Written responses
Express what vision you hold for your library program and/or the relationship of the library with the school context (C-SIP).
Penn Elementary is part of the Iowa City Community School District (ICCSD). It is the oldest elementary school in North Liberty, Iowa, with over 500 students enrolled. North Liberty is a fast-growing, family-friendly community, with a wide range of socio-economic backgrounds represented. About 20% of the students at Penn Elementary are on a free or reduced lunch.
The quote by Neil Gaimon above helps capture my vision for the Penn Library. If libraries are the gates to the future, then we need to make sure that we are helping students develop skills, providing them with meaningful learning experiences, and helping them to take ownership for their learning in order to prepare them for the future.
To help meet this vision, the Penn Library supports student literacy, inquiry learning, and reading for fun. It is a place where students feel welcome and are able to do meaningful and productive work. Students enjoy being able to browse for books, work on small group projects, or find help to use library resources. It is a place where multiple activities may be happening at the same time. This might include a whole class receiving instruction, another class checking out books, individual students using library workstations, and a community volunteer meeting with a small group of students at the back table.
The Penn Library is a flexible space, with tables and chairs that can be moved easily to accommodate a visiting author or a reading promotion assembly. State-of-the-art equipment is available in the library large group space, including a multimedia projector, an interactive whiteboard, a document camera, speakers, and a microphone. The computer lab is connected to the library for use by library classes or other classes or individuals who want to use it. Laptop computers are available for use in the library or for checkout to a classroom. The library is also used beyond the school day for activities such as professional development, tutoring, book fairs, clubs, and family resource events.
Library staff are available to help students, teachers, staff, and community members who need help finding and using resources. We provide curriculum, math manipulatives, science resources, DVDs, big books, guided reading sets, and equipment for checkout to the classrooms. The library collection supports the school curriculum. We recommend and pull books as requested to support instruction in the classrooms.
Penn Elementary is part of the Iowa City Community School District (ICCSD). It is the oldest elementary school in North Liberty, Iowa, with over 500 students enrolled. North Liberty is a fast-growing, family-friendly community, with a wide range of socio-economic backgrounds represented. About 20% of the students at Penn Elementary are on a free or reduced lunch.
The quote by Neil Gaimon above helps capture my vision for the Penn Library. If libraries are the gates to the future, then we need to make sure that we are helping students develop skills, providing them with meaningful learning experiences, and helping them to take ownership for their learning in order to prepare them for the future.
To help meet this vision, the Penn Library supports student literacy, inquiry learning, and reading for fun. It is a place where students feel welcome and are able to do meaningful and productive work. Students enjoy being able to browse for books, work on small group projects, or find help to use library resources. It is a place where multiple activities may be happening at the same time. This might include a whole class receiving instruction, another class checking out books, individual students using library workstations, and a community volunteer meeting with a small group of students at the back table.
The Penn Library is a flexible space, with tables and chairs that can be moved easily to accommodate a visiting author or a reading promotion assembly. State-of-the-art equipment is available in the library large group space, including a multimedia projector, an interactive whiteboard, a document camera, speakers, and a microphone. The computer lab is connected to the library for use by library classes or other classes or individuals who want to use it. Laptop computers are available for use in the library or for checkout to a classroom. The library is also used beyond the school day for activities such as professional development, tutoring, book fairs, clubs, and family resource events.
Library staff are available to help students, teachers, staff, and community members who need help finding and using resources. We provide curriculum, math manipulatives, science resources, DVDs, big books, guided reading sets, and equipment for checkout to the classrooms. The library collection supports the school curriculum. We recommend and pull books as requested to support instruction in the classrooms.
List the four things that you are most proud of in the last 2 years.
1. Library renovation - With a grant from Lowe's and additional funding from the Penn PTO we were able to renovate the Penn Library. Most of the renovation took place during the school year, which could have been disruptive, but we managed to keep the library open and functional throughout the renovation. Grant and PTO funding were used to purchase new tables and chairs, bookshelves, and artwork for the walls, including hand-painted lettering by a local artist. The school district provided new wiring, painting, and new carpet. Volunteers helped with moving books.
As a result of the renovation we now have a beautiful, inviting, and functional space that is able to handle multiple activities at the same time. Throughout the school day we often have a class meeting in the large group space, another class checking out books, and a small group meeting with a parent volunteer during the same time. The computer stations are near the checkout desk but off to the side. This allows individual students to use the workstations even when a class is meeting in the library. The bookshelves are arranged in a more logical way so books are easier to find. We were able to mount the multimedia projector and interactive white board on the wall, helping to define the large group space. Students and staff use the library more frequently because it is so inviting. The reading area and a table and chairs set apart from the large group space lets students, staff, and parent volunteers know that they are welcome to use the library even while a class is meeting in the library.
1. Library renovation - With a grant from Lowe's and additional funding from the Penn PTO we were able to renovate the Penn Library. Most of the renovation took place during the school year, which could have been disruptive, but we managed to keep the library open and functional throughout the renovation. Grant and PTO funding were used to purchase new tables and chairs, bookshelves, and artwork for the walls, including hand-painted lettering by a local artist. The school district provided new wiring, painting, and new carpet. Volunteers helped with moving books.
As a result of the renovation we now have a beautiful, inviting, and functional space that is able to handle multiple activities at the same time. Throughout the school day we often have a class meeting in the large group space, another class checking out books, and a small group meeting with a parent volunteer during the same time. The computer stations are near the checkout desk but off to the side. This allows individual students to use the workstations even when a class is meeting in the library. The bookshelves are arranged in a more logical way so books are easier to find. We were able to mount the multimedia projector and interactive white board on the wall, helping to define the large group space. Students and staff use the library more frequently because it is so inviting. The reading area and a table and chairs set apart from the large group space lets students, staff, and parent volunteers know that they are welcome to use the library even while a class is meeting in the library.
Newly renovated Penn Elementary Library
2. Differentiating instruction - As in many schools, the student population at Penn Elementary has become increasingly diverse over the past few years. I have been learning how to differentiate instruction for my students to help meet their varied interests and needs. As a result I have added more visuals to provide more scaffolding for students. When there are many steps to a project, such as an inquiry project, I allow students to move through the steps to the project at their own pace. I try to offer students choices about their research topics and about how they want to share what they learn. As a result of student learning preference surveys, I now provide more opportunities for students to use their drawing skills and work with partners or in teams whenever possible.
3. Promoting literacy - In addition to my teaching role, I promote literacy by sponsoring books clubs, developing inviting book displays, creating bulletin boards, and increasing signage to help students find books on the bookshelves. I use a feature in our Destiny Library Catalog that enables students to search for a book with a "Visual Search" button. This helps younger to begin to search the library catalog before they are able to type and spell words accurately and provides extra support for struggling students. In addition to the annual Good Reader Program and an annual book fair, we host family literacy events in the library.
4. School-wide literature projects - I work collaboratively with a small group of teachers each year to develop a school-wide theme, choose common books to read aloud in the classrooms, and promote deeper learning across the curriculum. My role is to find books for teachers to read aloud to their classes and help develop a curriculum for using these books with another teacher. The curriculum includes information and discussion questions to send home to parents. For the MLK Day of Service I developed a list of books and videos for listening and viewing during the day. I also downloaded several videos in case teachers had difficulty with streaming videos. The feedback about the books that were read aloud to classes has been very positive. It has become something that teachers and students look forward to each year.
Explain how you demonstrate that what you are doing in the school library has had an effect on student learning.
One way I demonstrate the difference my work makes on student learning is when teachers are willing to collaborate with me on inquiry projects. Another is artifacts of student learning such as final projects. A third way is whether student reading scores are improving in our building, meaning that students are finding books they enjoy reading in addition to texts they read in the classroom, and that library skills are helping them improve their reading comprehension. A fourth way is to show that library use has increased, both in terms of library book checkouts and also in terms of use of the library. A final way is to check the assessments I use to write end of year reports on each student at Penn Elementary.
One way I demonstrate the difference my work makes on student learning is when teachers are willing to collaborate with me on inquiry projects. Another is artifacts of student learning such as final projects. A third way is whether student reading scores are improving in our building, meaning that students are finding books they enjoy reading in addition to texts they read in the classroom, and that library skills are helping them improve their reading comprehension. A fourth way is to show that library use has increased, both in terms of library book checkouts and also in terms of use of the library. A final way is to check the assessments I use to write end of year reports on each student at Penn Elementary.