Goal 1: Create an environment that is conducive for learning, collaborating and teaching.

Rationale The revised mission of Bayvale Elementary states:

The mission of Bayvale Elementary Media Center is to provide a safe, secure,

and inviting environment that will nurture and develop effective, lifelong users
of information in all current and future formats. The media center will support
the curriculum and needs of all learners through collaboration with the
stakeholders in the learning community.

This first goal encompasses the positive learning environment piece of the
mission. After analyzing the facilities of the current media center, it is clear that
there is a need for a better organized, more aesthetically pleasing media center.
At its current state, the media center is filled with clutter and this clutter
provides many distractions and sets a chaotic tone. Cleaning, de-cluttering,
weeding, and organizing would be the first plan of action. Next, aesthetically
pleasing materials would be added with the budget in mind. According to Doug
Johnson (2013), Attention to aesthetics in lighting and colors help make
libraries places where students and staff want to be (p.112). Changing the
physical space of the media center could alter the students, staff, and parents
initial perceptions of the media center. Creating flexible furniture arrangements
and having specific areas for individual, small group, and large group activities
could assist in making the media center a place that values collaboration as well
as learning and teaching. As Empowering Learners suggest, a media center
should be a place that is conducive to active and participatory learning,
resource-based learning, and collaboration with teaching staff. It should also,
Accommodate a range of teaching methods, learning tasks, and learning
outcomes (2009, see location 1035). Because the media center is currently in a
status of disarray, I believe it would take several years of sound practices such
as inventory, weeding, and organizing to get back to a fully functional level.
Purchasing materials that offer psychological comfort as Doug Johnson
states, may take time and will be constrained due to budgets (2013, p.113). All
students should feel comfortable and safe in one place in the school. If designed
right, the media center can be a place where students can be valued and learn
from one another.
 Objectives 1a. Maintain an accurate inventory of media center materials on a yearly basis
to assist with facility planning and organization.
1b. Organize and weed the collection on a yearly basis to eliminate unnecessary
materials.
1c. Purchase materials that provide comfortable and flexible arrangements on a
yearly basis according to budgetary measures.
1d. Create areas for individual, small group, and large group activities that are
comfortable, free from clutter, and aesthetically pleasing.

Assessment 1a-b. Documentation of yearly inventory and materials that are weeded from
the collection would be maintained and managed.
1c. Documentation of purchasing orders would be maintained and purchasing
procedures would be followed in accordance to the county or district policies.
1d. Administration, parents, students, and staff members could evaluate the
media center environment through use of the rubric from TEAM Library Media
Specialist Rubric, 2016.

Goal 2: Support students knowledge acquisition through use of inquiry-based learning

practices.
Rationale Currently the media center has no set expectations or rules. There is little to no
teaching and learning occurring. Establishing rituals and routines and having
clear, consistent expectations is important for the media center to be a true
learning center. Creating a culture of respect where every patron feels
comfortable to express their opinions and beliefs is an important first step in
meeting this goal. The goal supports and relates to the portion of the mission
that states the patrons of the media center will become lifelong users of
information in all present and future formats. Developing inquiry-based
learning practices can ensure that students become independent and skilled
learners of information in different formats. The use of inquiry-based learning
practices will also allow students to develop critical thinking, communication,
and collaborative problem solving skills. As stated in Empowering Learners,
All learners must be able to access quality information from diverse
perspectives, make sense of it to draw their own conclusions or create new
knowledge, and share their knowledge with others (2009, see location 279).
Having the ability to construct ones knowledge through investigations and
problem solving, is the foundation of best practices. The adoption of inquiry-
based practices can assist in developing learners that are prepared to compete
in the 21st century. Once this method is established, the media center could be
a model for student-centered learning.

Objectives a. Developing units of inquiry with grade level teams that support the school
curriculum once or twice a year.
b. Provide opportunities for gathering information by using both digital and
text formats on an ongoing basis. The research unit(s) will be designed with
grade level teams and will be based on student needs.
 Assessment 2a-b. The administration staff and/or teachers can assess the goal through use
of checklists or rubrics; like the one found below from Georgia Media
Specialist Evaluation Program, n.d.

Goal 3: The media specialist will become an integral member of the school community and
an instructional partner and resource for all stakeholders.
Rationale As Doug Johnson states, Our library goals must be directly aligned to the
instructional goals of the district, building, and classroom (2013, p. 5). The
mission of the media center should closely align with the overall school
mission. The media specialist should be aware of the school improvement plan
and be apart of other initiatives. Doug Johnson expresses that the media
specialist should Collaborate, not just at the classroom level but also at a
leadership level with other departments (2013, p. 2). Bayvale Elementary is a
low performing reading school and has been participating in a Governors
Office of Student Achievement Reading Grant for the past six years. The media
specialist, who should be a leader in reading instruction, should work in
conjunction with the GOSA representative and the instructional coach.
Together, professional development could be created based on teacher needs.
The media specialist should also attend grade level meetings. By attending
grade level meetings, the media specialist can learn more about the students
and ways to better serve the students and staff. It is important for the teachers
to feel supported by the media specialist. This is something the staff at Bayvale
has lacked for the past 5 years. Gaining the respect of the teachers as a
valuable resource and partner, will be key.

