FRIT 7090: Young Adult Program #2 - Sapere

Steve Sapere FRIT 7090: School Library Programming for Young Adults Young Adult Program #2 Summer 2011

FRIT 7090: Young Adult Program #2 - Sapere

Young Adult Program #2

Title of Program: Reading Role Models: A Reading Advocacy and Outreach Program Curriculum Areas/Topics Covered: As a reading advocacy program, this effort will cover the English/Language Arts/Reading curricular areas. A major area of focus of the program will be advocacy of reading and school libraries through the mentoring activities of one of the most visible and influential human resources in the high school community, student-athletes. Time Frame of Program: The program will run for the length of the school year. One hour per month, selected student-athletes will visit area elementary schools and read to students, engaging them in discussion about reading, school and character-related topics. In addition, the student-athletes will appear at monthly Family Reading Night events at local elementary schools, as well as participating in Read Across America Day at the elementary schools they serve. Finally, the student-athletes will be featured as spokespersons for Teen Read Week at the high school. Goals and Rationale of Program: Rationale: The rationale of the program is to capitalize on the referent power and relative celebrity of student-athletes in order to promote reading, literacy and the library media program to students in local elementary schools as well as in the high school. Student-athletes are in a unique position to influence their communities, given properly planned and directed efforts. The planning and efforts of this program are designed to meet the following stated goals: Goals: To promote the life-long, foundational skill of reading and the library media program to a segment of the student population not typically associated with it, student-athletes. To actively involve student-athletes in advocating reading to other students, both their age and younger.

FRIT 7090: Young Adult Program #2 - Sapere To increase the dispositional behavior of reading in students at both the high school and elementary school level. To spearhead school and community-wide efforts to promote reading by taking advantage of the local celebrity and notoriety of the schools student-athletes. To publicize and share these efforts with others, both locally globally, through a variety of media, including television and newspaper media and the world wide web. To provide leadership, mentoring and a positive character influence on younger members of the community. To impress the importance of service and community involvement to program participants. AASL Common Beliefs and Standards: Common Beliefs: Reading is a window to the world. Reading is a foundational skill for learning, personal growth, and enjoyment. The degree to which students can read and understand text in all formats (e.g., picture, video, print) and all contexts is a key indicator of success in school and in life. As a lifelong learning skill, reading goes beyond decoding and comprehension to interpretation and development of new understandings Standards: 1.1.6 Read, view, and listen for information presented in any format (e.g., textual, visual, media, digital) in order to make inferences and gather meaning. 1.3.4 Contribute to the exchange of ideas within the learning community. 1.3.5 Use information technology responsibly. 1.4.2 Use interaction with and feedback from teachers and peers to guide own inquiry process. 1.4.4 Seek appropriate help when it is needed. 2.1.6 Use the writing process, media and visual literacy, and technology skills to create products that express new understandings. 2.2.4 Demonstrate personal productivity by completing products to express learning. 3.1.2 Participate and collaborate as members of a social and intellectual network of learners. 3.1.4 Use technology and other information tools to organize and display knowledge and understanding in ways that others can view, use, and assess. 3.1.6 Use information and technology ethically and responsibly.

FRIT 7090: Young Adult Program #2 - Sapere 3.2.2 Show social responsibility by participating actively with others in learning situations and by contributing questions and ideas during group discussions. 3.2.3 Demonstrate teamwork by working productively with others. 3.3.6 Use information and knowledge in the service of democratic values. 3.4.2 Assess the quality and effectiveness of the learning product. 3.4.3 Assess own ability to work with others in a group setting by evaluating varied roles, leadership, and demonstrations of respect for other viewpoints. 4.1.1 Read, view, and listen for pleasure and personal growth. 4.1.2 Read widely and fluently to make connections with self, the world, and previous reading. 4.1.3 Respond to literature and creative expressions of ideas in various formats and genres. 4.1.7 Use social networks and information tools to gather and share information. 4.2.4 Show an appreciation for literature by electing to read for pleasure and expressing an interest in various literary genres. 4.3.1 Participate in the social exchange of ideas, both electronically and in person. 4.3.4 Practice safe and ethical behaviors in personal electronic communication and interaction. Intended Audience and Demographics: The intended audiences for this program are the student populations of Creekview High School and the three primary elementary schools that comprise its attendance zone. Combined, the demographic breakdown of this grouping of students mirrors that of the high school. Approximately 90% of the students in the school are white, 5% are Hispanic, and 3% are African-American, while the remaining 3% are classified as Asian or Other. 15% of the student population is eligible for free or reduced lunch, while approximately 10% of all students are eligible for special education services. In addition, as the program will extend into community activities (such as Family Reading Nights), the program will endeavor to impact the larger community not only through the students, but through their parents and other community members. Steps for Implementation: After first securing the approval and support of the high school and elementary school principals, planning and implementation of the program can proceed. The steps for implementing the program can be divided into the following categories: recruiting, training, logistics & coordination, and execution. Recruiting: Student-athletes will be recruited through the coaches of their respective sports at the

