Welcome to LIB5080 The School Library Media Program

LIB 5080 The School Library Media Program Agenda Updates Revisit Program Planning & Evaluation Education Policy & the School Library Media Specialist Course evaluation

Updates Questions, issues, problems?

Program Planning & Evaluation –For which strategy and/or objective did you feel it was relatively easy to create evaluation question(s), determine data sources, etc? –For which strategy and/or objective did you feel it was very difficult to create evaluation question(s), determine data sources, etc? What did you do to get over this difficulty?

Education Policy and the School Library Media Specialist

Think about …. Jot your thoughts on a piece of paper What is policy? What policy issues have arisen from your action project? How do you as teachers or media specialists influence policy?

What is Policy ? Educational policy consists of laws (both judicial and legislative), regulations, and procedures that govern the educational services provided locally, by the state, and nationally. Policy becomes confounded with politics, because in our society there is no shared view of the role of schools and the nature and content of schooling.

A History of Federal Policy Regarding School Libraries National Defense Education Act (NDEA), provided funding for materials and equipment to support science, math and foreign language instruction Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA). Title II provided direct federal assistance for the acquisition of school library resources and other materials.

Federal policy continued Under ESEA Title II, states had to submit a plan to the US Office of Education demonstrating how the funding would be used, and that library standards had been developed or revised to ensure quality programs. Under Title II school district and school media staff gained new responsibilities and were expected to serve in leadership roles in selecting acquiring, organizing and using instructional materials.

Federal policy continued Education Consolidation and Improvement Act (ECIA), consolidated 32 categorical programs into a “block” of funds that could be used for any purpose. Funding could go to school library resources, but that was a local decision ESEA reauthorized. Law included the Reed-Cochran bill which included funding for new books and advanced technology for school libraries.

Standard-Setting as Policy Standards are usually developed from professional associations and are not mandatory School Libraries for Today and Tomorrow. ALA Standards for School Library Programs. AASL Standards for School Media Programs. AASL and DAVI Media Programs: District and School. AASL and AECT 1988, Information Power: Guidelines for School Library Media Programs. AASL and AECT. 2007, AASL Standards for the 21 st Century Learner

The Policy Circle: NCLB NCLB (reauthorization of ESEA) passed in Established a deadline for states to meet standards in the following areas: –Teacher quality –Student achievement Students must pass state tests Subgroups received additional funding and required to meet same standards –Focus on key academic areas Use research-based curricula and interventions

The Policy Circle: NCLB con’t. Prepare state tests that can be used to show student growth. State plans must be approved by ED in order to receive NCLB funds. States then set in place requirements that school districts and schools were required to implement. Likewise, states require school districts to submit their implementation plans for approval.

The Policy Circle - completed School districts and schools complied with federal and state directives by passing new laws or revising their policies: –Smaller classes –Competitive hiring practices –Salary bonuses –Others:

The Policy Circle The results are in and they are mixed. States, districts and schools are not meeting goals for staffing and for student achievement. Other positives Other negatives Now Congress is reauthorizing NCLB, probably will be completed next year (2009). Where is the school media center in this reauthorization?

Policy Activity Various advocacy groups have points of view about the changes to be made to NCLB as it is reauthorized. Select one of these groups (or another of your choice) and find out their suggestions. See if they have provisions for school media centers. - ALA- AASL - NEA- AFT - NSBA- Education Trust

A Policy Role for the SLMS Use School Libraries Work! Find supporting evidence for the following policy issues: –Flexible scheduling –Technology integration –Application of curriculum standards –Role of a qualified media specialist –Importance of serving on decision- making, policy-making teams Provide an example of how could you use this evidence.

Course Evaluation What worked? –Why? What, if anything, would you change? –Why?