Classroom-Library Collaboration for Instruction

Chapter 9 Collaboration by Judi Moreillon

“Collaborating educators believe that their instructional practices develop at a much greater rate with more assured improvements when they collaborate” (Moreillon 2021, 144)(Moreillon 2021, 144)

Way back in the 1990s during the National Library Power Project, I participated in a course for Library Power librarians offered by Ken Haycock. A question he asked at that time has been a reoccurring theme in his writing. When asked whom they serve, “most [school librarians] would answer students, yet the primary clientele in terms of power, impact, and effect would be teachers” (Haycock 2017, 3). This understanding of the importance of collaboration with colleagues is, in my view, the foundation for school librarian leadership.

Learning During Preservice Education
As those of us who have served in school libraries know, many classroom teachers and administrators lack an expectation or an experience of classroom-library collaboration for instruction. Preservice preparation programs for educators/administrators are jammed with state-level requirements and do not, as a rule, include information or an experience of collaborative work with school librarians.

When I taught at Texas Woman’s University (TWU), two doctoral students Ruth Nicole Hall and Becky McKee and I organized and provided annual workshops for preservice classroom teachers about how they could work collaboratively with their school librarian for the benefit of their students and to benefit their own teaching (see the “What Every Preservice Teacher Candidate Should Know about Working with the School Librarian” Slideshare on my presentation wiki).

During those years, preservice principal educator Teresa Starrett invited me to present to her curriculum and supervision classes. Our work included a grant-funded crowdsourced video of testimonials from principals and other administrators from across the country: “Principals Know: School Librarians Are the Heart of the School.”

It would have been ideal if these future colleagues had direct experience of working with school librarian candidates during their preservice education. (This was not possible for our online library science graduate students and in-person classroom teacher and administrator colleagues at TWU.) If direct experience is not possible, currently practicing school librarian educators can help provide information and examples/scenarios for preservice administrators and classroom educators as we did throughout my seven-year tenure.

Instructional Partnerships in Practice
In Chapter 8 Advocacy, Kristin and TuesD note the importance of reaching out to classroom teachers for collaborative work. They wrote: “Messages should help classroom teachers visualize working with the school librarian by providing actual examples of the past and potential partnerships that could be possible” (Sierra and Chambers 128).

The vignettes in Chapter 9: Collaboration offered by elementary school librarian Matt King and middle school English language arts teacher Jenni Kramer and librarian Kat Berg provide examples of collaborative work and testimonials to the power of classroom-library collaboration for instruction – and for job-embedded professional development.

Initiating and Promoting Partnerships
There are times when collaborative partnerships form spontaneously and organically in the context of schooling. However, it is my experience that it often takes one person – usually the librarian – to initiate partnerships.

Providing examples of successful partnerships, especially in terms of student learning outcomes and educator development on the part of classroom teachers and the librarian, are ideal ways to get to “yes!” That is true even if the examples are from the librarian’s work in a different school or district, or with educators at another instructional level. Examples provide school librarians with credibility.

Each of my coteaching reading comprehension professional books includes twenty-one examples of teaching reading to learn in collaboration with elementary and secondary colleagues in every discipline. In addition, I published/copublished two on the National Council of Teachers of Reading ReadWriteThink.org to spotlight for site users, classroom teacher colleagues, preservice school librarians, and school administrators how classroom teachers and school librarians can elevate student learning through coplanning, coteaching, and coassessing student outcomes and the effectiveness of their instruction.

As the second librarian at Sabino High School, I collaborated with the ceramics teacher to co-design and coteach “Behind the Masks: Exploring Culture and Self through Art and Poetry.” Students researched mask-making from various cultures, recreated cultural masks, and composed poetry to share their understandings. Then, they created personal masks and poems to reflect their own cultures. The classroom teacher learned to use rubrics for assessment.

When I served as the literacy coach at Van Buskirk Elementary, I collaborated with classroom teachers, the school librarian, and art teacher to co-design and co-teach “Peace Poems and Picasso Doves: Literature, Art, Technology, and Poetry.” Third- through fifth-grade students applied reading strategies to comprehend literature, created artwork and poetry, and used technology tools to publish their work. Classroom teachers learned new ways to integrate technology into the literacy curriculum.

Classroom Teachers as Advocates
When school librarians help others meet their needs, those library stakeholders will become our advocates. Helping classroom educators and administrators succeed is at the center of the work of school librarians. AND it is important that school librarians turn support for the librarian and library program into actionable advocacy.

