Educational Leadership
What can we learn from the real world?
Highlights of the 2013-2014
- Presenting databases and Sacramento Public Library's Homework Support information to EHMS parents during September's Parent University.
- Banned Book Week Contest in September.
- Working with Elsie Mak from SPL to provide free access to SPL databases and register students for Paws to Read, the SPL Summer Reading Program.
- Using Web 2.0 tools such as Animoto and Glogster with classes to add a technology aspect to student projects. (Check out our Research wiki athttp://researchtrail.wikispaces.com to view student work samples!)
- Presenting Digital Learning to our staff during monthly staff meetings.
- Coordinating our Digital Citizenship Day on Thursday, April 24, 2013.
- Hosting the MTHS Art Show in the library.
- Spring Scholastic Book Fair run by our volunteer Book Crew. Our successful fair allowed the library to purchase magazine subscriptions, on-line encyclopedia subscription and WebPath Express for 2014-2015 and more library books.
Our library is a center of learning and activity. This year we have enjoyed collaborations with community and staff to provide new services and events in the library. We continue to learn how to provide library services with a reduced staff. Special events that encourage and promote independent reading have suffered but our library usage is up. Two big library events continue to fall during textbook distribution and collection which made it difficult to celebrate Teen Read Week and Teen Tech Week when the library is closed. We continue to close on Thursdays to keep up with the paperwork aspect of our jobs and to do the work our library technicians used to do. The library staff appreciates the understanding and support of our administration, staff and students for allowing us this time. We are excited to learn that the library technician positions will be returning.
Collaboration for Student Research
Book Talks and Library Visits
2013-2014 Library Use by Classes
Circulation Statistics
Database Usage Statistics
Library Services
I continued to present Digital Learning segments at our staff meetings which introduce our teachers to free technology they could use with their students, for presentation, for information and for organization. I continued to work with James Ponder, our School Loop webmaster, to keep our library webpage up-to-date. The high school provided EBSCO databases for all of our library patrons and their families to use. We added more e-books to our collection but they are still accessed through a guest account. Our databases and e-books provide our students with access to information outside our library walls. I provided Glogster education accounts for 8th-grade Language Arts students so they could continue to create electronic posters. Free Animoto education accounts were provided as well. Our liaison with the Sacramento Public Library continues to flourish. Elsie Mak of the Elk Grove SPL branch provided us with e-cards to have access SPL databases and homework help. She even delivered library cards to students who had signed up on our campus!
We continued to notify parents and guardians of overdue materials with mailings sent in February and April. Other ways we notified students were through School Loop mail and news, report card holds and the Library No Activities List.
Staffing
Library Special Events
Parent University
Banned Book Week
Poetry Month
Spring Book Fair
Professional Accomplishments
- Served on Library Leadership
- Presented with Karin Ledford to BTSA teachers.
- Started a dialog with District Administration and Technology Services about opening our Destiny catalog outside our campus walls for students to have more access to our library books beyond our library walls.
- Attended a Follett Software Institute in Concord to learn more about the coming upgrades for our Destiny Circulation system.
- Served as the Digital Citizenship Coordinator for our campus
Goals for the 2014-2015 School Year
- Set up e-book accounts for individual check out
- Offer more events that promote reading and the library
- Educate staff about 21st Century Learning Skills and Web 2.0 Tools
- Find a replacement digital tool for Glogster
- Collaborate with others about how teacher librarians can support the implementation of Common Core State Standards
- Continue to work toward the goal of access of our Destiny catalog beyond the walls of the school for the district