FRIT 7090: Young Adult Program #2 - Sapere end of the school year previous to the programs implementation. Coaches will be asked to submit the names of any of their athletes that they think are candidates for the program. These arent necessarily their best players, they are their best kids. The program is seeking responsible, service-minded kids of character to join the team student-athletes that the coaches know will represent their programs well. Candidates are limited to Seniors and exceptional Juniors. Once the list of candidates is generated, candidates will be notified and asked to fill out a simple application, asking for their contact information, the sports they participate in, and a brief explanation of why they wish to be a part of the program. It will be made clear to candidates that this is a community service-type activity, and that the only tangible pay they will receive will be in the form of community service hours, as well as an activity they can certainly include on college applications. Most of the rewards they will derive from their participation cannot be measured. As it will be impossible for the library media specialist to coordinate and manage this entire program alone, additional staff will need to be recruited as well. Three coaches (from any of the various sports) will be needed to serve as building contacts/liaisons with the area elementary schools. These individuals will be responsible for communicating and planning with the principal (or his designee) at each elementary school the monthly visits by the athletes. They will also be responsible for taking accurate roll of student-athlete participants and communicating this information back to the high school attendance secretary (a necessary by-product of this program is that the high school students will miss a portion of their first class of the day on programmed reading days, this with prior permission from the principal). Training: Just as reading is a skill, reading a book aloud to a group of youngsters is a skill as well, and one that most high school students have little experience with. Given this fact, training will be provided for the student-athlete readers during their initial visit to their assigned elementary school in August. Training will be conducted by media specialists at the participating elementary schools. Logistics & Coordination: This will be the most complicated portion of the programs implementation. With three groups of approximately 15-20 students serving three different elementary schools once a month, there are a lot of moving parts here. In addition to their monthly visits, student-athletes will be participating in Family Reading Night activities once a month at their assigned schools, serving as building spokespeople for Teen Read Week at the high school, and blogging about their activities on the media centers website. These blog posts will be shared with the elementary school media specialists so that they may post them on their respective sites as well.

FRIT 7090: Young Adult Program #2 - Sapere Following is a breakdown of the logistics and coordination needs for these various activities: Monthly Reading Visits: Groups of student-readers will assigned and dedicated to a particular elementary school, and will visit that school on the first Friday of each month. This visitation schedule can be altered by agreement between the building principal and respective building liaison. Student-readers will read to two grade levels per visit. This schedule will allow student-readers to read to each grade level (K-5) twice throughout the school year. Reading will commence at the beginning of the elementary school day, 7:45 AM. This will enable the student-readers to return to the high school as close to their 8:30 start time as is possible. Any tardiness to their first class of the day will be documented by the building liaison (coach) and excused per the high school principal. Student-readers will meet their building liaison at the elementary school (in the media center) before the start of the elementary school day. They will be responsible for their own transportation to the elementary school site and back to the high school at the conclusion of that days reading. Student-readers will come dressed in attire representative of their respective sports (football players wearing their jerseys, other sports wearing t-shirts or sweatshirts representing their sports, etc.) At their training session in August, student readers will select a book appropriate for the grade levels they will read to in September (K-1, for example). After they complete their September reading assignment, they will return their book and select another one for their October assignment (grade 2-3, for example). This procedure will be followed throughout the school year. Book selections will be made under the supervision and with the recommendation of the elementary school media specialists. The normal monthly visitation schedule will be adjusted to accommodate Read across America Day in March. Student-readers will be the feature attraction in any events planned by the elementary school staff(s).

Family Reading Nights: Small groups of selected student-athletes (2-3) will report to their respective schools to serve as Celebrity Readers on designated Family Reading Nights. These are pre-existing events coordinated and run by the administration/media specialists at the respective elementary schools. Each athlete will participate in at least one Family Reading Night per semester, but not when they are in-season for their sport.

FRIT 7090: Young Adult Program #2 - Sapere Teen Read Week: In the weeks leading up to the Teen Read Week (October 16-22 this year, 2011), student readers, with the assistance and training of the high school media specialist, will prepare short, 20-30 second promotional videos that will be posted on the media center website and broadcast on the morning announcements. Videos may be done individually, or by small groups (no more than 3-4) of student-athletes. Student-athlete readers will also pose for photographs that will be used to create READ posters which will be featured in the media center and in other areas of the school. (These photographs will also be used to create READ trading cards for distribution at the elementary schools.)