Reflection Question
“With whom in your school do you share your vision for building a collaborative culture of learning?” (Moreillon 157).

Note: If you are a School Library Connection subscriber, you can assess the entire Chapter 9 Collaboration as part of the Core Values in School Librarianship: Responding with Commitment and Courage Book Study Kit.

Works Cited
Haycock, Ken. 2017. “Leadership from the Middle: Building Influence for Change.” In The Many Faces of School Librarian Leadership, 2nd ed., ed. S. Coatney and V. H. Harada, 1-12. Santa Barbara, CA: Libraries Unlimited.

Moreillon, Judi. 2004. Peace Poems and Picasso Doves: Literature, Art, Technology, and Poetry. ReadWriteThink.org. Available from http://www.readwritethink.org/classrcoom-resources/lesson-plans/peace-poems-picasso-doves-93.html. Accessed December 19, 2021.

Moreillon, Judi. 2021. “Collaboration.” In Core Values in School Librarianship: Responding with Commitment and Courage, ed. Judi Moreillon, 139-158. Santa Barbara, CA: Libraries Unlimited.

Moreillon, Judi, and Diane Roderick. 2003. Behind the Masks: Exploring Culture and Self through Art and Poetry. ReadWriteThink.org. Available from http://www.readwritethink.org/classroom-resources/lesson-plans/behind-masks-exploring-culture-395.html. Accessed December 19, 2021.

Sierra, Kristin Fraga, and TuesD Chambers. 2021. “Advocacy.” In Core Values in School Librarianship: Responding with Commitment and Courage, ed. Judi Moreillon, 123-138. Santa Barbara, CA: Libraries Unlimited.

Who Do You Trust?

Chapter 7 Leadership by Pam Harland and Anita Cellucci
Blog post by Pam Harland and Anita Cellucci

When reflecting on the ideas we shared in our Core Values in School Librarianship chapter on how confidence and vulnerability lead to leadership, we thought about how trust is another important aspect of leadership. We were recently struck by Charles Feltman’s definition of trust, “choosing to risk making something you value vulnerable to another person’s actions” (2021). We thought about how important it is for leaders to be intentional about building trust in themselves and with others. This idea connects to the ideas of confidence and vulnerability we wrote about in our chapter.

Building Trust with Adults in the Learning Community
We felt that the easiest way to start thinking about the idea of trust is to ask ourselves: What makes people not trust a leader? Our initial thoughts are:

  • If their words and actions are inconsistent.
  • If they lack understanding of our shared functional goals.
  • If they deflect blame, especially at the expense of their direct reports.
  • If they are too uncomfortable with uncertainty (they are not willing to take a risk).
  • If they are unable to manage risk appropriately (either by taking too many risks or not enough).
  • If they are unable to manage emotions (either too robotic or explosive).
  • What else would you add to this list? [Leave your thoughts in the comments below.]

In order to avoid distrust and move towards trust, we must behave in ways that demonstrate our trustworthiness. We cannot control how other people think about us, but we can control our own actions and behaviors. For example, we can intentionally:

  • Always tell the truth and not over-commit ourselves or our resources.
  • Seek to understand school-wide goals and how our library goals align.
  • Publicly accept blame when we make a mistake and be transparent with our decisions.
  • Accept uncertainty in our practice. Understand that sometimes we will need to take risks in new situations in order to improve our library programs.
  • While we need to take risks, we must be cautious before taking too great a risk. We will communicate clearly about any risks, especially those risks that impact others.
  • Be willing to share emotions with the school community, but in a controlled way.
  • What other ways can we intentionally avoid distrust in our practice? [Please share your ideas in the comments below.]

Photo Credit: Glenn, Kyle. 2017. Awesome Stencil. Unsplash. Available at https://unsplash.com/photos/gcw_WWu_uBQ. Accessed November 17, 2021.

When we look for trust in our leaders, we are primarily looking for reliability and competence. Additionally, our leaders need to be able to trust the people who work with them. So, while we hope for a reliable and competent school administrator, we also need to be reliable and competent in our own practice. That means we are true to our word and able to perform all aspects of our own jobs. We do not overcommit or promise to do something that we are not willing or able to do. We are also willing to confidently take responsibility for all aspects of our roles as school librarian leaders.

“Leadership is about developing trust and having the tough conversations that strengthen the community of learners.” Pam Harland and Anita Cellucci(Harland and Cellucci 2021, 112)

Building Trust with Students
It is also vital that we act in ways that build trust with our students. “Students are much more likely to engage in discussion and try new things if they trust the librarian to look out for them” (Rinio 2018, 47). Intentionally building trusting relationships with students is another way to demonstrate true leadership in practice. Be true to your word, especially with your most vulnerable students, and you will gain great rewards.

