1. Autumn Schaffer Georgia Southern University Fall 2009 FRIT 7132 Facilities & Policies Plan Please view the accompanying website created by Autumn Schaffer at: http://aschaffer-facilitiesplan.weebly.com/index.html

3. I. Description of Host School * Lamar County Primary is located in Barnesville, Georgia. * It has won the Bronze Award for Highest Percentage of Students Meeting and Exceeding Standards. * LCPS has also met their AYP goal for the past six consecutive years. * Lamar County Primary’s website can be located at: http://www.lamar.k12.ga.us/webpages/lcps/index.htm

4. I. LCPS Mission Statement To give students entrusted in our care a firm foundation filled with positive experiences on which they can build and become successful, lifelong learners.

5. I. LCPS Vision Statement We envision Lamar County Primary School as a school where every child is an enthusiastic , confident learner of basic knowledge who behaves responsibly and respectfully .

6. I. LCPS Belief Statements We believe that . . . * all children will be successful learners. * using data and developmentally appropriate activities will meet the needs of each individual student. * education is a partnership among school personnel, parents, students, and our community. * through setting and modeling high expectations, we will promote positive attitudes and a strong work ethic. * LCPS is a learning environment that is both motivational and enjoyable . To learn more about LCPS please visit: http://aschaffer-facilitiesplan.weebly.com/index.html

7. II. LCPS Media Center Floor Plan *LCPS’ current media center is located near the front of the building, along with the front office and cafeteria. *The media center currently functions on a fixed schedule where each kindergarten, 1 st grade, and 2 nd grade class visits the library as a whole group once a week. * In addition to this, however, 1 st and 2 nd grade students are allowed to visit the library two at a time during the times of 8:30- 2:30.

8. Lamar County Primary School’s Layout Front Parking Lot & Car Rider Area Bus Loading Area Gym Breezeway Breezeway Pre-K Playground K-2 nd Playground K-2 nd Playground Office Media Center Art Room Music Room Cafeteria Main/Front Doors Afterschool/ Intervention/Special Ed. Classrooms Kindergarten Classrooms Kindergarten Classrooms Pre-K Classrooms Counselor's Office 1 st Grade Classrooms 2 nd Grade Classrooms 1 st Grade Classrooms 2 nd Grade Classrooms Doors leading outside =

9. Host Primary School’s Media Center Layout Conference Room Reference Shelves Walk-in Storage Magazine Shelves Storage/Lamination Room Librarian’s Office Circulation Desk Book Return Book Shelf (chapter books arranged by series- ie: Junie B. Jones, Nancy Drew) Media Center Entrance Books on Tape Storage Tables Tables Tables Tables Rug Rug Rocking Chair Activeboard Student Computers Outside Exit E-book storage Classroom sets of books Book Shelves- Arranged by Author’s Last Name Big Book Storage Showcase Book Display

10. II. LCPS Media Center Images * The media center is located across from the front office. It is located on the left-hand side as one enters the front door of the school.

11. II. LCPS Media Images * Individuals enter the media center from this door. * One can also see the storage area for the books on tape.

12. II. LCPS Media Images * This is the emergency door that leads to the outside of the school building. * One can also see the librarian's office.

13. II. LCPS Media Images *There is plenty of whole group student seating, especially near the activboard. * Some of the tables, however, seem to block the aisles of the book stacks.

14. II. LCPS Media Images *While there is small group seating, it seems to also block the aisles of the stacks of books.

15. II. LCPS Media Images *There are not obstacles around the emergency exit. There is enough room for wheelchairs and adaptive devices to fit through the exit.

16. II. LCPS Media Images *This is the librarian’s office as well as the lamination/ storage room. This storage room is extremely small! Notice: We were unpacking new e-books!

17. II. LCPS Media Images *This is the circulation desk as well as another view of the lamination/ storage room.

18. II. LCPS Media Images *This is the circulation desk that is usually occupied by either the media specialist or the media clerk/ parapro.