Monthly Blog Postings: Each participating student-athlete reader will maintain a blog through one of the free blog sites available on the school computer network (Word-Press, Blogger, Weebly, etc.). This will be coordinated and guided by the high school media specialist. All student readers will use the same blog site so that their posts can be coordinated and featured on the media center websites at the high school and the participating elementary schools. Student readers will make a blog post once a month (minimum), preferably within 1 to 3 days after their monthly reading assignment or Family Reading Night participation. Blog posts should consist of their reflections about their reading experience. Blog posts should follow school-district standards for communication in an online environment. Media specialists at all participating schools will monitor blog posts not only for appropriateness of content, but also to select noteworthy blog posts. A Blog of the Month will be featured by each school media specialist at their discretion.

Funding and Budget Needs: As the primary resources involved in this program are human ones, and the reading materials to be used are already owned by the elementary schools as part of their existing collections, costs should be minimal. The biggest cost involved is that of the time investment required of all the participants. Creation of videos and blog posts can be accomplished using resources already available in the high school media center and on the schools computer network. The financial cost for the program will come at the marketing end. Money will need to be budgeted for the creation/production of READ posters and READ poster trading cards. At least $800 will be budgeted for these items. This money will come from the

FRIT 7090: Young Adult Program #2 - Sapere high school and elementary school principals discretionary funds, and the high school and elementary school media center budgets. In addition, funding will be sought from each participating schools PTA/PTSA, as well as from the booster clubs of the participating student-athletes sports. Number of Staff and Volunteers: High School Media Specialist: Responsible for overall coordination of the program. Initiates recruiting of student-athlete readers with high school coaches. Coordinates and plans dates/times of monthly reading visits and Family Reading Night events with all participants. Facilitates and monitors monthly blog posts by readers. Coordinates design, production and ordering of READ posters and trading cards. Maintains and updates program marketing information on media center website. Facilitates production of promotional videos for Teen Read Week, as well as distribution and posting of all Teen Read Week promotional materials. Responsible for all budgetary/financial aspects of the program.

Elementary School Media Specialist (3): Responsible for maintaining contact with high school media specialist in order to properly coordinate reading events. Facilitates and monitors monthly blog posts by readers. Maintains and updates program marketing information on media center website. Trains student-athlete readers at beginning of school year. Facilitates student reader book selections to correlate to grade levels. Coordinates student reader involvement in Read Across America Day activities at respective elementary schools.

Building Contacts/Liaisons (Coaches) (3): Responsible for day-to-day operations during monthly reading events. Monitors student attendance at events, and reports absences to high school attendance office. Acts as liaison between high school and elementary school principals or their designees.

High School Coaches: Responsible for recommending candidates for the program based on their unique knowledge of their character, abilities, and interests. Supports program by promoting it to their booster clubs/parent groups.

FRIT 7090: Young Adult Program #2 - Sapere Marketing: The most influential marketing tools in this program are the student-athletes themselves. Their presence in the elementary schools is a powerful advertisement for the promotion and advocacy of reading and library media programs. Beyond that, however, several other measure will be undertaken to market the program: Student-athlete readers will be feature on READ posters which will be posted both at the high school and the elementary schools Student-athlete readers will be featured on READ trading cards which will be distributed during their monthly visits to the elementary schools. Before and during Teen Read Week, student-athlete readers will be featured in promotional videos shown on the schools morning announcements. Morning announcements at the elementary schools will promote the appearance of student-athlete readers at monthly reading visits and Family Reading Nights. Announcements/articles promoting reading visits by athletes will be featured in PTA/PTSA/School newsletters/newspapers at the respective schools. Local newspaper and television media will be notified of scheduled reading events, particularly those at the beginning of the school year, in order to further spread news of the program. Announcements (including student-athlete reader blog posts) will be featured on the school and school media center websites.

Youth Participation: Student-athlete Readers (45-50): Responsible for honoring their commitment to read at scheduled monthly reading events. Actively promote reading, literacy and the library media program through their participation. Maintain a monthly blog consisting of their reflections on their monthly reading experiences. Create, either individually or with a small group, a promotional video for Teen Read Week at the high school. Serve as positive role models for youth and ambassadors of their sports programs and the high school at large.

Evaluation: A variety of formal and informal surveys will be conducted of all of the participants of the program, as well as those they serve. Surveys will be created and administered using online polling software (SurveyMonkey, etc.) or discussion boards.

FRIT 7090: Young Adult Program #2 - Sapere The high school media specialist and elementary school media specialist will respond to surveys which measure how well the program met its stated goals of increasing reading behavior among students. This may include circulation data, as well as testimonials/commentary from students checking out books. Media specialists will also evaluate the overall effectiveness and efficiency of the program by reflecting on areas that may be improved in the future. The student-athlete readers will complete a self-evaluation/reflection of their efforts in the program, focusing on areas where they feel they excelled as well as areas for improvement. Students at the elementary school will complete simple surveys intended to gauge the impact of the program on their reading habits and book selections. Teachers, coaches and staff at the participating schools, as well as community members, will be invited to provide their feedback through a discussion board on the media center websites at each of the participating schools. Testimonials and feedback obtained through this discussion board will be used to make improvements to the program as well as promote its continuation.

