Come on down to Abner Creek Academy!

School Librarians are expected to follow the AASL Standards to make sure the school library is supplying the best possible resources and learning outcomes at all grade levels. I was tasked with interviewing a few lovely librarians based on this Domain: 

Domain: Create

Competencies: Learners adjust their awareness of the global learning community by:

• Interacting with learners who reflect a range of perspectives.

• Evaluating a variety of perspectives during learning activities.

• Representing diverse perspectives during learning activities.

The third librarian in this interview series is Elizabeth Koon at Abner Creek Elementary. Koon prides herself in proactively collaborating with teachers by familiarizing herself with the staff’s curriculum units; particularly ELA (English Language Arts), and occasionally in science and social studies. There is a huge emphasis on the importance of being proactive, often suggesting engaging and collaborative ideas to staff who might not initially realize the potential for a lesson to be successful. For the younger students (K-2nd), Koon facilitates author studies by using tools like Book Creator, where students can create their own stories modeled by a beloved author. Their most recent author study was on the works of Mo Willems.  For older students (3rd-5th), she introduces more complex digital tools like Storyboard That, enabling them to create comic strips to illustrate concepts such as the water cycle or historical events. Koon heavily supports the curriculum standards by encouraging creative expression and critical thinking. 

In terms of resources, the Abner Creek Elementary library is equipped with a variety of tools that support various collaborative efforts. The district provides access to most of the versatile platforms suitable for any grade or subject and Koon integrates another technology platform called WeVideo for multimedia projects and has recently acquired 3D printers to further enhance learning experiences. She also uses Canva to create engaging visuals that capture student and staff attention, and facilitates communication and planning. There are challenges like establishing relationships with new teachers and navigating tight school schedules, but Koon remains committed to fostering a collaborative environment. She participates in monthly ELA planning meetings and uses creative strategies to reach out to teachers to make sure the school’s educational framework is seamlessly integrated. 

Moreover, Koon places a strong emphasis on diversity by curating collections that reflect diverse characters and perspectives, and incorporating these themes into read-alouds and visual displays. Through all of these efforts, she not only enriches the library program, but provides students with a safe and engaging space!

 

STEAM at Roebuck Elementary

 

School Librarians are expected to follow the AASL Standards to make sure the school library is supplying the best possible resources and learning outcomes at all grade levels. I was tasked with interviewing a few lovely librarians based on this Domain: 

Domain: Create

Competencies: Learners adjust their awareness of the global learning community by:

• Interacting with learners who reflect a range of perspectives.

• Evaluating a variety of perspectives during learning activities.

• Representing diverse perspectives during learning activities.

    

The next school librarian in this interview series is Audrey Leedman from Roebuck Elementary in Spartanburg District 6. This school is heavily STEAM based (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Mathematics). Here they focus on the 4C’s (communication, creativity, collaboration, and critical thinking). Audrey states that, “communication and collaboration are important in helping students learn and adjust awareness of the global learning community.” This is why their school focuses on STEAM because it applies multiple perspectives from learners during these activities. 

Some of the resources in their library program that implement these competencies are hands-on activities. This includes their Project Lead the Way (PLTW) lessons all the way down to the centers that include magnets, dominoes, and cards. By allowing their students the opportunity to work with each other and learn from one another is an important component of their lessons in the library. Audrey highlights that she collaborates with classroom teachers as often as she can! This involves collaboration between related arts and core teachers. The students will put on a performance, and then parents and guardians are invited back into the classroom to see projects that their students are working on. It is a great way to build community in the school; plus, it gives students the feedback and praise they need to continue to work hard on what they love. 

Now, all of this seems to show a perfect school library, but Audrey says, “communication and collaboration can be hard, even for adults!” Sometimes, students get frustrated when their idea isn’t the one chosen, or the solution to a problem isn’t one they thought of. As the elementary school librarian, she works hard on resilience and working through frustrations when things don’t go their way. When combining a variety of perspectives brings a lot of wonderful growth opportunities that don't come without growing pains.

    

Collaboration at Byrnes High School Library!!

 

School Librarians are expected to follow the AASL Standards to make sure the school library is supplying the best possible resources and learning outcomes at all grade levels. I was tasked with interviewing a few lovely librarians based on this Domain: 

Domain: Create

Competencies: Learners adjust their awareness of the global learning community by:

• Interacting with learners who reflect a range of perspectives.

• Evaluating a variety of perspectives during learning activities.

• Representing diverse perspectives during learning activities.

The first School Librarian I interviewed is Sheila Roberts. She is the School Librarian at Byrnes High School in Spartanburg Disrict 5. I explained to her that I wanted to know how she collaborates with students and staff along with any other activities that are present in the school library that would apply to implementing the competencies in the library. She started off by stating that she offers a monthly book club. In this book club, there is a very diverse group of students and it is always interesting to hear all of the different viewpoints when they are all discussing the books. She emphasizes that, “You can learn a lot about their backgrounds in the way they answer, or add comments. I think it is vital that these discussion groups allow students to speak freely.” 

Aside from book clubs, they work really hard to make sure there is a diverse collection of books. They make sure to research books and use Titlewave to make sure the selection of different types of books for the students. Titlewave is an online website that is used as a tool to compile all of your books into one location that allows you to filter choices based on topics. You can use this feature to see the wide range of books. Sheila said that, “we have 86 databases that are used for researching”, as well. 

The main topic of discussion is collaboration. Sheila is so excited to collaborate with teachers and she is thrilled to say it's not just English and Social Studies. She breaks down some of the projects she does with different subjects: 

World Languages: 

• Spanish: A unit where students study Spanish speaking countries. They create a tourist brochure. 

• French: Has students create a menu for a restaurant in a French Speaking Country. Students research an area and then create foods that would be eaten there. 

Math: 

• A project (similar to a science fair project), but it is about a math concept. Students find the best databases for their research. 

English: 

• The vast amount of teaching at one point during the semester is with essay writing, research, and of course MLA formatting. 

Science:

• Create research projects for a science fair activity. 

Sheila is very pleased to say that she has a great working relationship with the teachers at Byrnes High School and they feel comfortable asking her for help. 

I wanted to make sure I asked about challenges they may face when trying to implement these competencies. One of the biggest challenges that was expressed was booking banning and the new way of selecting books. Collection development has taken on a whole new dimension. Sheila voices that, “ I could rely on one or two reviews for a book, but now I spend on average, about 15-20 minutes researching a book to make sure it is appropriate for our students. I don’t mind the extra research, but the feeling like I can’t trust my own judgment is frustrating.” It has definitely become a very scary and irritating experience when you can’t put something on a shelf that you know would better your students, but you now have to jump through so many hoops to make sure it is appropriate based on the district's policies. Another challenge is the student's lack of interest. They are constantly coming up with some neat ideas, but getting students involved on a voluntary basis is very hard. She has witnessed, “that students today only want to watch videos on their phone. Very few students ask for maker space items on their own. If we offer maker space time during the day, students tend to sign up for it, but to just come in and create on their own, they would rather look at their phones.” 

There is so much that goes into making sure the library is a safe and engaging space for all students and staff. It is getting harder to do due to the advancement of technology..