Another way we build trust with students is to amplify their voices in situations where they have little or no power. Iris Eichenlaub, Librarian/Technology Integrator at Camden Hills Regional High School in Camden, Maine described how she created a student-centered library by listening to her students. She wrote that when freshmen first come into the library for orientation in the fall, she begins by saying, “Some of the best parts of this library are because of your great ideas, so please share them” (Eichenlaub 2018). She went on to write, “The library is a dynamic, living space, a space that the community co-constructs together, and a space that responds to the needs of the community” (Eichenlaub 2018). Because she listens to her students and is open to sharing new ideas, she has become the trusted person in her school who can influence ideas and people.

Creating a co-constructed space with students develops trust as students are made to feel comfortable sharing ideas and they have an understanding they have a voice in the decisions made about the library. By providing a platform for her students to share ideas, especially those individuals who do not necessarily possess the formal power to make and implement decisions, she has created a unique leadership opportunity for herself.

Having confidence in our practice and sharing vulnerability with our colleagues and students will help us build trust in all of our relationships. We titled this post by asking, “Who Do You Trust?” and we want to conclude it with: Be sure that the leader your school trusts is you.

Reflection Question
In what ways do you intentionally avoid feelings of mistrust in your school community? Please share in the comments section below.

Works Cited
Eichenlaub, Iris. 2018. “What’s A Student-Centered Library?” Knowledge Quest (blog). Available at https://knowledgequest.aasl.org/whats-a-student-centered-library/. Accessed November 17, 2021.

Feltman, Charles. 2021. Thin Book of Trust: An Essential Primer for Building Trust at Work. 2nd ed. Bend, OR: Thin Book Publishing.

Harland, Pam, and Anita Cellucci. 2021. “Leadership.” In Core Values in School Librarianship: Responding with Commitment and Courage, ed. Judi Moreillon, 107-122. Santa Barbara, CA: Libraries Unlimited.

Rinio, Deborah. 2018. “How Understanding the Nature of Trust Can Help Address the Standards.” Knowledge Quest 46 (3): 44–48.

Photo Credit: Glenn, Kyle. 2017. Awesome Stencil. Unsplash. Available at https://unsplash.com/photos/gcw_WWu_uBQ. Accessed November 17, 2021.

Pam Harland, EdD, served as a librarian for 25 years. She is now a member of the faculty at Plymouth State University in New Hampshire where she directs the School Librarian and Digital Learning Specialist educator preparation programs. Most recently she earned her doctorate in Educational Leadership in 2019 in which she researched the leadership behaviors of school librarians. Connect with her on Twitter @pamlibrarian.

Anita Cellucci, MEd LMS, is a high school librarian, K-12 library leader, in Westborough, Massachusetts. She advises teens in a library advisory board and coaches a poetry spoken word team. As a teaching lecturer for Plymouth State University, New Hampshire, she teaches children’s and young adult literature with a focus on social justice and diversity. Connect with her on Twitter @anitacellucci.

Relationships Matter

Chapter 5: Relationships by Jennifer Sturge with Stacy Allen and Sandy Walker|
Blog post by Stacy Allen, Jennifer Sturge, and Sandy Walker

“Inside of a school library and outside of the school library, relationships are everything.” Stacy Allen, Jennifer Sturge, and Sandy WalkerCore Values in School Librarianship:
Responding with Commitment and Courage 
(2021, 76)

As we set out to write this first blog post, a pesky little tune popped into Jen’s head and seemed to stay there for the duration of our writing. “Relationships, we all want ‘em, we all got ‘em, what do we do with them?” This quote can be attributed to the great Jimmy Buffett and his song Fruitcakes. It may be a lighthearted and fun song, but there is a lot of unpacking that can be done in that last part of the line: “what do we do with ‘em?” In school libraries, the short and sweet answer is, we build ‘em! This blog post features a story from one of Stacy’s friends, Yesenia and the relationship she formed with her elementary school librarian which continues to this day.

Conversations about Books
At the start of our journey in writing this chapter, Stacy reached out to Yesenia, curious to compare their experiences with books and libraries as children. Yesenia attended elementary school at PS 16 in Brooklyn, New York. Stacy was a student at Anne Arundel County Public Schools in Maryland. Stacy’s elementary school library memories were unremarkable, yet her access to books in childhood was undeniable. Between school and family weekend trips to Annapolis Public Library on West Street, she always had stacks of books she was longing to read. Books like the Nancy Drew mysteries even featured strong female protagonists who looked like her. When Stacy reached out to her friend, she didn’t know what she would hear during their conversation.  She didn’t expect it would not be as much about books, but more about the relationships that formed because of books!

But a library isn’t simply a room full of books, is it? Books were not even close to the center of the conversation for Stacy and Yesenia. The conversation centered around relationships. Yesenia spoke of a transformative relationship with her elementary school librarian, one that continues to this day. At PS 16, in the second-floor library, Yesenia first became an award-winning author — and she credits her relationship with librarian Muriel Feldshuh for the push.

During the conversation with Stacy, Yesenia was pulling out memory books with newspaper articles highlighting her win of the Ezra Jack Keats Award and the Brooklyn Literacy Contest as a third grader, and a letter of appreciation she received from then First Lady Barbara Bush. She also shared that she has novels Ms. Feldshuh sent her from contemporary writers like Margarita Engle and Judith Ortiz. “I owe her so much in my life,” Yesenia said, “I moved there in second grade, and she encouraged me beyond books. To this day she sends me emails and news clippings, on books, on mothering. She is my eternal pen pal.”

Access to Literacy Guides
Like the three of us, Yesenia grew up to love books and reading, but, “There wasn’t a Meg Medina picture book for me,” she says. “I remember Strega Nona, Babysitter’s Club, Judy Blume books, and Nancy Drew. But what I remember most is that she [Mrs. Feldshuh] created a safe space for me in the library. She is a very influential person in my life.”

“The school librarian has the power to suggest, discuss, and recommend something that is often very needed in students’ lives–literature and information” (Sturge, Allen, and Walker 2021, 79). The relationship that Yesenia and Mrs. Feldshuh shared, and still share, is one in which the school librarian nurtures a love of reading, takes the time to learn what their students are looking for in a book, and ensures that she sees the whole child, not just the surface.

Relationships are the foundation on which all else is built – and without those relationships we cannot provide what our students need the most – to be seen, heard, feel valued, and find their own success. The school librarians of the world, like Mrs. Feldshuh, make a difference one relationship at a time and one child at a time.

Building Relationships with School Librarian Colleagues
As many school librarians will be embarking on the journey to the American Association of School Librarians Conference in Salt Lake City in the coming days, we want to encourage you to think about relationships there as well. Jen serves on the planning committee for the 2021 conference and wanted to share a quick story about how relationships can develop across the country between school librarians who have never met before in person.

Two members of the planning committee met in person for the first time at an AASL conference several years ago.  Prior to that, they had only followed each other on Twitter and other social media platforms.  In our planning meetings, the friendship between the two is visible – despite the physical geography that separates them in their daily lives. When they finally met in person, it was like meeting a long-lost friend; we’re told there were squeals, screams of happiness, and hugging!

As you set out to enjoy all the conference has to offer, be sure to say hello to people that you have never met in person before. You never know – that social media relationship may blossom into a beautiful friendship!  As we strengthen our professional relationships, we can strengthen our network for learning, support, and growth.

Remember, Jimmy Buffett said it best, “Relationships, we all want ‘em, we all got ‘em, what do we do with them?” The answer simply is: build them.

Reflection Question
As you move through the 2021-2022 school year, what steps are you taking to build lasting relationships with your students, faculty, and school community?

Works Cited

Buffett, Jimmy. 1994. “Fruitcakes.” Margaritaville Records.

Sturge, Jennifer with Stacy Allen and Sandy Walker. 2021. “Relationships.” In Core Values in School Librarianship: Responding with Commitment and Courage, ed. Judi Moreillon, 75-90. Santa Barbara, CA: Libraries Unlimited.

About the Bloggers
Stacy Allen, MA, serves as Assistive Technology Specialist for Calvert County Public Schools in Maryland. She has worked in Special Education for 25 years. Her current position allows her to focus on equity and access for students with disabilities through work with teachers, students, and families. Connect with her on Twitter @artisfood

Jennifer Sturge, EdD, (she/hers) is the specialist for the library media programs coordinating the professional development and library media programs for Calvert’s schools. She is a 2017-2018 Lilead Fellow, the Maryland Technology Leader of the Year for 2019, and was the 2020-2021 Maryland Association of School Librarians President. Connect with her on Twitter @sturgej

Sandy Walker, MA, serves as the Supervisor of Equity and School Improvement for Calvert County Public Schools. He works with school administration, staff, and students to establish an identity-safe learning and working environment where success is not predetermined by income, zip code, or race. Connect with him on Twitter @Real_EquityCCPS

 

Professional Connectedness 2019

As we bid farewell to 2019, I am pausing to share my gratitude for just some of the professional learning opportunities I have taken this year—from the local to the global. In his book Renegade Leadership: Creating Innovative Schools for Digital-Age Students, Brad Gustafson writes about the importance of relationships and connectedness. “It’s important to point out that connectedness extends beyond traditional face-to-face relationships. Connectedness also includes how we build culture and community beyond the walls of our school through digital means” (Gustafson 2017, 19).

