Sauk Prairie School District

SUMMARY

The Sauk Prairie School District is a rural school district in South Central Wisconsin which enrolls approximately 2800+ students in  grades 4K-12.  Students within the school boundaries reside in Columbia, Dane and Sauk Counties.  The district consists of six buildings with two certified Library Media Specialists (LMS) and six Library Assistants (full-time, 1.0 FTE in each building).  

The certified Library Media Specialists serve buildings by grade level.   One LMS for the four Elementary buildings, grades 4K-5 and one LMS for the Middle School and High School.  The Libraries at the four elementary schools serve the student population on a fixed schedule, meaning all students visit the library on a weekly basis as a class.  The Libraries at the Middle School and High School are scheduled flexibly, a scheduling arrangement that allows for variation in library use.  At the MS level, ELA classes schedule routine library visits.   The American Association of School Librarians position statement recommends the practice of flexible library scheduling.  The flexibly scheduled library allows:

• open access to a quality school library is essential for learners to develop the vital skills necessary to analyze, evaluate, interpret, and communicate information and ideas in a variety of formats. 

• opportunity for school librarians to collaborate as full instructional partners who co-plan, co-teach, and co-assess with classroom educators 

• flexible, open, unrestricted, and equitable access” (AASL 2018, 56) to the school library and resources on an as-needed basis 

• 24/7 access to digital school library resources

It is one of several long-term goals to move to a flexible schedule at the elementary level and examine how we staff our libraries to meet student needs in order to achieve a collaborative library program in each of our schools.

The School Library is viewed by the district as the great equalizer, a provider of equitable technology, digital and print resources that individual classrooms often cannot provide students across the grade level.   Resources purchased with State of Wisconsin Common School Funds should be available widely, within the Library program, to any staff member and student that seeks access.   Library resource use invites an increase in the level of collaboration between the classroom teacher and Library Media Specialist, improving learning outcomes equitably for each and every student.

DISTRICT SCHOOL IMPROVEMENT GOALS:

Increase literacy and numeracy achievement for all students

Narrow achievement gaps for students based on race, ethnicity, gender identity, first language, income or IEP status.