Lastly, creating a technology and media committee that is comprised of

students, teachers, librarians, parents, and administration is important. Each
individual has a different perspective of the purpose of the media center and
can help to make the program a success. A committee should have the power
to shape the direction of the library and technology program [...] and will be
held responsible for the programs weaknesses as well as its
strengths (Johnson, 2013 p. 43). Developing a committee like this will give
the individuals ownership and stock in the overall program.

Objectives a. Attend grade level meetings on a monthly basis to improve collaboration.

b. Serve as a member of the leadership team and attend bimonthly meetings.
c. Develop a technology and media committee that meets three times per year
to gain input from the school stakeholders.
d. Collaborate with the instructional coach and Governor's Office of Student
Achievement (GOSA) representative to provide professional learning based
on teacher needs on a monthly basis.
 Assessment 3a-c: All sign in sheets, meeting agendas, and meeting minutes can be kept
track of and used as evidence of contributions.
3d: Maintaining minutes from collaboration meetings with the instructional
coach and GOSA representative. The professional learning plans and content
will be maintained as evidence as well as quick four question surveys for
teachers to complete following professional learning.
3a-d: At the end of the year, teachers will be asked to complete a short survey
so the media specialist and media and technology committee can evaluate the
library program.

Goal 4: Create a virtual learning space.

Rationale After reviewing the digital resources, there is an obvious need for a major
update. Providing information on the website that is useful such as:
scaffolding tools, graphic organizers, downloadable interventions, links to
citation sites, reading lists, and writing guidelines for research papers or
reports could support the flipped classroom model (see location 1124 of
Empowering Learners, 2009). The flipped classroom model may take more
time to develop and could be a goal for the future, but aspects could be
introduced with help from the objectives that support this goal. The classroom
can be extended outside the physical school building and can bolster student
achievement. Maintaining an up-to-date website complete with a monthly
newsletter can inform the stakeholders about events and opportunities for
volunteering.

Objectives a. Adding and updating useful information to the media center website in
accordance with teacher, student, and parent requests.
b. Informing parents about the information that is found on the media center
website two times a year.
c. Writing a monthly newsletter to inform parents, teachers, and students about
upcoming media center events.

Assessment 4a. During the media and technology committee meetings that occur three
times a year, the committee will make suggestions to the virtual resources and
modify if needed.
4b-c. Parents will be invited in the media center during the two parent teacher
conferences throughout the year. Parents will search through the online
resources found on the website. Parents could provide suggestions for the
digital resources after exploring the website with a short survey. After parents
are aware of the digital resources, a survey will be added to the website asking
each user if the resources were helpful.
Timeline for Assessments

Month Evaluation Who Evaluates?

August Environment Rubric (Goal Administration, teachers, parents, & students

1)

Purchasing materials & Media and Technology Committee

maintaining documentation
& management of digital
resources (Goal 1 & 4)

September Managing student behavior Administration & Teachers

rubric (Goal 2)

October Parent surveys & Parents (During fall conferences)

suggestions (Goal 4)

November TKES or Media Specialist Administration

Teaching Checklist (Goal
2)

December None

January Management of digital Media and Technology Committee

resources (Goal 4)

February TKES or Media Specialist Administration

Teaching Checklist (Goal
2)

March Parent surveys & Parents (During spring conferences)

suggestions (Goal 4)

April Inventory & Weeding (Goal Media Specialist

1)

May Inventory & Weeding (Goal Media Specialist

1)

Library Program Survey Teachers

(Goal 3)

Management of digital Media and Technology Committee

resources (Goal 4)
 Month Evaluation Who Evaluates?

*August- Maintaining records for Media Specialist

April monthly grade level
meetings, professional
learning planning, and
leadership meetings (Goal
3)
 References

American Association of School Librarians. (2009) Empowering learners: Guidelines for school
media programs [Kindle DX version]. Retrieved from Amazon.com

Georgia Media Specialist Evaluation Program. (n.d). Retrieved from http://

high1.colquitt.schooldesk.net/Portals/Colquitt/High1/docs/media/media_specialist_eval.pdf

Johnson, Doug. (2013). The Indispensable Librarian: Surviving and Thriving in School Libraries
in the Information Age. California: Libraries Unlimited.

TEAM Library Media Specialist Rubric. (2016). Retrieved from http://team-tn.org/wp-content/

uploads/2013/08/TEAM-Library-Media-Specialist-2016-171.pdf