Technology Program Administrator Report

Part A: Program Evaluation

Part B: Brag Sheet

Welch Elementary School Media Center

Lesley Walden

FRIT 7739

Dr. Elizabeth Downs

Fall 2020
 Part A: Program Evaluation

Executive Summary

The Welch Elementary School Media Center opened its doors in 2006. It is under the

direction of Jennifer Beard, a certified media specialist. The large, spacious center

consists of small group and flexible seating, desktop computers, fiction and nonfiction

books, and many resources. The media center serves 817 Pre-K through 5th grade

students and 98 staff members and is open from 7:30 - 3:30, with the exception of an

hour for lunch/planning. Students are welcome to enter the media center at any time

during open hours. Teachers may sign up on the media center google sheet to visit as

a class. Currently, Welch is 1:1 student chromebooks, which allows for many

opportunities for digital learning to take place. There is lots of room for growth within

the Welch Elementary Media Center, but plenty of resources to provide the opportunity

to do so.
Organizational Chart

Methods

Multiple methods of data collection were used when establishing this report. Data was
collected from an interview with the media specialist, teachers, and students (Appendix A), the

media center website (Appendix B), and observations (Appendix C).

Center Context and Goals

History

Welch Elementary School and its media center were established in 2006, the newest of

nineteen elementary schools in Coweta County, Georgia. The school is named after Mr.

Bobby Welch, a long time employee and former superintendent of the school system.

Stakeholders

Welch Elementary is currently home to 817 Pre-K through 5th grade students and 98 staff

members. Currently the largest school in the county, Welch has 1 principal, 3 assistant

principals, and 2 counselors. Stakeholders include students, parents, staff, support staff,

community members, and administration.

Media Center Personnel

The media specialist at Welch Elementary School is Jennifer Beard. Mrs. Beard has been the

media specialist at Welch since 2006, 14 years. Prior to being a media specialist, she was a

middle school classroom teacher. Despite the large size of the school, Mrs. Beard is the only

media center personnel. Her daily activities typically consist of check-in and check-out of

books by individual students and classes, troubleshooting Chromebook issues for students

and parents, inputting work orders for Chromebook repairs, maintaining the media center

facility. Every media center in the county, despite the size and number of students, receives a
budget of $2,500. Mrs. Beard conducts 2 Scholastic Book Fairs each year to supplement this

budget.

Mission and Beliefs of Coweta County Schools

Mission

Coweta Committed to Student Success

Vision

Successful Students Empowered for School and Life

Beliefs

● We believe, the Coweta County School System in partnership with the family and

community, we must focus on providing rigorous, engaging, and relevant work for a

diverse student population.

● We believe, as leaders of learners, we must empower students to be active and

accountable participants in their learning.

● We believe we are responsible for the safety and success of each student.

● We believe, as a learning community, we must continuously improve.

Mission and Vision of Welch Elementary School

Mission

Coweta Committed to Student Success

Vision

We Empower Students

Coweta County School Technology Vision

The vision of the Coweta County School System is to empower students for success in school

and life. Classrooms that include interactive displays, student Chromebooks, and web based

learning can significantly enhance both the teaching and learning processes. Such equipment

will provide an environment for quality differentiated instruction. The effective use of

technology for the purpose of information acquisition, retrieval, manipulation, distribution,

storage, and the enhancement of student learning is an integral part of the vision of the

Technology Services Department.

System Vision Statements

● Provide a strong infrastructure to facilitate the use of the latest technology.

● Provide a cyber‐safe environment for students when using the Internet.

● Provide modern computers for staff and students.

● Provide interactive technology for classrooms which support curriculum standards.

● Provide software for staff and student development which enhance the current district

strategic plan.

● Provide management/analytical processes that support data driven decisions.

● Provide parents and students with real time information about their progress through

web and mobile connectivity.

● Promote integration of new technologies.

● Provide staff training to implement, fully utilize, and measure the effectiveness of

technologies.

● Support those areas of the district’s strategic plan that require the use of current

technologies in the classrooms or virtual environment.

