Library Plan

Personalized Professional Learning

What we are doing: 

Our library provides professional learning experiences for our district staff through: 

• Large group training on technology during teacher in service days

• Individual work with staff to promote the use of technology in the classroom to enhance student experiences and growth

• Providing professional learning materials for staff professional development through books, articles and video recordings

• Collaborate with administration and staff regularly to evaluate the training needs of students and staff

Our librarian continues learning professionally by:

• Attending CESA training and meetings to collaborate with area librarians to enhance library program and staff training

• Being active at the state level with WEMTA (Wisconsin Educational Media & Technology Association) and presenting at the conference to librarians from around the state of Wisconsin

• Attending virtual meetings with librarians from around the state of Wisconsin to collaborate on serving our district

GOAL: Our goal in Personalized Professional Learning is to update our professional libraries at both the elementary and the junior/senior high school. We encourage professional learning for our staff and want to provide up to date resources through current print resources that are easily available for them. We also want to provide more learning opportunities for our staff so they can use our digital resources to access professional articles and materials to continue their education. We hope to broaden our technical trainings to include access to these resources for staff professional use which will in return help students in their educational research. 

We will accomplish these goals by: 

• Providing current professional reading materials for staff in the library

• Sharing research databases so teachers can access up to date teaching practices

• Monthly training opportunities on educational resources

• Monthly newsletters for staff on educational resources

Robust Infrastructure

What we are doing: 

Our school is very lucky to have robust infrastructure through a  referendum in 2014

• One to one devices provide technology access for all K-12 students

• PreK students have access to devices in their classroom 

• Computers in the library and computer labs are available to ensure all students have access to a physical computer with printing capabilities

• Dark fiber was installed along with updated wiring and access points to support one to one devices

• Analytics are used to improve the stability of the infrastructure

• 24/7 monitoring with alerts sent directly to IT staff

• Content filtering for all devices on and off school grounds 

• 3 School owned access points in community locations that provide off site access to the school network

Budget & Resources

What we are doing: 

The library looks at many factors when curating resources for the library to ensure a diverse collection of both physical and digital resources. Teacher and student requests as well as curriculum needs drive our focus on much of our content. Quality resources are purchased with a view of the long range plan. Our library receives money through Common School Funds.  Last year our budget was around $60,000.  

Here is the breakdown for money spent:

• 45 %  of the budget is spent on books, DVDs and professional materials that can be checked out by students,  staff and community members

• 25%  is spent on technology to support library programming and build our maker space  and curriculum.

• 19%  is spent on databases to give students and staff 24/7 access to information whether at school or at home

• 5% of the budget is spent on library hosting and inventory software

• < 5 % of the budget is spent on realia to support library curriculum

GOAL: We are very lucky to have a very healthy budget due to the Board of Public Lands through Common School Funds. Our goal is to use our budget to continue to update outdated resources as well as find digital alternatives for students and staff. Our video library has items that staff use but the technology does not always work well for staff so it has been a priority to find video streaming services for both educational and entertainment uses.  

We are working on updating our non-fiction sections in both libraries as well as replacing worn out copies of loved books. This is a task that we work on everyday when time allows. We are looking at the average age of each section within non-fiction and working on updating those. Our overall collection age for the high school's 6,000+ books is 2007 but some areas are much older. We hope to have all areas in the upper 2000s by the end of our goal cycle. When looking at reports, we can also see which genres are most popular with our students so we can stay current on new releases. 

Our elementary school has 16,000+ physical books with an average age of 2008. Our nonfiction collection is more current than the high school collection. We will continue to work on weeding older items and labeling books in the nonfiction section so they are easily found by elementary students.

Community Partnerships

What we are doing: 

•  Our library actively promotes area public libraries and their programs 

• Our librarian is currently active on the Deer Park Public Library Board and IFLS Advisory Council of Librarians

• Our library promotes strong community partnerships through many activities in and out of the school building

• Our library works with local businesses to promote school events and connects with professionals to enhance student learning

• Our library assists the Clear Lake Area Community Center with grant writing to preserve the historic high school building that now serves our community needs

• Our library works with the Clear Lake Museum to share historical artifacts through a $5000 grant received from WiLS. Through this program:

  • • Students will plan and share items from the museum as well as write up information to help teach students and community members about the items being displayed

    • Displays will be changed throughout the school year to align with current curriculum in the classrooms

    • Items will be inventoried along with any special information about the item

    • Community members will be able to share their items in the displays if so desired

