Running Head: ADVOCACY PLAN 1

Advocacy Plan
Getting the Teachers on Board and Up to Speed
Tina Schumacher
University of Nebraska, Kearney
Target Audience

The target audience for my advocacy plan is the teachers, all levels pre-K 12, including the
speech/language specialist and the special education teacher provided by Humphrey Public
School.
Demographics
An Overview of the School

St. Francis Catholic School is located in Humphrey, Nebraska, which, according to the latest
census, has a population of 741. It is a pre-K through 12 institution drawing on students from a
fifteen mile radius of Humphrey. Pre-K 6 are in one building and 7 12 are in another
building. The buildings are in close proximity to one another, but not connected. The entire
student population is a little over 213.
Number of Teachers

There are 23 teachers at St. Francis for grades pre-K - 12
o Elementary building 8
o High school building 13
o Special education 2 (provided by Humphrey Public School)
Years of Teaching Experience

7 have 20+ years of teaching experience
11 have 10+ years of teaching experience
5 have 1 5 years of experience
o 1 is a first-year teacher
The teachers at St. Francis are experienced, with most (18/23) teaching for over ten years.
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Years of Experience at St. Francis Catholic School

2 have worked at St. Francis 20 - 30 years
8 have worked at St. Francis 10 - 20 years
6 have worked at St. Francis 5 10 years
7 have worked at St. Francis 1 5 years
o This includes the speech/language and special education teachers
A majority (16/23) of them have taught at St. Francis for over five years. This is my target
group23 fairly seasoned individuals who know the St. Francis school system, students, and
families very well.
Goals of the Advocacy Plan

In determining the goals for this advocacy plan, I conducted an email survey/interview with the
faculty on the recommendation of Susan McBurney (as cited in Foote, 2010) who spoke at the
Texas Library Association conference, In preparing your approach, consider the varied
concerns of your community. They were very forthcoming with what they would like from the
library/media center and SLMS.
Some of what they requested is already in place, but they seem not to know it is accessible. This
is evidence that this advocacy plan is necessary. I have provided the interview questions and the
compiled responses.
Interview Questions and Compiled Responses

What do you want/expect from the library media specialist?
The technology teacher and the media specialist should work hand in hand
Stock the library with modern books at the interest level of the students
Help students and teachers find resource materials to use in their classes
Be knowledgeable on good books and where to find them
Have an understanding of the media items we have and be able to show how to use them.
Someone who is knowledgeable about books, research practices/databases, and
technology
To be knowledgeable of materials available for the different subjects (classes).
To help not only the students but the teachers as well to find books that they need. Also,
for media specialist, other forms that they are aware of, to share with people that they
pertain to.
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What services would you like to see provided in our libraries, consider both those that we do not
have and those that we do have.
Provide DVDs, both documentary and film, that can be checked out for use in the
classroom
Teach about technology we have availableto both students and teachers
Research and teach about available websitesto both students and teachers
Subscribe to better research databases and a better selection of books, particularly
nonfiction
Provide more resources for research based activities or resources to help teach research.
Teach and reinforce research and documentation of sources

What are some ways I, as a teacher-librarian, could be of more service to you specifically?
Co-teaching lessons
Teach lessons about best online research practices and other aspects of technology
Review ideas during library time that we discuss in the classroom
Create a webpage of useful, available websites
Provide professional resources
Their responses to these three simple questions show that they are interested in all the library has
to offer, but they want and need someone to guide them in the process of getting to know the
tools available. They are also interested in co-teaching lessons and desire help with teaching
students how to do research online and to document their research. It is directly from their
responses that I drew up with my goals.
Goals of the Advocacy Plan

My goals center around making the library media center a more integral part of the education
system at St. Francis. I fully agree with the following statement from Kramer and Diekman
(2010, p. 28): Teacher-librarians need to become a part of the school learning conversation.
They need to speak the same language as the teachers and focus on student achievement. The
goals of this advocacy plan very much focus on student learning by providing the educational
professionals at St. Francis instruction and support for the online education tools available to
them.


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Goals

1. To familiarize faculty with online teaching tools including, but not limited to, Google
docs, databases, and educational websites.
2. To provide support for faculty on incorporating Google and other available websites into
their curriculum.
3. To create collaborative lessons with faculty
4. To institute a writing help desk in the library for use by the students and teachers
Benefits of the Advocacy Plan
Benefits to the Target Audience

The goals I have selected for this advocacy plan are connected to one another. One benefit is
that classroom teachers no longer have to go it alone and can, if they choose to do so, have a
partner with which to devise stimulating lessons using online tools that will motivate their
students to learn. As stated by Johnstone (2001) With the growing demands of information
technology and information and media literacy, and with the emphasis on lifelong learning, the
teacher-librarian can be the classroom teacher's most valuable asset for instructional planning.
No longer viewed as just "keepers and organizers" of library materials, teacher-librarians are
recognized as full instructional partners with classroom teachers.
The teachers at St. Francis seem to know that there are online resources out there and that some
of them are available for their use at the school, but they dont know how to access them or even
how to incorporate them into their classrooms. When I become a partner, rather than simply the
person who orders books and organizes the library through this advocacy plan, they (the faculty)
will identify many opportunities to capitalize on my skill set to their advantage and the benefit of
their students. Although school librarians have always been in the business of identifying or
helping teachers find content, digital learning expands this role through a multitude of open,
subscription, and paid education resources. In some cases, teachers come to the school librarian
with a lesson plan in mind but in need of the most useful resources. (Wolf, Jones, Gilbert, 2014
p. 10). Being an expert in the online and print resources in the library, I am an asset to the
teachers.
Benefits to the School Library