19. II. LCPS Media Images *This is the reference section that is located near the front of the library. It is a decent size for such a young age group.

20. II. LCPS Media Images *This is the books on tape storage. *These are stacks for small chapter books. *This is the conference room.

21. II. LCPS Media Images *This is the activboard. *This is the conference room. *These are the student computers.

22. II. LCPS Media Images *This is the book return. *This is the big book storage. *This is the magazine storage.

23. III. Teacher & Student Survey * To gather information about students’ opinions of the current media center, the media specialist as well as the graduate student asked one student from every kindergarten, 1 st grade, and 2 nd grade class to complete a survey. A total of 29 students were interviewed. * To gather information about the teacher’s opinions of the current media center, a link to an online survey composed by the graduate student using PollDaddy.com was sent to the teachers via email. A total of 30 teachers responded to the survey. (Pre-kindergarten teachers were also allowed to participate in this survey seeing as they do use the media center to obtain resources for their classrooms.) *The teacher survey can be located at: http://surveys.polldaddy.com/s/C698BE454CAC408F/

24. III. Student Survey Questions 1. What do you like best about the media center? a. the books b. the activboard c. the media teachers 2. If you were able to, would you come to the media center more? a. Yes b. No c. Maybe 3. Would you like to use a computer lab in the media center? a. Yes b. No c. Maybe

25. III. Student Survey Questions 4. What is the best thing about the media center? _____________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________ 5. What does the media center need? _____________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________

26. III. Results of Student Survey 1. What do you like best about the media center? a. the books- 10 students b. the activboard- 14 students c. the media teachers- 5 students 2. If you were able to, would you come to the media center more? a. Yes- 21 students b. No- 2 students c. Maybe- 6 students 3. Would you like to use a computer lab in the media center? a. Yes- 24 students b. No- 3 students c. Maybe- 2 students

27. III. Results of Student Survey 4. What is the best thing about the media center? Common answers include: * the activboard *checking out new books *having story time *watching “movies” (ebooks) on the activboard *playing with the stuffed animals (actually they are display themes) *looking at the different types of books on the shelves *the book fair

28. III. Results of Student Survey 5. What does the media center need? Common answers include: *more computers *another activboard *more books (pop-up, Eye Spy) *bean bag chairs *toys to play with and read to

32. Elementary School’s Media Center Design Proposal Librarian’s office Computer Lab Small Group/ Intervention Area E-book storage Activeboard Tables Tables Entrance Exit Showcase of Event/Holiday Books Beanbag & Soft Chairs Author of the Month Display Circulation Desk Book Return Display for Resources for Teachers Student Computers Die cuts, Lamination, Poster-maker area Magazines References Classroom sets of books Books on tape Storage for extra teacher resources, guides, unit supplies, & textbooks Broadcast/ Morning Announcements Center Book Shelves (arranged by author’s last name) Specialized Intervention Table

33. IV. Revised Media Center Floor Plan * Instead of rearranging the current media center, a new floor plan for an elementary school was established based upon the responses of the students and teachers. *As suggested by teachers and supported by research(*), the new center is obstacle-free and allows for easy access for all students, even those with adaptive devices, to move freely in the media center. The students, even those in wheelchairs, are now able to fit through the stacks of shelves and use the computers with ease. Also, the students are able to join whole group, small group, or the reading area while still using their adaptive seating. (*) Wajahn, R. (2006). Everyone’s invited: Ways to make your library more welcoming to children with special needs. School Library Journal, 52 (2), 46-48.

34. IV. Revised Media Center Floor Plan * Since this media center is designed for slightly older students, the reference area was extended as well as moved to an area, near the student collaboration section, that would allow for easy access. * Based upon suggestions by teacher, a small group intervention area complete with round and rectangular tables is placed near one side of the library so that students can work together on projects without disturbing the rest of the media center. Seating may look similar to images provided by Bright Kids Quick & Promatech.