Collaborative Leadership

What we are doing: 

• Our librarian collaborates daily with teaching staff to promote library materials as well as co-teaching of lessons

• Collaboration allows the classroom teacher and the librarian to  use resources to benefit student learning 

• Our librarian sits on multiple committees to support the district and it's goals

• Our librarian assists the Parent Teacher Organization and helps to organize family events for the school district

• Our librarian works closely with Title I to ensure learning opportunities for all students as well as appropriate materials for students and teachers to enhance learning

Use of Space & Time

What we are doing: 

SPACE: Both our elementary and junior/senior high school libraries have great atmosphere with plenty of windows and natural light.   They are inviting and students are able to checkout when needed. Books are displayed on shelves at both libraries and placed in cubbies and baskets for easy access to books of interest at our elementary school. Our high school space is a large space that has ample room for materials and class work time.  Our libraries have tables to contribute to group discussion and sharing of materials as well as large interactive touch screens. Our libraries are supplied with manipulatives, puzzles and STEM activities for student exploration.  Both libraries are used by the school district for staff meetings and training as well as for community meetings and club activities. 

TIME: The full time librarian splits her time between the Elementary and Jr/Sr High School.  The librarian teaches weekly lessons at the elementary for students PK-6th grade and assists students at the Jr/Sr High with research and book recommendations.  We are fortunate to have part time library aides in both buildings. The library aides split their time with food service and the technology department. While in the library they are vital to cataloging, shelving and checking out materials to the students as well as researching materials and supervising students in the library.  The aides are always looking for ways to make the library more efficient and up to date. Genrefication of fiction books at the high school level has helped students find books that they are interested in. Reshelving and weeding books allows students to find books that are current and appealing to them. We use all available time to improve the library and how we serve our students and staff. 

Previous Goal : We are excited to share that the previous goal in this area was met with updating both libraries to meet the needs of students and staff. Our high school library was able to add personalize seating with the purchase of new traditional tables and chairs, installation of a high countertop area where students can sit on stools as well as new arm chairs. We were able to purchase two new arm chairs with a grant through Operation Round Up from Polk-Burnett.  

The elementary library expanded our picture book section into an old computer lab that is attached to the library. Creative thinking helped us move an old computer lab counter top from the elementary to the high school library and the book shelves from the high school to the new space in the elementary school. We are very pleased with the results in both areas.  Both students and staff have commented postively about the updated areas. Interactive screens were installed in both libraries for teaching lessons as well as staff development events.  

Our elementary library also converted a room into a makerspace for all elementary students and staff. With our common school funds we are able to supply the makerspace with up to date technology items as well as other STEM items. We enjoy seeing the projects that students create in this new space.

Curriculum, Instruction & Assessment

What we are doing: 

The library has a curriculum that teaches students library skills, digital citizenship, computer literacy, keyboarding, coding and STEM.  Students learn through hands on activities as well as tutorials from the librarian.  Lessons are focused on teaching students how to use technology for ethical research  and creation. Google classroom is vital to our school district and is utilized in library lessons to share resources, receive content and teach students how to navigate the tool to increase productivity in the classroom. Students are also encouraged to find topics that interest them and work with the librarian for assistance. 

The library assists teaching staff in finding the best resources available for teaching their curriculum and extending lessons. We are in constant communication of curriculum changes and work alongside teaching staff to secure the most current resources to benefit student learning. 

Our library website is full of online resources that are available to students and staff 24/7. We feel that access for all is a top priority and we continue to curate a relevant collection of online materials to fit our needs. Students and staff are able to use online resources using their school or personal devices. Our assortment of online ebooks, audiobooks, videos and educational databases are available for students from PK- 12th grade and their families. Our teaching staff is involved in the discovery and selection of our resources and has input on what we should invest in. 

Resources are available on our library website here

  The final area that we would like to make sure we talk about is the learner centered part of the Future Ready Librarian Framework. The learner is the reason all of the other gears exist and the reason we put so much time and effort into everything that we do everyday. Without the learner, we would have no reason to teach.

We feel that this is the most important factor when planning our curriculum and resources. We know that literacy whether it is reading a book or information on the internet, is an important life skill that we hope our students know well. We choose reading materials that are of interest to our students. We choose databases that are student friendly and are easy to understand and operate. We purchase the most recent technology for our Makerspace so students can learn current content. We know that the future is ever changing so aiding our students with the best skills to adapt is important. 

We hope that through this library plan you can see how our library is working to engage students in and out of school.