Victorie Penn

Program Evaluation Rubric

Results Summary:
To the Principal and Site Based Management Team of CJHE:

From October 9-13, I observed and collaborated with the media specialist at your
school. Together, we evaluated the library on the following 6 areas from the 2016 Judy
Serritella Exemplary Library Media Program Self-Evaluation Rubric: 1) Student
Achievement and Instruction, 2) Technology, 3) Staffing, 4) Facilities, Access, and
Resources, 5) Administrative Support, and 6) Staff Development. This rating tool is a
product of the Georgia Library Association and is the main rubric that librarians use to
evaluate the state of their school media programs. The table below provides a brief
overview of how the CJHE library was scored.

Category
Categories Basic Proficient Exemplary
Rating
1. Student 0/6 4/6 2/6 Proficient
Achievement
and Instruction
2. Technology 2/2 0/2 0/2 Basic
3. Staffing 1/1 0/1 0/1 Basic
4. Facilities, 3/7 2/7 1/7 Basic
Access, and
Resources
5. Administrative 0/5 5/5 0/5 Proficient
Support
6. Staff 0/1 1/1 0/1 Proficient
Development
Overall Rating: Basic/Proficient
The CJHE media program rated proficient in the areas of 1) Student
Achievement and Instruction, 5) Administrative Support, and 6) Staff Development. The
librarians commitment to student success and ensuring the development of school staff
was evident throughout the observation. Also, is was clear that collaborative planning
was central to lesson preparation and teaching. Finally, administrative support and the
librarian functioning as a leader in the school building was a driving factor in the current
successes of the program.
The items that scored as basic were 2) Technology, 3) Staffing, and 4) Facilities,
Access, and Resources. These areas are concerning to development of students who
are prepared for the 21st century. Currently, the library has inadequate technology to
support teaching and learning. While it maintains a virtual presence with the school
website and has a few student workstations, interactive technology is not available for
students to learn library concepts. This inhibits the media specialist to teach digital
literacy skills and limits creative teaching. In terms of staffing, with an FTE count of
1050, the school should employ at least a half-time clerk in order to be rated proficient.
Paraprofessionals and volunteers currently serve as the media center clerk on an
inconsistent basis. Employing a half or preferably full-time clerk would allow the librarian
to fully engage students in media center lessons, sit in on more grade level and
administrative meetings, and give professional developments during the school day.
The facilities, access, and resources components also scored as basic in flexible
scheduling due to the absence of a clerk. Additionally, while students and teachers are
familiar with the schools OPAC, they have not been introduced to GALILEO due to the
lack of technology available in the media center.

I urge you as the administrative team to make changes in the next years budget
to first allow for a full or half-time media clerk. Following this modification, updated
technological resources, such as interactive whiteboards, tablets, and other interactive
technologies should take budgetary priority. Providing the librarian with these items will
enrich her teaching and help students to become well-equipped digital citizens. It will
also help the staff at CJHE develop their professional capacities with the librarian being
able to provide training. Student growth will likewise be fostered by the use of further
collaborative planning between the librarian and classroom teachers.
Sincerely,
Victorie Penn
Masters Candidate of Instructional
Technology and School Library Media
Georgia Southern University
Action Steps for Basic Items:
Category 2: Technology

1. Adequate and interactive technology (ActivBoard/SmartBoard,

tablets, voting tools, and updated desktops) should be added to the
library during the next budget cycle.
2. After receiving technology, AASL Standards for the 21st Century
Learner will be more successfully integrated into instruction.
Category 3: Staffing
 1. The Library Media Specialist will be relieved of her afternoon duties
to engage students in afterschool literacy activities such as book
club and reading bowl.
2. The Library Media Specialist will be given a dedicated part-time or
full-time clerk so that the she may have a planning period, lunch
time, and allow students access even when she is not in the library.
Category 4: Facilities, Access, and Resources

1. Providing a full or half-time clerk would allow the librarian to have

flexible scheduling in the library.
2. An interactive whiteboard will be supplied so that students can
benefit from technology instruction.
3. Upon receipt of interactive technology, lessons on GALILEO will be
given to support students in their research endeavors.
Moving from Proficient to Exemplary:
Currently, the media center is rated proficient on Item 11- School library media
center square footage requirements based on FTE. The library is spacious, with areas
for groups, lessons, and a large circulation desk so that numerous students can check
in and out their books without having to wait. Shelving, storage, and electric wiring also
currently meet the needs of the expansive collection. To move this item to exemplary, I
would like to see the library move towards a learning commons approach. Genrefying
the books, providing flexible seating, interactive technology, and stations for students to
create, along with more computer workstations would make the space more inviting for
teachers and students. Also, moving to this method would make the library a model for
teaching 21st century skills.
Rubric: