week (with a great sub to back her up) supporting other teachers as they implement The Daily Five. We have a population with great reading challenges, and this program seems to really help so far, with kids who don’t know what reading feels like/looks like/etc., and who need to build up their stamina. Part of The Daily Five is the listening element, and we’re considering using Tumble Books for this purpose. Our Title I teachers are on different sides of the fence on this — one things it’s too much like entertainment and not enough like reading, the other thinks it’s good for students to learn to read on computers as well as in books. Are your teachers planning to use Tumble Books for the listening part?
Kristin, I am currently taking classes to move from a first-grade teacher to a librarian (LMS). One of my assignments is to read and react to two blogs a week. This week I chose your blog of “What’s the Back-to-School Buzz in Your Building?”
I’m wondering, if you’d be kind enough to reply, WHY are you only in your position for a year? Also, if your district is as supportive of elementary librarians as you say, why are you having to job share? Are you BOTH part-time? Is there full-time librarian there?
Finally, I’m wondering why they have you taking on so much? I know that’s the trend right now, but being the librarian, PLUS, the staff development facilitator, PLUS job sharing, PLUS having a student teacher seems like a lot.
You can check my blog to see what I wrote, if you’re interested. I don’t think anyone really sees it but my instructor, but you might want to see what I wrote. I’m at http://kathyteaches.blogspot.com.
Thanks for taking the time to read this, and hopefully respond! Enjoy your school year! (PS, we started school August 18. I’m jealous! :) )
Hi, Kathy –
I think there’s been a misunderstanding. Our district supports full-time elementary librarians and has stood firm on this for several years as many neighboring districts have reduced their elementary librarians to half-time or eliminated them altogether.
It’s the staff development role that is a one-year appointment, and given the financial woes of Michigan, which has the highest unemployment rate in the country and from which our small district’s funding comes, can you blame them for playing it safe and limiting the appointment to a year just in case? (We’ve been cutting about $3 million a year from our suburban district’s budget for at least six years … so the district cannot afford any sacred cow positions.)
So when I was offered the opportunity to stretch my wings and let the work that I do nationally and internationally as a university lecturer, IASL program chair, blogger, presenter, and author of numerous articles and books about school libraries impact my own department and colleagues, how could I say no ? (Why would I want to?)
In order to make my new half-time appointment work, we split the school librarian duty into two half-time jobs, with my colleague doing the half of the job that is release time and me doing the half of the job that is flexible time.
I’m concerned that this is perceived as a lack of commitment to libraries by my district. Part of my responsibilities is to deepen the elementary media specialists’ capacity to implement 21st-century learning and the AASL Standards for the 21st-Century Learner. I would offer a different point of view: that my district is showing an INCREASED commitment to libraries.
Just to play devil’s advocate, would you say that the district was demonstrating a lack of commitment to primary education if a kindergarten position was held by one teacher in the morning and another in the afternoon? Or if you were a young mom who wanted to continue teaching first grade but only half-time, and a job share became an option?
I respectfully disagree with you that having two part-time librarians indicates a lack of district support.
Accepting a student teacher was my decision alone, with the support of my administration. As an adjunct lecturer at the University of Michigan, I teach wonderful grad students and was thrilled when one of my most outstanding and innovative student teachers wanted to student teach with me. When the new job arose, administrators and university leadership put their heads together. Since my afternoon job focuses on staff development and team-teaching, both extensions of librarianship, as you noted, we felt it was still an appropriate placement for her. And I can’t imagine tackling this new challenge without her savvy and quick-thinking!
Is it a lot of work? Sure. But given that our district has re-committed itself to building staff capacity at a time of significant budget challenges, I can’t imagine turning down this opportunity.
Hope that helps clear things up.
Kristin
Pam – great question about Tumble Books and which part of Daily 5 teachers use it for. I’ll have to ask!
Brava to school librarian Kristin Fontichiaro for taking on a high-profile leadership role in her district this year!
If more school librarians were serving at district-level positions, other educators and administrators would begin to know and SEE the positive impact school librarians have on student achievement and teacher development.
More of us need to get out of our buildings to serve on district-level committees to spread the good news about classroom-library collaboration for instruction. Kristin’s job may be for only one year, but that may be just enough time to make a long-term impact on this school district.
Go for it, Kristin!