35. IV. Revised Media Center Floor Plan * Perhaps the most drastic change would be the remodeling of a conference room (which is no longer used) into a student computer lab. Conferences are now held in each grade-level’s resource room. Suggested by teachers and students, as well as supported by research (*) this computer lab would allow teachers to conduct interactive lessons without booking the entire media center. Also, the only other computer lab within the school is used for activity time. Teachers are not allow to schedule appointments in there. This computer lab is also in a separate room so that it will not disturb the other activities in the media center. (*) Brown, J. (2007). This is the door. Knowledge Quest, 35 (3), 20- 23.

36. IV. Revised Media Center Floor Plan * This computer lab must have at least 25 desktop computers. A printer as well as a projector or activboard would also be nice features to include within this computer lab. It should look similar to this image from P & J company.

37. IV. Revised Media Center Floor Plan * Based upon suggestions by teachers, students, and research (*), a comfortable seating area has been added to a corner of the media center. This area will be used for students to sit quietly and read during the day. A shelf with holiday/current event books is located nearby. Also, seating for those with physical impairments will also be included in this area. These devices will be adequately used, especially in the self contained special education classroom that educates three students who use wheelchairs. These adaptive devices will be stored in the large storage room located in the back of the media center when they are not being used. This will allow those with disabilities to also enjoy the small group, whole group, and reading centers. (*) Wajahn, R. (2006). Everyone’s invited: Ways to make your library more welcoming to children with special needs. School Library Journal, 52 (2), 46-48.

38. IV. Revised Media Center Floor Plan *Comfortable seating provided by Promatech. *Adaptive device provided by Rifton.com.

39. IV. Revised Media Center Floor Plan *Adaptive device provided by Rifton.com.

40. IV. Revised Media Center Floor Plan * Based upon the suggestions of students and teachers, several other student computers were added in the media center. These can be used for remediation, interventions, activities/games, as well as using an online card catalog system to look up books in the library. The circulation desk is placed so that the specialist/clerk can monitor the students at the computer, looking through the shelves, using the small group area, or in the reading area. *Student computers may look similar to these provided by Gressco Ltd.

41. IV. Revised Media Center Floor Plan * Based on research (*), a specialized intervention table has been established for students who need small intervention practices with minimal distractions. * Based upon suggestions by teachers, an author display area has been set up so that those who enter the media center will see it. This display may vary from books, resources, or even teacher/student made productions focused on a key topic, person, genre, or subject. *This display area may look similar to these provided by Gaylord Furnishings . (*) Guild, S. (2008). LD accommodations in the school library. Knowledge Quest, 37 (1), 24-29.

42. IV. Revised Media Center Floor Plan * An area for die-cutting and lamination is provided within the media center. In the original plan this was located in a storage room and the media specialists were only allowed to use it. It would be more efficient, however, to have this area somewhere in which teachers could use it themselves. A poster-maker is also added to these resources. This allows teachers to design posters and print them out! * In the original plans the morning broadcast center is located in a small storage room beside the media center. For the new plan, however, a special room is allotted for the broadcast. This will allow for more room and flexibility. This is a typical poster-maker from Variquest.

44. V. Current Media Center Policies Provided by the Lamar County Board Governance System Accessibly of Media Centers Media Centers for the system shall be accessible to both individual students, groups and staff members throughout the instructional day each day of the school year based upon the instructional need of the students and teachers. If a student is enrolled in a state approved course offered by this school outside the regular instructional time, all school-owned print and non-print materials will be accessible. *The Lamar County Primary media center is open to students from 8:30 until 2:30, Monday through Friday. It is open to faculty from 8:00 until 3:30, Monday through Friday. It is also open to the faculty during the week of pre- and post-planning.

