Meeting 21 st Century Goals By Reimagining School Library Programs

1. Meeting 21st Century Goals By Reimagining School Library Programs Mark Ray Vancouver Public Schools Vancouver, Washington

2. Expectations • This is about success-in-progress, not software. • I don’t suffer poor presentations gladly. • I will use good instructional practices. • Don’t expect me to say what you might think I’m going to say

3. Learning targets • Understand Vancouver Public Schools and the educational landscape vis à vis 21st century learning, teacher librarians and strategic planning. • Rethink how library information and technology programs and teacher librarians can support 21st century learning initiatives.

4. Learning targets • See how systemic thinking and investments can support these initiatives. • Leave with four steps to leverage libraries and teacher librarians to meet 21st century needs.

5. Formative assessment • Get out your cell phones. • In my presentation, you can leave them on “vibrate.” • Prepare to text. • You may have to switch from T9 to 123.

6. What is your current perception of school libraries? • Polleverywhere.com • Text to the following number: 22333 • Essential. I can't imagine a school without them. Text the number 127164 • Ephemeral. I'm not sure how they fit into a 21st century school. Text the number 127165 • Erstwhile. I don't think they realize it's almost 2011. Text the number 127166 • Expendable. I can't afford them. 127167

7. Understanding the situationWho am I? • Teacher librarian • Skyview HS et. al. • Technology facilitator • Vancouver Public Schools • Rabble rouser • Blog: Librarian Provocateur • Project LIT founding member • Plays well with administrators • Collaborations with HR, curriculum, IT, planning, facility design and higher education

8. Understanding the situationWho is VPS? • We are not Vancouver, CA • 21,000 students • 33 schools • 21/6/4/2 • Increasing diversity and poverty • Concurrent years of significant budget shortfalls

9. Understanding the situationWhat keeps us up at night • Bearish budgetary outlook at all levels. • Continued pressure from national/state benchmarks. • Growing private and public online and alternative competition.

10. Understanding the situationWhat keeps us up at night • Evolving core and extended state standards. • Dynamic 21st century learning goals. • Sneaking suspicion that we are not getting the job done.

11. “The technology that enables connected teaching is available now, but not all the conditions necessary to leverage it are.” “[Students’] vision is much broader than the individual technology components often described in local education technology plans and more focused on transformational changes in the learning process.” “Can classroom teachers alone, stressed by assessment testing and ever-growing paperwork burdens, help students figure this all out?” Understanding the situationStuck between AYP and 21C

12. Understanding the situationGuiding questions • How do we make 21st century learning happen with decreased funding, staffing and ability/willingness of educators to do more with less?

13. Understanding the situationGuiding questions • How do we begin to respond to the needs of millennial learners for interactive, collaborative and dynamic learning environments?

14. Rethink school librariesLooking past the ‘L’ word • Library, information and technology skills (LIT) are explicit in three guiding educational documents: • International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE) Educational Technology Standards. Three standards are contained in a LIT program. • Partnership for 21st Century Learning Skills. One of the three skill domains focuses on “Information, Media and Technology Skills.” • Washington Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI) Educational Technology Learning Standards. Four of seven components align with LIT programs.

15. Rethink school librariesWhy not libraries? • Program expressly designed to support curriculum and instruction in the schools. • Professional tasked with collaboration and integration with students and teachers. • Place designed to offer access to materials to support literacy, research and educational technology.

16. See systemicallyWhat’s the catch? • Establish strategic partnerships between teacher librarians and district services and administration. • Expand vision of the role of the teacher librarian and the school library. • Streamline resource and library operations. • Bridge the analog gap

17. Story time • Four chapters (to date) • In rough chronological order • Success-in-progress • Please ask questions for clarification

18. See systemicallyBuild strategic partnerships • Goal: Connect library, information and technology programs with one or more key departments. • IT, curriculum and instruction and/or literacy. • Where we started: Programs operating independently of one another; lack of trust and communication.

19. See systemicallyBuild strategic partnerships • Chapter title: The Librarian Who Came In From the Cold • Key administrator: Linda Turner, CIO • Key idea: Bringing stakeholders together • Key focus: Build capacity and trust • Key word: Collaboration

20. See systemicallyBuild strategic partnerships • Where we are: K-12 Destiny/Cognite implementation • Where to go next: Bring teacher librarians to the table. • Identify leaders to work with key district personnel and co-lead initiatives.

21. See systemicallyExpand vision of library • Goal: Enrich and empower teacher librarians to be stronger educational leaders for students and teachers. • Where we started: Isolated successes; lack of 21st century focus.

22. See systemicallyExpand vision of library • Chapter title: Who Ya Gonna Call? • Key administrator: Lisa Greseth, Director of Instructional Technology • Key idea: Different thinking to meet different needs • Key focus: Expanding the teacher librarian role • Key word: LIT (technically, that’s an acronym)

23. See systemicallyExpand vision of library • Where we are: Teacher librarian as technology facilitator; teacher librarian technology training. • Where to go next: Continue engagement of teacher librarians through visioning, planning, training and/or implementation.

24. See systemicallyMake libraries work better • Goal: Modernize operations to improve services, save money and allow teacher librarians to teach and lead. • Where we started: 34 different servers, no sense of textbook inventory, lack of policy and procedure,

25. See systemicallyMake libraries work better • Chapter title: Putting The ‘Teacher’ Back in Teacher Librarian • Key administrator: Layne Curtis, Director of Curriculum and Instruction • Key idea: Owning innovation and professional development • Key focus: Creating educational leaders • Key word: teacher librarian

26. See systemicallyMake libraries work better • Where we are: Unified K-12 resource management; task force developing standard operating procedures; librarians talking about teaching • Where to go next: Review materials management policies and workflow; enhance teacher role of librarians

27. See systemicallyBridge the analog gap • Goal: Leverage millions of dollars invested in ‘analog’ resources like books, text materials and teachers. • Where we started: Computers and a network but no sense of purpose..

28. See systemicallyBridge the analog gap • Chapter title: To Boldly Go Where No Library Has Gone Before • Key administrator: Steve Bratt, Director of Network Services, et. al. • Key idea: Converge resources to support 21st century learners • Key focus: Change the way that patrons work with ideas and information • Key words: web-enhanced classroom

29. See systemicallyBridge the analog gap • Where we are: Flexible Learning Environments and Cognite Technology Pilots. • Where to go next: Assess how to better use educational resources and educators to meet 21st century goals.

30. Leave with solutionsWhere do I go next? • Build strategic partnerships between teacher librarians and district services and administration. • Expand vision of the role of teacher librarians and the school library.

31. Leave with solutionsWhere do I go next? • Modernize resource and library operations. • Bridge the analog gap.

32. What one word would you use to describe school libraries or teacher librarians? • Polleverywhere.com • Text to the following number: 22333 • First enter the number: 92691 • Then enter a word • Then send

33. Leaving with solutions Key resources • Polleverywhere.com • Prezi.com • Follettsoftware.com • Google “librarian-provocateur” • Not to be confused with “Agent Provocateur” • Article links, etc. are listed under “NSBA” • mark.ray@vansd.org