School Library System
Week of March 11-16, 2019
Member Plan - Due April 5, 2019
An email was sent to the listserv on February 22nd, but I wanted to include the information here too. Attached below is the 2018-2019 Member Plan that we are asking all schools to complete by Friday April 5, 2019. This is a New York State Education Department Requirement. The plan is based on the School Library Media Program Evaluation (SLMPE) Rubric found on the New York State Department of Education’s website at http://www.nysed.gov/school-library-services/nysed-school-library-media-program-evaluation-rubric. The SLMPE Rubric is a tool meant to help you identify the strengths and areas for improvement for the library program in your school, and to set goals for the future. This is not an evaluation of the librarian and should be seen instead as an opportunity to have a conversation about how to improve the library program in the school.
Instructions:
- Read through the rubric, placing an x in the box where the school library media program most closely fits.
- Write specific examples from your program in the yellow evidence box to support your placement of the x above.
- Meet with your administrator to have a conversation about the strengths and areas of improvement for the library program. It is a good idea to give a copy of the rubric to your administrator well ahead of your scheduled meeting so that they can complete the rubric as well. This makes for a much richer conversation about the program overall.
- Develop two to three goals for the year that you can work on to improve the library program. Feel free to use the attached action plan to guide this portion of the process. If you have a certain area in mind that you want to work on be sure to have ideas for a solution when you speak with your administrator.
- Once you have met with your administrator, and all administrators have signed the member plan, please scan the entire document and email it to Kerrie (kerrie.burch@questar.org). Please indicate the school name in the file name when emailing it (i.e. memberplan2018-2019schoolname.doc). It is okay if you need to send the signed sheet and the rubric as separate documents within the same email. Do not send paper copies of the rubric and/or signed first page.
Setting goals for the future is an important part of this reflective process. An action plan template has been included so you can use it to prioritize and create a few goals for the library program at your school. There is no need to return the action plan, but if you would like to discuss it please let me know. It also allows you to discuss any obstacles to achieving the goals you set forth and allow for a conversation around removing those obstacles.
There are several questions on the last page of the document. These questions are based on requests for information that we have received from administrators. No specific school or district names are ever shared. In fact, we remove that information when we complete our own analysis of the data. Any information that we share outside of the School Library System is used to advocate for you and your library program and is free of any identifiable information. We want you to feel secure knowing that all answers are completely confidential.
The School Library System staff uses the information you provide to gain an understanding of the school library programs across our region. This information allows us to develop programs and initiatives to help you – bringing in speakers, planning professional development, and advocating at the state level through the New York Library Association. No individual data is ever shared with the State Education Department or any other organization.
The member plan and action plan documents have been attached in Microsoft Word. This will allow you to save the plan to your computer, fill in the information, and then email it back with the scanned first page. Please use the member plan as an opportunity to have a conversation with your administrators. Let me know if you have any questions or would like to go through the rubric together.
**The rubric and action plan are attached below so you can download them to your computer**
Scholastic Digital Products - Please ask for a trial if you would like to explore
LGBTQ BEST PRACTICES MARCH 20TH
This interactive and comprehensive training assists K-12 staff & administrators in enhancing educational experiences for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer-identified, and questioning (LGBTQ) students. The training addresses concepts of sexual orientation and gender identity, common terms and definitions, and the unique experiences of LGBTQ students.Participants will explore common challenges encountered by LGBTQ youth in and outside of educational environments, particularly those of transgender students. Attendees will learn promising practices for meeting the needs of LGBTQ students and their families, including practical communication tools, policies, relevant materials & curriculum, and more.
Date: 3/20/19
Time: 8:30 am to 3:00 pm
Location: Questar Central Office
Sign Up: https://www.mylearningplan.com/WebReg/ActivityProfile.asp?D=15197&I=2887095
COMMUNICATION COORDINATOR MEETING - MARCH 26TH
Last day to sign up is March 21st by the end of the day.
It is very important that AT LEAST ONE librarian from each district attend this meeting on March 26th. We will be training everyone on our new database ordering system. PLEASE BRING YOUR ORDERS WITH YOU.
This is a joint Council and Communication Coordinator meeting. We will be learning about the new database ordering system and hearing from Britt Buckenroth, Rebecca Ekstrom, Michelle Furlong, and Nancy Pine about what they are doing in their schools.
Date: March 26,2019
Time: 8:30 - 3:00 pm
Location: Questar III
Sign Up: https://www.mylearningplan.com/WebReg/ActivityProfile.asp?D=15197&I=2825094
AASL Standards Day 3/4 Combined - LAST CHANCE - April 11th
Open to anyone who has not yet attended Day 3/4 of the second round of AASL training. Day 3 and 4 are being combined into one day, instead of two days. We will focus on aligning with content areas, assessment, and more!
Date: April 11, 2019 Time:8:30 am to 3:00 pm Location: WSWHE BOCES, 27 Gick Road, Saratoga Springs, NY Sign up with My Learning Plan: https://www.mylearningplan.com/WebReg/ActivityProfile.asp?D=18589&I=3046563
High School to College: Supporting Student Success Conference
Event Description:
Join us for this full-day conference where you’ll have the opportunity to learn from your colleagues as we talk about ways to help our students successfully transition from high school to college. This conference will feature breakouts, panels, and poster sessions, with plenty of time for one-on-one conversations and making connections with educators from around the region.
Event Details:
· May 22, 2019, 8:30-3:30
· SUNY Brockport, Liberal Arts and Science Building
· Free to attend
· To register: https://www.mylearningplan.com/WebReg/ActivityProfile.asp?I=3044354&D=18636 (if your organization/district is not listed please select other/not on the list)
Additional Items:
· Attached is a flyer promoting this event. Please share with anyone you think would be interested in attending.
· The website for this event is: https://libguides.monroe2boces.org/hs2college
· We are asking all participants to participate in the poster session. This is a chance to share the types of research or skills being taught at your school/institution (link is in the attached flyer)
· We are also looking for a few more breakout session proposals related to student success (link is in the attached flyer)
Employment Opportunities
Location:
The regional summer school will be held at the FDR HS in Hyde Park, NY
Dates:
Teacher orientation will take place on July 1st and 2nd
Classes will be held July 7 – August 15, 2019 on Monday – Thursday
Time:
7:45am – 12:30pm
To apply go to https://www.applitrack.com/dcboces/onlineapp/
Questar III School Library System
Jane Bentley, jane.bentley@questar.org
Kim Harris, kharris@questar.org