45. V. Current Media Center Policies Provided by the Lamar County Board Governance System Accessibly of Media Centers (continued) *While the policy does not explicitly state the schedule of the library, LCPS’ media center current functions of a fixed schedule. Each kindergarten, first grade, and second grade class visits the library once a week, during the hours of 8:30- 2:30, during a specifically allotted time. First and second grade students are allowed to visit the library two at a time to check out books during instructional hours. *A proposed alteration to this policy is to extend library hours as well as develop a flexible schedule so that classes are able to visit the library on a “needs basis”. (See “Proposed Policy Revision section.”

46. V. Current Media Center Policies Provided by the Lamar County Board Governance System Use of Media Resources for Approved Courses *Media resources may be used for any Georgia Board of Education approved courses offered outside the regular instructional time. *Lamar County Primary, at one time, used the media center conference room for weekly grade level meetings. Now, however, these are held in each grade level’s resource room on a designated hallway. Training of staff members for state assessments, such as DIBELS or GKIDS, takes place within the media center. This training may take several days and the library is not open to the public. Also, classes for PLU credits are occasionally offered after school, usually from 3:30 to 5:00.

47. V. Current Media Center Policies Provided by the Lamar County Board Governance System Media Center Staff * The number of professional staff and/or media center aides assigned to the media center shall be in compliance with standards set by the Georgia Board of Education and the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools. Valid certificates must be held by the professional staff. Licenses must be held by clerical aides. *Lamar County Primary current employees one full-time certified media specialist as well as one full-time paraprofessional media clerk. These two individuals are responsible for the inventory, shelving, basic up-keep, and expansion of the current library facility.

48. V. Current Media Center Policies Provided by the Lamar County Board Governance System Accountability of Media Equipment * Students and school personnel shall be accountable for textbooks, media, equipment and all other instructional materials purchased through public and school funds. Reimbursement shall be made through the procedures established by the school system. *To ensure that students are accountable for the resources that they borrow from the library, parents are required to sign a wavier stating that they will, to the best of their ability, pay for any lost media or books that their child has checked out from the library. One week after the media or book is due back to the library, a print notice is sent home by the media specialist stating the name, author, and price of the book.

49. V. Current Media Center Policies Provided by the Lamar County Board Governance System Discarding or “Weeding” of Inventory * Media materials classified for disposal shall be sent to county facilities to be destroyed. The disposal of media equipment shall be in accordance with the rules and regulations of the program under which the equipment was purchased. The school system’s form shall be completed for any media material or equipment items that are to be disposed. The form shall be maintained on filed in the media center for the required record retention period. The system’s criteria shall be followed in identifying media material to be disposed. *LCPS’ media specialist conducts inventory of the facility’s resources twice a year, during pre-planning and during post-planning. This is when the majority of the weeding or discarding of out-dated media occurs.

50. V. Current Media Center Policies Provided by the Lamar County Board Governance System Organization and Availability of Print and Non-Print Materials * All school-owned print and non-print materials shall be organized and made available through the media center. Other provisions may be made for basic textbooks, items purchased with categorical funds and items useful in one specific instructional content area. The Dewey Decimal system shall be used to organize and process media materials. All media materials other than student basal texts and consumable materials shall be organized and processed through the media center. Teacher editions of basal texts shall be processed through the media center. Supplementary sets of enrichment, non-basal texts shall be processed through the media center. Said texts shall not exceed 30 copies at any given time and shall be stored in the media center when not checked out to a teacher. All instructional equipment shall be processed through the media center.

51. V. Current Media Center Policies Provided by the Lamar County Board Governance System Organization and Availability of Print and Non-Print Materials (continued) *Lamar County Primary currently allows one book to be checked out by each student at a time. When the student returns the book, he/she is allowed to check out another book. The student must wait, however, 24 hours before returning and checking out another book. Teachers are allowed to check out 10 books at a time, but only 5 that are of the same “topic.” This is to ensure that some books on every topic are always available within the media center. Teachers, but not students, are allowed to check out traditional resource materials, such as encyclopedias or almanacs. Teachers are also allowed to check out ebooks and class sets of books. They are allowed to keep them a month at a time, but can renew and keep each set for a total of two months.

