ShaTavia Crawford

FRIT 7734
Dr. Jones

High School Interview of Site Supervisor

Q: Name of media specialist being interviewed.

A: Ms. Jerol Smith

Q: Name of School where the media specialist is employed.

A: Washington Carver High School

Q: How long have you been a media specialist?

A: I have been a media specialist for 24 years. I graduated from Spelman College.

Q: How long were you a classroom teacher before becoming a media specialist?
A: I have never been a classroom teacher.

Q:How have your past job experiences prepared you, directly or indirectly, for this
position?
A: This is the only job that I have worked. I worked summer jobs in the Fulton county library
system and I subbed for media specialists. This allowed me to experience the position and
helped to solidify my choice in media services. I also worked as an archival processor at a
public library.

Q: Why did you choose to pursue a degree to become a school library media specialist?
A: I chose to become a librarian after completing my student teaching. I realized that teaching
was not for me but that I did have a love for books so I chose to go in the direction of a media
specialist.

Q: What educational preparation have you had for being a school librarian? What was
your experience with that? What didn’t you learn in school that you wish you had?
A: I went to Spelman College for my undergraduate degree in Early Childhood and teacher
certification. I went to North Carolina Central University where I got a masters in library science.
Finally, I have a specialist degree from the University of West Georgia in school library media.

As well, it is my belief that some things just aren't teachable. Anything that I didn't learn is
because it's just not teachable and comes with experience and being coached. Even learning
new technology and classroom management.

Q:What experience have you had with cooperative program planning? with cooperative
teaching?
A: Collaboration comes natural to me. I co teach classes and do research projects to support
student learning. Creating in-services and technology is my strength. Teaching how to use
various technology tools and resources is something that I love to do. I have implemented a
poetry expo for poetry month, partnered with the Fulton county library branch to promote library
card sign up month, and provide support for summer reading awareness and summer reading
programs.

Q: How would you go about developing a strong team approach with other teachers?
How would you get reluctant teachers to utilize the library?
A: Teachers have a short amount of time so I have to catch them on the fly. I don't really plan I
just catch them in organic conversation whenever I see them in the hallway on breaks or when
they come to make copies or use the laminator. I sometimes iwork it backwards, in other words,
if I see a student with something I go to that teacher and ask them about the assignment. I also
use staff meetings as an opportunity to communicate with teachers.

As far as reluctant teachers are concerned I may offer an incentive. For example, the first
teacher that plans with me for the month of September gets some reams of copy paper. The
underlying problem is time so I offer to go to their classroom and assist them.

Q: How do you see the role of the library in the overall reading program of the school?
A: This past year we rolled out Myon with Renaissance to the special education program and
students had a 40 minute block on Myon. Myon is a great way to help reluctant readers. The
program provides read alouds to students and provides visual pieces. I also rolled the program
out with teachers and students, showing teachers how to set it up and helping students log in.

Q: How would you go about: (a) promoting appreciation and interest in the use of
resource center materials? (b) promoting storytelling, story
reading, book talks, and other resource center programs?
A: I bring people that they would be interested in. The students like people that look like them
and are in their age bracket so I ensure that I provide that for the students which helps
encourage them to participate in programs in the media center.

Q: What is your experience in leading professional development? Especially in leading

technology-related professional development?
A: I have done several workshops. One being the Peer to Peer workshop at the ASL Regional
conferences. I have also presented at the Georgia library media association (GLMA). I also
presented at the APS media specialist conference. Some of my presentations cover how to
incorporate 21st century tools into literacy. I have also done presentations and workshops on
vocabulary.com, and Google classroom.

Q: How do you ensure your own continued professional growth?

In what areas do you feel you would like to develop your professional skills and
knowledge further?
A: I am in a reading endorsement cohort. I wanted to learn how to better approach the role of
media specialist from a reading teacher perspective. I also wanted to learn how to tutor
struggling readers, tweak my own book club instruction, and scaffold better. I'm learning how to
do many of the teacher things that I never learned or experienced.

Q: Describe how you will create an inclusive space where diversity and equity are valued
by all learners in the school community.
A: I have an inventory of material that is diverse but diversity is really not present at my school.
The school is 99% African American. I do have some Latino resources for ESOL and some
French speakers. Sometimes I don't have all the resources for ESOL due to funding.

Q: How do you ensure that you have appropriate resources for all learners in your
school? How do you include reading and instructional materials in both print and digital
formats that represent multiple perspectives and varying points of view?
A: I often push-in with the teacher using their Google classroom. I do demonstrations on digital
and e resources. Students seem to prefer print materials versus digital materials although they
love to be on their digital devices.