Executive Summary

Inlet Grove Community High School is a conversion charter school in Riviera Beach Florida. It
is a part of the Palm Beach County School District. The media center is a central hub of research
and technology based activity at the school. It is operated by one media specialist and several
media aides. It is also serviced by a technology specialist who maintains the hardware and
provides updates to the system. The center encourages the use of resources in multiple formats,
and promotes global learning through technology, and independent use of information resources.
It is open every day from 7:15 am until 4:00pm. Students have access with permission
throughout the day. Although the center is used heavily every day, it is in need of an upgrade in
both looks and hardware.

Organizational Chart

Methods
A variety of sources were used in the construction of this evaluation. The data was obtain
through a checklist based on observation, an interview of the media specialist, student
interviews, and additional reports. All documents can be located in the appendix.

Center Context and Goals

History
Prior to becoming Inlet Grove Community High, the school was North Tech Career and
Vocational School. The Palm Beach County created the school as one of the first conversion
charter schools in the district. The original school was moved to the old Suncoast High School
building in 2010 and has remained there ever since. The current media specialist has been with
the center for 10 years.

Mission
The mission of the Inlet Grove media center is to support the total instructional program of the
school while recognizing the need to broaden and expand learning through the use of technology
and scholarly research.
Goals
The Goal of the media center is to encourage learners to become critical thinkers, enthusiastic
readers, ethical and skillful researchers, as well as users of 21st century technology. In order to
meet these goals, the media specialist has to collaborate with teachers, assist students with
projects, and teach them the proper use of the centers learning tools.
Key Personnel
The key personnel that runs and helps maintain the center are the Media Specialist, three media
aides, and the Technology Specialist.
Media Specialist- Acquisition and maintenance of the media center materials and collection,
provides guidance in use of electronic databases, media center orientations, computer assistance,
research assistance, maintenance of career and college information, and supervises the media
aides.
Technology Specialist- Maintains the hardware and software of the computers in the media
center computer lab, as well as the computers in the main area.
Media Aides- shelving, assistance with minor computer issues, help with center organization.

Stakeholders The stakeholders for the media center are the students, teachers, and
administration.

Center Activities
Computer Lab The lab is mainly used by teachers for classroom instruction. It is also used as
an online testing facility throughout the school year.
Peer to Peer Tutoring This type of tutoring happens throughout the day in the main areas of
the center. The purpose is for student to help their peers learn material. It is also used for students
who need extra practice. It is generally done in pairs or in groups of four.
After School Tutoring This type of tutor is usually conducted by a classroom teacher. It is
used to help students who have fallen behind, or just do not understand the material they are
presently learning.
Virtual School Many of the students use the computers in the main area to complete
assignments for the Florida Virtual School or Khan Academy. They also use it for the online
Drivers education courses. The purpose of these classes is to fill a gap that the school either
cannot meet or a requirement that the student has not met, but only has a small window of time.
Scholarship Search Students use the available books and databases to look for and apply for
college scholarships.
Checking Out Equipment Teachers and students are allowed to check out equipment such as
TVs DVD players, and cameras to support their academic endeavors.
Printing and Laminating Teachers and students use the media center as one of the main
printing hubs not only can they print from the desktop computers in the main area. They can also
use the commercial printer to print large jobs. The media center also holds the only laminator at
the school. Teachers and students use it for special projects.
Community Meetings The media center is located within a career school, it also used at times
for community meetings that support those careers. For example there is a Healthcare
symposium held for the students that are the healthcare program.
Staff Meetings- The media center hosts all staff meetings and most of the trainings.
General Computer Use- Students regularly use the computers in the main room of the media
center to complete classroom research projects. It allows them to work independently.

Evaluation
After several observations and interviews, it is evident that while the media center meets its goals
of encouraging learners to be users of 21st century technology as well as being ethical and skillful
researchers. Several days of observed activities support these findings. Learners utilize the

computers for research and personal use every day. Many users even return multiple times a day
to utilize the technologies in some way. When interviewed many learners pointed out that the
computers were the best thing about the media center. The center also accomplishes its overall
mission to support the total instructional program for the school. It was observed that several
teachers utilized the media center computer lab for technology enhanced instruction. They also
encouraged student use of the main area computers for research projects and online educational
courses. Where the center falls short, is in its goal to create enthusiastic readers. Of the twenty
students interviewed, only eleven had ever check out a book and of those only two had check out
a book this year. Students felt that although students like the atmosphere, they did not like the
layout, or the selection of books. Many felt that the books were old and hard to find. The media
specialist has stated that she too has an issue with the current layout. There is no set budget for
the media center so the acquisition of new books or book series changes on a year to year basis.
Recommendation
There needs to be a concerted effort to get students to utilize the centers book collection. There
needs to be a set media center budget that so that the specialist will have an idea of what changes
she and updates will be possible. I would also recommend bringing in a specialist to look at the
layout of the center so that the flow will be better. Since students stated in their interviews that
they would prefer the center to organize books by genres instead of author, I believe the school
should look into trying to accommodating this request if it can get students more interesting in
the collection. The center also needs to update its computer hardware connects.

Appendix A
Media Center Observation Checklist
Date: __________________
Period: __________________

1. Class being conducted in the Lab

_______
2. Students using computers for research
_______
3. Students using computers for job search
_______
4. Peer Tutoring
_______
5. Mentoring
_______
6. Book Check
_______
7. Research Assistance Provided
_______
8. Materials Checked out by Staff
_______
9. Virtual School
_______
10. College Application
_______
11. Scholarship Search
_______
12. Students just Hanging Out
_______

Appendix B
Interview Questionnaire

Name
What is your title?
How long have you been in this
position?
How long have you been in
education?
What are you main duties?
Who do you report to?
What is your budget?
What are the goals of the media
center?
What are the best things about the
media center?
Would could be improved about the
media center?

Appendix C
Student Questionnaire

What grade are you in?

Why are you the media center?
Have you ever checked out a book?
How often do you check out a book?
How often do you use the
computers?
Do you conduct job searches online?
Do you take an online class?
Do you do scholarship searches?
Do you use the computers for
college applications?
What are the best things about the

media center?
Would could be improved about the
media center?
Appendix D

Appendix E