52. V. Current Media Center Policies Provided by the Lamar County Board Governance System Student Internet and Computer Usage within the Media Center *Student usage of computers or internet access must be directly monitored by an employee of the school system. Students/student’s parents must have signed an acceptable use policy. This policy must be on file within the school building. *Lamar County Primary requires that each student or student’s parents sign an acceptable use policy at the beginning of every school year. If the form is not signed then the student is not allowed to use a computer or have his/her picture taken and placed in any public area until the form is signed. *The student computers within the media center are strategically placed so that the media specialist or media clerk can observe the student at all times. If these individuals are unavailable, a teacher or a hired paraprofessional must supervise the student as he/she uses the computer.

54. V. Teacher Comments about Policies 2. Do you think food and drink, even coffee, should be allowed into the media center by teachers or students? a. Food or drink should not be allowed at all - 26 teachers b. It should be allowed by teachers but not students – 4 teachers c. Yes, food and drink should be allowed - 0 teachers _________________________________________________ 3. Do you think the media center should be closed (and used) during standardized testing? a. No- the media center should never be closed. -13 teachers b. Yes- it should be closed during testing. -2 teachers c. It should be closed during testing only if it is being actually used for the test. It should re-open to the public after the test is finished each day. – 15 teachers

55. V. Teacher Comments about Policies 4. Are you in favor of extending the media center's hours of operation to 8:00 to 3:30 for students and teachers? a. Yes - 19 students b. No- 11 students _________________________________________________ 5. Do you think classes should be allowed to visit the library for instructional purposes outside of their allotted "check out" time? a. Yes – 10 teachers b. No – 2 teachers c. Yes, but only if they have signed up in advance.- 18 teachers __________________________________________________ 6. Do you think students should be allowed to check out more than one book at a time? a. Yes- 24 teachers b. No- 6 teachers

56. V. Proposed Policy Revisions Based on Teacher Comments and Research from other Schools Accessibly of Media Centers (revision) *It is proposed that the media center’s hours be extended for student usage so that teachers and students can access the media center from 8:00 until 3:30. Since the media center is already opened for teachers, it is believed that students should also be able to take advantage of this extra time if their schedule allows. *It is also proposed that the media center’s facilities (such as the computer lab, whole group area, or small group area), be reserved by teachers for specific activities. The media specialist will also need to be consulted to determine if her efforts will need to be available during this time. Teachers will not be allowed to reserve sections of the library if it conflicts with another class’ regular time allotment. Teachers will have to supervise their students during this time and sign up at least one week in advance.

57. V. Proposed Policy Revisions Based on Teacher Comments and Research from other Schools Accessibly of Computer Lab *It is proposed that the new computer lab, developed in the attached room of what used to be a conference room, should be available to classes through out the regular school day. Teachers should accompany their students within the lab setting, unless it has been prior arranged that the media specialist or clerk will supervise the students. The students, under no circumstances, should utilize the computer lab setting without a supervising adult or without having a parent-signed acceptable use policy. Teachers will need to sign a documented journal of the time and date, as well as the number of the computer that each student used, in order to help the librarian keep track of the computer’s history. *Teachers, paraprofessionals, and other hired employees are permitted to use the computer lab for educational purposes, which includes checking school-based email. The computer lab will have blocking filters for non-educational websites. Hired employees will also need to document the date, time, and number of the computer that they used.

58. V. Proposed Policy Revisions Based on Teacher Comments and Research from other Schools Alternative Use of the Media Center *The media center is not a location to be used for “time out” or other behavioral punishment situations. Students are allowed to visit the media center for “study hall” if they have completed required class work. Teachers will need to submit, in writing or by email, an explanation of why the students are attending the media center as well as a date and time for the students to return. Students are also allowed to visit the media center if they are not allowed to participate in other classroom activities (due to religious, personal, or health issues.) *During this time students are allowed to utilize the “reading center” of the library, where they may read books or magazines. If the media specialist or clerk is able to supervise them, the students may use a computer within the media center. The student will also need to have a signed acceptable use policy on file within their permanent records if they are to use a computer.

