KA Section VII: Planning for the Future Megan Anderson, Crystal Cunningham,

and Jona Gaskin

Part A: Long-Range Goals:

1. The media program will work in collaboration with the community to increase library
media center awareness and participation.

According to Empowering Learners, school librarians [should] conduct environmental

scans of the demographics and relevant characteristics of the community in which the school is
located before they can create a strategic plan for the media program. To fully understand the
demographics, the librarian must venture out into the public and analyze the interests, home
lives, and background of the students who are attending the school. The media specialist should
also collaborate with the community to increase the understanding of how the program works,
and what could improve the program. Developing the Strategic Management Plan stated that
The more stakeholders and community leaders you incorporate into your plan, the more support
you will have as you implement and move forward. If stakeholders in the community are
involved in the creation of and implementation of the program, they will provide full support to
the program itself; volunteering and becoming involved with other school activities.

2. The media program will increase library media center funding and incorporate new
technology and materials through writing grants.

According to Empowering Learners, the school library program should include flexible
and equitable access to physical and virtual collections of resources that support the school
curriculum and meet the diverse needs of all learners[as well as] a well-developed collection
of books, periodicals, and non-print material in the variety of formats that support curricular
topics and are suited to inquiry learning and users needs and interest. It is essential that the
media specialist continue to write grants and gain as much media center funding as possible,
prioritizing the funds as well. New materials, especially technology, are essential to the 21st
century media program. As the Iowa Department of Education firmly stated, the school librarian
should ensure that technological tools are used to enhance the instruction and also support
several literacies that aid the media program in meeting the learning needs of the students.
Materials, including technological tools, should be used to enhance the learning throughout the
school community.

3. The media specialist will allow for more opportunities to collaborate with faculty on
lessons and units, incorporating resources from the media center.

According to Empowering Learners, The school library program [should] include

support for school librarian and teacher professional development to sustain and increase
knowledge and skills. The faculty at any school should be in junction with the media specialist
to assure that the short-term and long-term goals are being met efficiently. Together, the school
community should work together to determine proactive means to increase student achievement
in the school. Through meaningful professional development courses, teachers can increase their
own knowledge of how to efficiently use literacy skills to improve student achievement. Also,
the Iowa Department of Education stated that the media specialist should collaborate with the
school community to design and enact rigorous learning experiences and participate as positive
KA Section VII: Planning for the Future Megan Anderson, Crystal Cunningham,
and Jona Gaskin

digital citizens. The media specialist should encourage collaboration among the school
community; not only by planning lessons, but also implementing learning experiences that reach
a diverse group of students.

Part B: Short-Term Objectives:

Remember, each of the goals will probably have more than one objective! (How we plan to meet
the goals.)