Hightower Trail Elementary Library Services

The Hightower Trail Elementary School media specialist serves the school in

many capacities. The media specialist strives to create an environment that

“encourages reading for learning, reading for pleasure, and reading for life.” (GADOE,

n.d.) The roles include K-5 instructor, instructional partner, informational specialist,

program administrator, and leader. The media specialist has the role of an instructor

when providing students with instructional strategies on library skills, computer skills,

and integrating classroom content with a specific text.

The media center is designed to meet the needs of various patrons, including

space students who may be in a wheelchair or walker. The library has a designated

space for English Language Learners that is categorized by genre and lexile level, this

space has an array of picture books and materials with spanish and english text. The

teacher resource room is housed in the library with class sets of guided reading, leveled

readers, manipulatives, and games that will aid in students learning in the classroom

setting. The media specialist also services teachers by programming and distribution of

county identification cards.

Instructor:

● Teaching K-5 students library skills

● Teaching K-5 students computer skills

● Teaching K-5 students digital citizenship

Instructional Partner

● Partner with teachers, parent coordinator, and counselor to purchase material to

support students, standards, subgroups and emotional needs

Informational Specialists

● Cataloging material

● Ordering collection material

● Library circulation

● Acting as copyright advisor

● Purchasing school level software material and licensing

● Managing passwords for programs

● Organize and facilitate Chromebook and iPad circulation to students and chrome

carts to teachers

Program Administrator

● Maintaining purchase orders and an accurate budget

● Maintaining accelerated reader

● Implementing needs presented by the media committee

● Fall and spring book fair

● Title I inventory and documentation

Leader

● Serving on the leadership team

 ● Forming a media committee with stakeholders, administrators and teachers

● Serving on the district technology committee

● Communicating technology developments and library praises with community,

teachers and students

Circulation Policy

Patrons at Hightower Trail Elementary School adhere to different policies

depending on grade level. The library is organized by lexile and students are

encouraged to not checkout above their lexile range. All grades can flexibly frequent the

library. Overdue notices are sent home in Monday folders every two weeks. Students

are only allowed to have two books at a time. If a book is not returned, the student may

not checkout. Students do have access to Destiny Discover, giving them the ability to

search for books online before coming to the library.

● Kindergarten and 1st grade students check out books when classroom teachers

feel they are ready, usually depending on sight word evaluations. Some

Kindergarten teachers checkout a class set of books under their name for

classroom reading.

● 2nd grade students check out two picture books based on lexile with the

exception of the two advanced content classes. They check out two picture

books and a chapter book based on their lexile level. Other second grade

students checkout chapter books when their lexile level meets that expectation.

● 3rd-5th grades check out one picture book and one chapter book based on lexile

● Teachers can checkout an unlimited amount of books

 ● There is no circulation policy for parents

● If a book is damaged or lost, students may not check out an additional book until

the book is returned or the fine is paid.

● Teachers are fined for any items that aren’t checked in at the end of the school

year.

Scheduling Policy:

The library is open from 8:00-2:30. The media specialist teaches activity classes

from 8:20-10:45. Then in the upper grades activity from 12:50-2:25 Monday-Friday. Due

to the number of classes per grade level, the media specialist sees students every 7

days. The lessons are planned collaboratively with teachers and based on the Georgia

Standards of Excellence. Many students also checkout a new book during their activity

time. A paraprofessional is housed in the library for circulation and shelving. Therefore,

the library operates on a is accessible throughout the entire school day for book

checkout, but the media specialist is not always in attendance. The library is also

available for whole class checkout at the teacher’s convenience.

Ethics and Legal Principles

The copyright and internet usage policies are located in the 2021-2022 HTES

Staff Handbook, which is read and signed by teachers at the beginning of each school

year. Copyright policies are also placed above each copy machine. Under TKES

standards 9 & 10, Technology and Media, the handbook reminds teachers of
appropriate technology usage and integration. Not only are teachers required to sign

agreeing to the terms of the HTES handbook, but parents are also required to sign an

internet usage agreement. With internet usage being a daily occurrence, it is imperative

for students to learn early about their digital footprint. Therefore, the media specialist is

responsible for teaching digital citizenship to students K-5 using lessons from Common

Sense Media. With hacks in cyber security being on the rise across the country, the

media specialist is also required to attend cyber security webinars and act as an

advocate for internet safety at the school level. The district purchased GoGuardian two

years ago to help ensure internet safety. GoGuardian is an educational technology

company used to help teachers manage internet usage and track students' daily online

activity. The program also alerts administrators if students are searching inappropriate

content.

Assessment of the School Library Media Services

At HTES the media specialists acts as an instructional partner for teachers and

implements instruction that enhances library and research skills. The lessons are

engaging and draw students to the media center. One area of growth would be the

integration of Web 2.0 tools to enhance learning. Students use PebbleGo and GALILEO

to research information. Since the Media Specialist only sees the same class of

students every 7 days, following the research with an application tool can be

challenging. A maker space would be a great next step for this library to create a 21st

century library.
 The only e-books used by students are on EPIC. Oftentimes during book

checkout students who are not checking out will explore books on EPIC or EPIC is used

to further read books about a research topic. Integrating more ebook programs and

technology would help create a more virtual space and a complete 21st century library.