59. V. Proposed Policy Revisions Based on Teacher Comments and Research from other Schools Community Use of the Media Center *It is proposed that the school media center be used for educational purposes only during the hours of 8:00 until 3:30, Monday through Friday. It is also proposed that only current students and hired employees use the media center and its accompanying computer lab. If an exception is made, however, the official in charge of the party, club, or group utilizing the media center will need to sign at waiver stating that he/she is responsible for any damages or lost materials during the time of the group’s usage of the media center. It is not recommended, however, that the computer lab be used by any party other than current students or hired employees of the school system.

60. V. Proposed Policy Revisions Based on Teacher Comments and Research from other Schools “ House Keeping” of the Media Center *No food or drink of any kind is allowed in the media center. *Every person is responsible for their own belongings while in the media center. *Each person should remove their own trash as well as leave the media center’s resources the way that they were found. *No loitering is allowed. Students should use the facility for educational purposes only. *Collaboration is encouraged, but noise level should be so that others in the media center are not distracted. *Media supplies and resources should be held with highest regard and should be replaced (or paid for) by any individual who does harm or destroys them. *Based upon regulations of Leeward Community College (http://emedia.leeward.hawaii.edu/emc/sites/default/files/Facilities_Policies_TVPro.pdf)

61. V. Proposed Policy Revisions Based on Teacher Comments and Research from other Schools Maintenance of Media Center Facility and Equipment *In order to ensure that the media center’s equipment is protected on and off campus, it is proposed that all teachers and hired employees sign an annual wavier stating that they are responsible for paying for any damage done to the equipment while it is checked out under their name. The media specialist is advised to not allow employees to use equipment unless it has been checked out to them. If the hired employee is not able to pay for the damages, a payment system will need to be arranged by the media specialist and approved by the principal and/or superintendent of the school system. Media center equipment, used on or off campus, should not be checked out to personnel not currently employed by the school or school system.

62. V. Proposed Policy Revisions Based on Teacher Comments and Research from other Schools Media Center Testing Procedures *Based upon teacher’s comments, it is suggested that the media center remain open to the public during standardized testing, unless the media center is actually used for testing students during that time. If so, however, the media center should be reopened to the public (teachers and students) after the time allotment of testing has been completed for the day. Other Resources contained within Media Center * Teachers are allowed to use other resources, including the die cuts, laminator, or poster maker during the functioning hours of the media center. They are required, however, to initial a “daily use” sheet to help the media specialists determine what materials are used the most and by whom.

63. V. Proposed Policy Revisions Based on Teacher Comments and Research from other Schools Request for Materials within the Media Center *Teachers should request, in writing (including email), specific materials housed within the library, including sets of books, specialized technology, ipods, or specialized textbooks at least 24 hours in advance before picking them up. (This allows time for the media specialist to locate and do a pre-inventory on them.) Video or Multi-media *Videos or other multi-media should be requested in writing 24 hours before they are to be picked up. These videos should be rewound and returned within two days after receiving them. *Policies based from Helena Elementary School: http://www.shelbyed.k12.al.us/schools/hes/faculty/cbell/policy.htm

64. V. Proposed Policy Revisions Based on Teacher Comments and Research from other Schools Students with Disabilities in the Media Center *Despite disability, students should be allowed to participate in the most normalized environment as possible. Adaptive devices and adult assistance should be used to aid students in manipulating the media center’s resources to the extent of their non-disabled peers. A book is like a garden carried in the pocket. ~ Chinese proverb ~ *Clipart provided by “Cute Colors” at: http:// www.cutecolors.com /