There is no set mission, vision, or goals currently set for the Welch Media Center.
 Center Activities

The Welch Media Center is open daily from 7:30 - 3:30. There are very few activities that take

place in the media center. Each teacher is provided the opportunity to sign up for class book

check-in/check-out. Students may enter the library freely throughout the day, except during

the media specialist hourly lunch break and planning period. If requested, Mrs. Beard will

assist in a technology or media related lesson. The school, typically, purchases a reading

program called Accelerated Reader, but did not renew this membership due to a cut in budget.

A 40 Book Club was created as a replacement to offer an incentive for reading throughout the

school. The 40 Book Club was created digitally to meet the needs and participation of virtual

learners. There are desktop computers for staff and student use in the media center, a color

printer, book sets, media tools, and multiple resources for check-out. The school recently

purchased a new mobile Cleartouch Monitor to pilot within the media center. All activities are

conducted within the media center facility.

Evaluation

The results of interviews, observations, and site search led me to believe that the media center

at Welch Elementary School has many improvements to make. My interview with Mrs. Beard

led me to wonder whether she is overwhelmed or unmotivated. She expressed that one of her

greatest challenges is managing time between Chromebook repairs and maintaining the media

center facility with book check ins and outs. She expressed that there is a disconnect between

the county technology department and the media center. There is little to no technology being

integrated into the media center. When interviewing teachers, there was a common desire for

a more involved media center. All teachers mentioned that the media center was only used as

a check-in and check-out of books for students. Many were unsure what resources were even
available within the center. Similarly, students were unable to share any technology that was

taking place in the media center. Chromebooks were only taken to the media center for

repairs or troubleshooting. Students nor teachers were aware that there was a website for the

Welch Media Center. There is a desperate need for a 21st century learning facelift within the

Welch Elementary Media Center.

Recommendation

My first recommendation is to take the beginning steps to move towards a 21st century

learning media center. Each student at Welch is assigned a Chromebook. This is a wonderful

tool and opens up many wonderful opportunities within the media center. A great start would

be to have each student bring his/her Chromebook to the media center when coming as a

class. Each meeting could begin with a short lesson using an unfamiliar web 2.0 tool. Another

recommendation is to update the website and promote it to students, staff, and families. A

website is a wonderful tool to reach students and parents. A media center newsletter, whether

virtual or print, would be another tool to promote the media center and the resources it has to

offer.

Appendices

Appendix A

Media Specialist Interview Questions

What is the mission and goals of the media center?
What are your typical responsibilities?
What activities does the media center offer?
What is the budget of the media center? Do you supplement this budget?
Can you describe the hierarchy of the media center and technology department?
Who are the stakeholders of the media center?
What is your biggest challenge as a media specialist?

Teacher Interview Questions

How often do you visit the media center as a whole class?
What is typically the primary reason for visiting the media center as a class?
What resources are offered to you, as a teacher, within the media center?
What resources are offered to your students within the media center?
Do you feel the media center provides 21st century learning? Why or why not?
What changes would you like to see take place, pertaining to the media center?

Student Interview Questions

How often do you visit the media center?
Other than checking out or returning books, what do you do in the media center?
How often do you visit the media center website?
How often do you have lessons in the media center?
When you visit the media center as a class, what do you do?
What do you like best about the media center?

Appendix B

Welch Elementary School Media Center website

Appendix C

Welch Media Center Observation Checklist Y/N

1 Media center provides seating for small group collaboration. Y

Comments:
 Large tables and flexible seating throughout

2 Technology is readily available for staff and student use. Y

Comments:
Desktop computers are available

3 Media specialist is readily available for staff and student needs. Y

Comments:

4 Media center is organized and well maintained. Y

Comment:

5 Class lessons are conducted during visits. N

Comments:
Classes entered, students sat at large tables are were dismissed by table to
check out books

6 Technology utilized during lessons. N

Comments:
No technology was utilized during class visits

7 Students and staff receive troubleshooting tips for Chromebooks. Y

Comments:
As students entered with Chromebook concerns, troubleshooting questions
were answered as received.

References

(n.d.). Home - Coweta County School System. https://www.cowetaschools.org/

(2006). Home - Welch Elementary School. https://welch.cowetaschools.net/