One simple solution would be reaching out to Destiny Discover to explore their options

for ebooks and audiobooks. The librarian plans to attend a few conferences next year to

help close this gap for learners. Overall there is an alignment between services offered

and services given, but a few adjustments to digital platforms need to be made.

Adjusting the school’s Accelerated Reader subscription to add ebooks and

audiobooks would also be a great option. The media specialist is the program

administrator for Accelerated Reader. Students are given goals every 6 weeks. Goals

are set based on lexile levels. The librarian places weekly reports in teachers boxes,

highlighting students who have met their goal by points and with an 80% or higher

comprehension rate. Students who have met their goal have an “AR star” placed on a

bulletin board with their picture. They are also given a little prize from the library. Two

AR parties are offered for students who have met their goal. One movie party in

December and a party in the park in May. The librarian keeps up with students who

have met their AR goal each 6 weeks and can attend the party. Collaboration between

the public library and school library allows students to sign up for a public library card at

the party in May for summer reading and book checkout. These efforts bring hope to a

feeling of success for readers to promote lifelong learning and higher reading

proficiency.
 Furthermore the media specialist attends media committee meetings every

month to discuss glows and grows. She currently requested additional Chromebooks for

each grade level due to an increase in student population. She keeps a google doc

assigning each kindergarten and 1st grader to an iPad and assigning Chromebook and

carts to 2nd-5th grades. The librarian is often seen checking technology in classrooms

for inventory purposes. Our school is having a Title I audit in the spring and she has

checked off and documented all resources for the district.

Last month the library hosted a very successful book fair with over $11,000 in

sales. The media specialist organized volunteers and collaborated with PTO for a

Pastries with Parents event to bring in stakeholders.

These efforts are only possible thanks to the help and collaboration of the

paraprofessional who is full-time in the library. As defined by GADOE (n.d) Library

Media Services, the librarian works on a fixed schedule due to activity classes, which

does not align with the GaDOE expectations for school libraries. Also, under the

Flexible Scheduling Guidelines by the DOE library time should be a, “collaborative

teaching experience that requires the expertise of both the classroom teacher and the

library media specialist.” HTES did abide by these guidelines before COVID, but due to

class numbers the school does not abide by these guidelines today. Thankfully a full

time employee occupies the media center all day keeping it accessible to students and

staff. Although unforeseen consequences such as circulation are a result of not having

a certified teacher in the library.

 As mentioned above, one area of concern would be circulation and students

access to books of interest. Lexile levels and risk of loss are two factors hindering

student access to books. Because the media specialist is often fulfilling teaching or

other duties, circulation is left to the paraprofessional. The paraprofessional is a stickler

for lexile ranges. Students may only check out books 100 points below their lexile and

50 points above. She often asks for their lexile and sends them to reshelf books that are

not in their range. Many teachers notice students developing a frustration with finding a

book. The media specialist has also noticed a decrease in students meeting their AR

goal in 3rd-5th grades. Perhaps this is because they did not develop a love for reading

in the primary grades due to parameters placed on book checkout. The article, Reading

by Grade Three: How Well Do School Library Circulation Policies Support Early

Reading?' (2012) The authors highlight the idea that access to books increases

achievement. The article further explains that, “access is not dependent on age or

reading ability.” To develop a love of reading children must have a free choice in what

they read. Adding e-book and audiobooks as an option for 3rd-4th graders using

programs they're already familiar with like Accelerated Reader and Destiny Discover

would also increase access to students.

Lastly, to better promote reading for pleasure our attitude about checkouts must

change. One major change would be going back to a flexible schedule so that the

media specialist and classroom teachers can together promote appropriate

development and interest for library books. Another change suggested by Johnson and
Donham (2012) would be revisiting our loan policies and the number of books students

can checkout in kindergarten through 2nd grades.

As you can see, the school librarian is adhering to her role as instructor,

instructional partner, program administrator and leader. HTES aligns with the Georgia

Department of Education’s vision for school libraries to, “promote collaborative library

media environments that empower library media specialists to be innovative and build

relationships.” (GADOE, n.d.) To complete a 21st century media center areas such as

scheduling, circulation, and the addition of e-books must be addressed.

 References

Johnson, L. & Donham, J. (2012). Reading by Grade Three: How Well do School
Library Circulation Policies Support Early Reading? EL Kurdyla Publishing LLC.
Retrieved February 18, 2022, from
https://go.view.usg.edu/d2l/le/content/2424592/viewContent/47780680/View

Georgia Department of Education. (n.d.). Library Media Service. www.gadoe.org.

Retrieved February 18, 2022, from https://www.gadoe.org/Curriculum-Instruction-
and-Assessment/Curriculum-and-Instruction/Pages/Library-Media-Services.aspx