Resources: The student-athletes themselves are the feature attraction, and the primary resource that will be available to the audiences of youngsters at the elementary schools, as well as their peers at the high school during Teen Read Week and parents and community members at Family Reading Nights. In addition, a variety of visual resources, including READ posters, READ trading cards, and promotional videos on the high schools morning announcements will also be available. References: See below

Amy, J. C., & Halas, J. (2011, Spring). Rec and read mentor programs. Reclaiming Children & Youth, 20(1), 20-24. Retrieved from http://web.ebscohost.com.wf2dnvr2.webfeat.org//detail?sid=fb7baa8c-0515-4201ac7c4bba36dc4021%40sessionmgr111&vid=1&hid=119&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWh vc3QtbGl2ZQ%3d%3d#db=a9h&AN=61200038

FRIT 7090: Young Adult Program #2 - Sapere Creative ideas. (n.d.). Read design studio: creative ideas [Fact sheet]. Retrieved from American Library Association website: http://www.alastore.ala.org//_DS_Creative_Ideas.pdf Fulco, C., & Lee, D. (2010, December). Read like a demon: football heroes promoting reading to primary school students. APLIS, 23(4), 151-156. Retrieved from http://web.ebscohost.com.wf2dnvr14.webfeat.org//?sid=de7b5c61-425c-46a68472ae3c549771b8%40sessionmgr110&vid=1&hid=108&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZW hvc3QtbGl2ZQ%3d%3d#db=a9h&AN=56486050 King, K. A., Vidourek, R. A., Davis, B., & McClellan, W. (2002, September). Increasing self-esteem and school connectedness through a multidimensional mentoring program. Journal of School Health, 72(7), 294-299. Retrieved from http://web.ebscohost.com.wf2dnvr14.webfeat.org//?sid=9f1539d7-5e9f-432892aaf2d2e04da6f0%40sessionmgr104&vid=1&hid=123&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWh vc3QtbGl2ZQ%3d%3d#db=a9h&AN=7451125 Lagesten, C. E. (2007, June). students as library leaders: student team builds leadership skills while helping to battle budget cuts. Teacher Librarian, 34(5), 45-47. Retrieved from http://proquest.umi.com/pqdweb?did=1283156561&Fmt=3&clientId=134390&R QT=309&VName=PQD Read posters featuring KU coaches, athletes, mascots. (2007, Fall). Bibliophile (article 7). Retrieved from The University of Kansas Libraries, The University of Kansas website: http://www.lib.ku.edu//fallissue.shtml#read

FRIT 7090: Young Adult Program #2 - Sapere Teen read week. (n.d.). Teen read week [Press release]. Retrieved from Young Adult Library Services Association website: http://www.ala.org////////.cfm Wilson, D. (2001, January 1). Viking hero reader program: allowing student athletes to make a worthy contribution to their community. Language Arts Journal of Michigan, 17(1), 40-42. Retrieved from http://scholarworks.gvsu.edu////

FRIT 7090: Young Adult Program #2 - Sapere

Young Adult Program #2 Scoring Rubric

0 Originality Not original/ Not workable/ Not submitted/ Not attempted (Counts twice) Some sections of the template have been completed with meaningful entries. It does not paint a complete picture of the program. It does not speak well enough to the focused topic of leadership, advocacy and creating community connections. Some of the required five references are included. Project shows some planning. Some components do not work together as intended. Some of the components lack depth and detail. References are mostly documented, and APA formatting is attempted. A few errors found in grammar, spelling or usage that distract reader. Each section of the template has been completed with meaningful entries. It paints a complete picture of the program and speaks to the focused topic of leadership, advocacy and creating community connections. All of the required five references are included. Projects shows a great deal of planning went into it. All components work together as intended. Components demonstrate depth and detail. References are all documented, and APA formatting is used throughout, including intext citations and reference list. No errors found in grammar, spelling or usage that distract reader. Total Scoring Guide: 18-20 14-17 <14 2 4 Program is workable, original, creative, and innovative. It has fresh and exciting ideas. Score Program is workable, but it is not original.

/8

Template was not used. At least five references are not included. Does not focus on the topic of leadership, advocacy and creating community connections./ Not submitted

Completeness

/4

Project shows lack of planning. Components do not work together as intended. Project lacks depth and detail./ Not submitted References are not documented at all, and there is a lack of APA formatting. Numerous errors in grammar, spelling or usage that distract reader.

Quality

/4

Form

/4

/20

Target Acceptable Unacceptable