Section VII: Planning for the Future

In this constantly changing time of technology and education it is important for

the School Library Media Specialist to show they are willing to change with the needs of
the school and its goals. The media center is the heart and base of schools, so the
SLMS must plan and evaluate the school library program based on the strengths,
weaknesses and needs of the school. In the text, Empowering Learners: Guidelines for
School Library Programs (30) The school library program is built on a long-term
strategic plan that reflects the mission, goals and objectives of the school. In order for
the SLMS to know the strengths, weaknesses and needs of the school, an assessment
must be conducted. The SLMS can complete this assessment by conducting a survey
among teachers and administrators. Once the SLMS has the results of the assessment
they can determine the goals of their media center.
The Harlem Middle School media specialist has determined the following goals
for the media center. The goals, objectives, evaluation measures, and timelines for each
goal are listed below. These goals are set to recover the weaknesses and build on the
strengths.
Goal 1:
By the end of year three, the Media Specialist will improve the physical space of the
media center to allow easier accessibility for handicapped and special needs students,
encourage collaboration, and create quiet spaces for silent reading.
Objective 1a:
Year one: The SLMS will begin weeding nonfiction and fiction sections following the
CCBOE Collections Policy on pg.30 of the Media Handbook. SLMS will run circulation
and history reports from the Destiny system on all nonfiction and fiction books in the
library. Books that have not circulated (checked-out) in five years will be discarded. The
weeding will allow several bookcases to be removed and/or repurposed.
Evaluation 1a:
The SLMS will also keep a record of the items that were weeded for a minimum of five
years. If students or teachers would like a discarded item the SLMS will search the
county data base and borrow the desired text from another Media Center within the
county.
Objective 1b:
Year two: The SLMS will re-arrange, re-purpose, and/or discard bookcases to create
new spaces for students. The current setup of the bookcases take up the majority of the
space in the library, and the length of the bookcases make it difficult for students in

wheelchairs to navigate around them. The bottom shelf on every bookcase is also not
being utilized for shelving books. Therefore, the amount of bookcases that are currently
in place are not needed to shelve books.
Evaluation 1b:
After the removal and the repurposing, the SLMS will be able to reevaluate the space,
usage and accessibly of the Media Center to meet the needs of all students.
Objective 1c:
By the end of year three: The SLMS will create the new areas that will be added to the
media center. These spaces will include multiple silent reading areas and collaboration
areas for small and large groups as well as whole class instruction. SLMS will
investigate options for updated furniture to include comfortable seating, tables, and
chairs. The SLMS will determine the most appropriate furniture to purchase while
keeping in mind the needs of our special education students, and the movability of the
furniture. This will also aid in promoting a collaborative space for teachers and students
by creating a more flexible environment. New furniture will be purchased to increase
collaboration efforts as well as accommodate wheelchair bound students. The SLMS
will then develop a budget for the new items to present to the school principal for
approval.
Evaluation 1c:
Within one to two months after the additions are added, the SLMS will evaluate the
newly created areas and monitor their effectiveness in their collaborative purpose. The
SLMS will also survey teachers and students to gain feedback about the new learning
areas and obtain feedback on how the new area promotes collaboration. The SLMS will
also ask for improvement ideas of suggestions that users would like to see
implemented.
Goal 1 Timeline:
Beginning at the start of year one, the SLMS will run circulation and history
reports from the Destiny system on all nonfiction and fiction books in the library. Books
that have not circulated (checked-out) in five years will be discarded. Complete
weeding of books should be done within 4 months of beginning the weeding process.
The SLMS will retain a copy of all weeded books for at least five years.
Beginning at the start of year two, the SLMS will evaluate the current setup of the
bookcases and the Media Center. The SLMS will also consider that the length of the

bookcases make it difficult for students in wheelchairs to navigate around them. The
media specialist will solicit input from other members of the staff and make a decision
on how to rearrange the bookcases for to ensure better accessibility for all students.
The bottom shelf on every bookcase is also not being utilized for shelving books. Some
bookcases will be repurposed for student centers, while others will be available to
teachers for classroom use. Bookcases will be moved and repurposed once the
weeding of books is complete. Rearrangement should take approximately one
semester to one school year, this will also allow time for re-shelving.
Beginning at the start of year two, the SLMS will investigate options for updated
furniture to include comfortable seating, tables, and chairs. The SLMS will determine the
most appropriate furniture to purchase while keeping in mind the needs of our special
education students, and the movability of the furniture. The SLMS will then develop a
budget for the new items to present to the school principal for approval. The estimated
time for developing the list of new materials to include specific items with three price
quotes from different vendors should take 2-3 weeks. The purchase, delivery, and
installation of the new furniture should be completed by the middle of the year three.
The SLMS will use the remaining semester to reflect on changes as well as survey
teachers and students on the changes to the Media Center.
Goal 2:
By the end of year two, the Media Specialist will provide learning opportunities for
students by providing support for teachers in application of the guidelines set forth in the
AASL Standards for 21st Century Learners. The Media Specialist will work to provide
this opportunity with at least ten teachers.
Objective 2a:
Within the first two months of the school year, the SLMS will survey the proficiency
levels of the teachers and determine the various proficiency groups to better support the
implementation of the AASL Standards..
Evaluation 2a:
Within a week of receiving the data from the survey, the SLMS will evaluate the various
levels of proficiency and create groups in which the SLMS will be able to better support
the teachers based on their specific needs.
Objective 2b:

The SLMS will provide flexible professional learning opportunities and support for
teachers who need assistance in implementing the AASL Standards.
Evaluation 2b:
After the professional learning, the SLMS will allow teachers to provide feedback and
prepare for collaborative planning and implementation of the AASL Standards.
Objective 2c:
The SLMS will provide authentic learning opportunities for students to learn and engage
with content and the resources of the Media Center. The learning opportunities will
serve as a model that teachers can use to implement the AASL Standards within their
lessons.
Evaluation 2c:
After the collaboration, the SLMS will retain lesson plans and resources from the
authentic learning opportunity and ask the collaborating teacher to reflect on the lesson
based on the professional learning and the implementation of the AASL Standards in a
follow-up personalized e-mail.

Goal 2 Timeline:
Beginning at the start of year two, the Media Specialist will begin surveying the
teachers on their understanding of the AASL Standards for 21st Century Learners.
Within a week of the completion of the survey, the SLMS will begin categorizing
teachers based on their proficiency levels of understanding of the AASL Standards.
Within the next two months the SLMS will provide flexible learning opportunities for
teachers who need assistance in implementing the AASL Standards within their
classroom. The SLMS will also create authentic learning opportunities for students
within the Media Center where teachers may come and see effective implementation of
the standards in action. The SLMS will provide this opportunity for at least ten teachers
by the end of year two.
Goal 3:
By the end of year four, the Media Specialist will develop a Professional Learning
Resource Center that consists of both physical and virtual resources, for teachers that
will enhance student learning. The resource center will provide a minimum of at least
five resources per grade level per subject.
Objective 3a:

The SLMS will create a Professional Learning Resource Center survey for teachers.
This survey will determine tools, resources, trainings, and materials that have been
requested by teachers for general and specific needs. The SLMS will also attend
vertical and departmental meetings to establish a focus for purchasing new Professional
Learning material for core content areas.
Evaluation 3a:
After the conclusion of the survey, the SLMS will begin analyzing the results of the
survey to organize the professional resources that is needed by the staff. The SLMS will
also provide a calendar of scheduled learning workshops for teachers to attend at their
convenience and research having a professional trainer come to the school to aid in the
training of the staff.
Objective 3b:
Virtual Space: The SLMS will create and maintain a user friendly Professional Learning
Resource Center that will host a curated variety of resources; tutorials, lessons, Web
2.0 tools, databases, etc. This virtual resource center will be linked to the Media
Centers webpage under the Teacher Resources tab for ease of access.
Evaluation 3b:
The SLMS will continually maintain the Virtual Professional Learning Resource Center.
The SLMS will also provide the opportunity for teachers to continually provide feedback
and suggestion on new resources that they would like added or that they have found
and want to share with others.
Objective 3c:
After each training, the SLMS will ask the teachers to evaluate their understanding of
the topic based on the training they received. They will also indicate how the SLMS can
further assist them in collaborating or assisting in the implementation of their new ideas
and understandings.
Evaluation 3c:
SLMS will attend vertical team and departmental meetings to establish a focus for
purchasing new Professional Learning material for core content areas. The SLMS will
also provide a calendar of scheduled learning workshops for teachers to attend at their
convenience and research having a professional trainer come to the school.