When the library is recognized as an important part of the curriculum, lesson planning, and
carrying out instruction, outside stakeholders (i.e. parents) and inside stakeholders (i.e.
administration) will provide support for the growth of the library media center, its collections,
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and programs. Budget cuts are less likely to threaten the library as it will be essential for the
learning process. If other teachers experience the benefits the SLMS has to offer, they, too, will
become supporters of the library media center and will encourage the growth of this information
center. Growth in use of the library will spur further development of library usage and programs
for the advantage of the school population.
Benefits to the Students

I include benefits to the students because education is about them. At St. Francis we currently
have a writing across the curriculum goal in our school improvement plan. The majority of
students do not transfer the writing skills they are taught and that are expected in their English
classes to their other classes. The goals of the advocacy plan will benefit the students in two
specific ways:
1. They will very quickly recognize that the SLMS and their teachers are working together
to strengthen lessons, and their classrooms will become more vibrant.

2. With the implementation of a writing help desk, students will know that their writing
skills are important for all classes, not simply English.
I agree wholeheartedly with Judi Moreillon (2007) as she says, When library media
specialists/teacher-librarians co-teach and co-assess students' work, young people clearly SEE
the contribution we make to their learning. Kids do want school to have a pointthey want to
learn. They complain if they feel they arent accomplishing anything or if school is pointless.
Advocating to the teachers to take advantage of all I have to offer them through the library will
benefit the students. This is because Content and skills meet, and deep learning of curriculum
content is enabled through the mutuality of working together to develop content standards. It is
not a case of the teacher teaching content, and the school librarian teaching skills, but working
together to ensure that the skills learned are powerful competencies for students to develop
content knowledge (Todd, 2012). When I am able to work with the teachers in creating writing
assignments, particularly research writing, and then help teach those lessons and even co-assess
the writing and citation, the students will work harder on writing well for all of their classes, not
just to get the grade they want in English. These skills will thenbest case scenariobecome
second nature for the students in high school, college, and beyond.
Activities for Advocacy

1. First and foremost, the media specialist will work with the school principal to set aside
time at faculty meetings and during inservice days to teach the faculty about databases,
websites, the opportunity for co-teaching, and the writing help desk. Once these times
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have been carved out, I will determine what is the most pressing for the faculty as a
whole (by polling the faculty) and prepare presentations. I will then teach at the
appointed times to the faculty as a whole and on an individual basis as requested by the
faculty members.

2. The media specialist will meet with teachers to discuss and plan opportunities for co-
teaching, particularly in regard to research and writing.

3. The media specialist will commit time each week to locate online tools for teachers and
create an online school database that teachers can access for use of these tools. I will
provide teachers with any necessary passwords.

4. The media specialist will work with the principal to carve time into my schedule for open
writing help-desk hours for students to confer with me about their writing.
Marketing

Inhouse

1. The media specialist will discuss opportunities to teach the teachers and to desire to co-
teach lessons with the teachers with the principal.

2. The media specialist will post advertisements in the faculty bulletin and around the
school announcing upcoming dates and times for training on websites, databases, and
other tools.

3. The media specialist will post announcements about upcoming dates and times for
training on Sycamore.

4. The media specialist will create a feature one online tool for teachers every other week on
Sycamore news so the teachers can see what we have to offer.

5. The media specialist will write articles about co-teaching experiences and post them on
Sycamore.

6. The media specialist will take pictures of co-teaching experiences and post them in the
library.
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7. The media specialist will post announcements introducing the launch of the writing help
desk for the students as well as visiting with each of the high school classes to explain the
concept and what it can do for them.
Outreach

1. The media specialist will write articles for the school newsletter and the local newspaper
about co-taught lessons, submitting them for publication.

2. The media specialist will write an article for the local newspaper about the new writing
help desk that includes quotes from faculty and students about how this is or will help
them and submit it for publication.

3. The media specialist will attend school board meetings advocating for funds for the
library for the purchase of subscriptions to databases or websites that the teachers request.
Sources

Foote, C. (2010). Everyday advocacy. School Library Journal, 56(8), 28-30.

Johnstone, L. (2001, January 01). Libraries of the twenty-first century: Some reflection.

School Libraries in Canada, (4), 16, Retrieved from http://elibrary.bigchalk.com

Levitov, D. (2007). One library media specialists journey to understanding advocacy: A

tale of transformation. Knowledge Quest.

Moreillon, J. (2007, September 01). Show Them What We Do: Strategies for Collaborative

Teaching. School Library Media Activities Monthly, (1), 45, Retrieved from

http://elibrary.bigchalk.com

Morris, B. J. (2010). Administering the school library media center (5th ed.). Santa Barbara,

CA: Libraries Unlimited.

Todd, J. R. (2012, October 01). Visibility, Core Standards, and the Power of the Story: Creating

a Visible Future for School Libraries. Teacher Librarian, (6), 8, Retrieved from

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http://elibrary.bigchalk.com

Wolf, M. A., Jones, R., Gilbert, D. (January 2014). Leading in and beyond the

library. Alliance for Excellent Education