Goal 3 Timeline:
Beginning in the fourth year of the implementation process, the SLMS will create
a Professional Learning Resource Center survey for teachers. This survey will
determine tools, resources, trainings, and materials that have been requested by
teachers for general and specific needs. The media specialist will share the survey with
teachers with the expectation that it will be completed by them within two weeks.
The SLMS will create and maintain a virtual Professional Learning Resource
Center that will host a curated variety of resources; tutorials, lessons, Web 2.0 tools,
databases, etc. This Professional Learning Resource Center will be linked to the Media
Centers webpage under the Teacher Resources tab for ease of access.
SLMS will attend vertical team and departmental meetings to establish a focus
for purchasing new Professional Learning material for core content areas. The SLMS
will also provide a calendar of scheduled learning workshops for teachers to attend at
their convenience and research having a professional trainer come to the school. This
will be an ongoing process.
Goal 4:
By the end of year five the Media Specialist will create opportunities to collaborate and
co-teach problem based lessons/inquires and/or units with at least three teachers. The
lessons will also include teaching students how to evaluate accessed information from
various resources, including both print and virtual formats depending on the need of the
student.
Objective 4a:
The SLMS will create a survey in which the teachers will complete to show the interest
they have to collaborate and co-teach with the SLMS.
Evaluation 4a:
Within in one to two weeks after receiving the results of the survey the SLMS will begin
designating the available time to collaborate that will accommodate all teachers who
expressed an interest.
Objective 4b:
Based on the results of the survey (4a.), SLMS will determine the focus of collaboration
and co-teaching with teacher. Teachers that are interested in collaborating with the
SLMS will provide a needs assessment to the SLMS. What areas are students
struggling with? How can the SLMS provide assistance to the teachers in a
collaborative lesson?

Evaluation 4b:
Within one to two weeks after receiving the needs assessment the SLMS will begin
organizing and planning how to strategically plan for the implementation of collaboration
and prepare ideas and activities based on the needs provided.
Objective 4c:
The SLMS will facilitate the organization of collaboration times as well as collaborative
lessons with teachers by using an asynchronous shared calendar. When face-to-face
meetings are not possible, SLMS and teachers will communicate via email and through
a shared unit plan template in Google Docs and/or Office 365.
Evaluation 4c:
Within one week after the collaboration and the lesson has been taught, the SLMS will
communicate with the teacher to reflect on the success of the collaborative lesson. The
SLMS will note the improvement and the ideas to enhance the lesson. The SLMS will
also archive the lesson plans for future use and implementation. The SLMS will also
seek input for students on the learning process.
Goal 4 Timeline:
The media specialist will create a survey in which the teachers will complete to
show the interest they have to collaborate and co-teach with the SLMS. The survey will
be administered over a two week period at the beginning of the school year.
Teachers that are interested in collaborating with the SLMS will provide a needs
assessment to the SLMS. What areas are students struggling with? How can the SLMS
provide assistance to the teachers in a collaborative lesson? The needs assessment
will be turned in by each participating teacher over the next two week period after
completing the initial survey. Once received, SLMS will review the information within
one week and provide the teachers with the suggested focus of collaboration and coteaching by the end of the following week.
Using Outlook or Google calendar, teachers and the SLMS will schedule
collaborative lesson planning times. When face-to-face meetings are not possible,
SLMS and teachers will communicate via email and through a shared unit plan template
in Google Docs and/or Office 365. At the first face-to-face meeting held one week after
the needs assessment is received, teachers and SLMS will create a planning template
to be used as the guide for collaborative teaching. Collaborative lesson planning will be
set to quarterly face-to-face meetings in order to revisit the plan and determine if there
are any necessary changes that need to be made. In between, everyone can
communicate via e-mail. This will be the process until the end of the school year. By the
end of year five the SLMS plans to collaborate with at least ten teachers using this
process.

Advocacy:
All goals and objectives will be communicated at the initial stakeholder meeting and at
the first faculty meeting of the school year, the SLMS will share the details of the
strategic plan, goals, objectives, proposed budget, and timeline to all stakeholders at
Harlem Middle School. Each stakeholder will be provided with a copy of the strategic
plan and also given the opportunity to ask questions regarding the plan. Throughout the
year, at quarterly faculty meetings, the SLMS will update stakeholders of the continued
progress of the strategic plan. Information will be provided using a detailed report of the
previous three months operations, changes, and progress of goals. In between quarterly
progress reports, a brief newsletter/flyer will be distributed electronically to promote the
amazing things that are happening in the media center. A calendar of learning
workshops, displays of student work from collaborative lessons, and tech tips will also
be included in the newsletter/flyer. The Media Specialist will continue to encourage all
stakeholders to support the efforts of the SLMS and promote the goals of the HMS
Media Center to improve student learning and achievement within the school library.
References:
Columbia County School District Site
CCBOE Collections Policy
Empowering learners guidelines for school library media programs. (2009). Chicago, Ill.:
American Association of School Librarians.
Survey used for creating the Goals: Stakeholders survey
Responses from the survey were used to create goals for Harlem Middle School
http://schools.nyc.gov/NR/rdonlyres/D0544E4C-45EC-4038-BA78616DB87C193A/33406/Section24.pdf