The reflection that follows includes both face-to-face and online connectedness. I am grateful for the sense of belonging and service that these collegial relationships and opportunities have provided. Thank you to all of you who have helped me continue to learn, create, share, and grow in 2019.

Local Advocacy Efforts
Tucson Unified School District (TUSD) School Librarian Restoration Project
Thanks to the support of TUSD Superintendent Gabriel Trujillo and the Governing Board Members, five state-certified school librarian positions will be posted in the spring of 2020. Members of our project worked with the TUSD Human Resources Department to revised the school librarian job description. Our project will support HR in recruiting effective candidates for these positions. We have also been invited to the table when the new strategic planning committee begins discussion in January, 2020.

Additionally, we are grateful to the School Community Partnership Council and the Educational Enrichment Foundation for their support. Also, we extend our thanks to the Arizona Daily Star for publishing two op-eds in 2019 in support of our work.

Literacy matters every day

Committing to a brighter future for Arizona’s children

State-wide Advocacy Efforts

Teacher Librarian Division (TLD), Arizona Library Association (AzLA)
At the AzLA Conference in November, 2019, I had the pleasure of co-presenting an advocacy session with Pam Rogers and Erin MacFarlane. I also keynoted a half-day workshop for school and public library youth librarians. In both cases, our focus was on advocating for full-time, professional school librarian positions.

In this coming year, we will be focusing on increasing our membership, our impact through administrator/school board conference proposals/presentations (American Association of School Librarians State-Level Leaders work), and the “Dear Arizona Voters Writing Contest,” a building- or district-level essay writing project resulting from classroom-library collaboration.

National Reciprocal Mentoring Activities
Lilead Project
For the past two years, the West Coast Lilead Team has given me the opportunity to learn with and from district-level school librarian leaders: Claudia Mason (Fontana, California), Janet Wile (Fresno, California), Jenny Takada (Beaverton, Oregon), and Trish Henry (Mead, Washington). Thank you for sharing your leadership journeys with me.

Dr. Pam Harland’s Dissertation Chair
It was my pleasure to learn from working with Dr. Pam Harland to complete her dissertation this fall. Pam expertly presented and passed her defense (with flying colors) on Wednesday, November 20, 2019. Pam has already begun sharing the results of her dissertation research, “Investigation into the Leadership Behaviors of School Librarians: A Qualitative Study,” in articles, conference presentations, and hopefully, in a forthcoming book chapter. Her work will influence the practice of school librarian leaders.

Online Graduate-Level Teaching
After a three-year hiatus from graduate-level teaching, I applied to teach for the iSchool at the University of Illinois, Urbana Champaign. In 2019, I taught two courses for the school: IS445: Information Books and Resources for Youth (for both school and public youth librarians) and IS516: School Library Media Center. I had the privilege of learning with thirty-eight graduate students who have given me confidence that the future of our profession is in capable (and collaborative) hands of librarians with empathic hearts. Thank you for teaching me.

American Association of School Librarians (AASL)
This past year, I chaired the AASL School Librarian’s Role in Reading Task Force. Our task was to revisit and re-envision four position statements related to the work of the school librarian and the school librarian in helping students grow their love of reading and learning, build their reading proficiency and ability to make meaning from texts, and use their literacy skills to think critically and create new knowledge. In six short months, our task force developed what we believe is a clear, concise, and empowered position statement. We submitted our work to the AASL Board today. Thank you to Molly Dettmann, Christina Dorr, Mary Moen, and Sam Northern for your collaboration, commitment, and passion for this work.

AASL Conference 2019
I had the good fortune of kicking off the Educators of School Librarians research symposium: Researching and Educating for Leadership. I also co-presented two concurrent sessions and shared a solo presentation at the AASL Conference. Co-planning with others to share information, experience, and insights builds our understandings and relationships.

Taking Our Case to Decision Makers: Effective State- and District-Level Advocacy
Deborah Levitov (on the right) moderated our panel presentation. Three members of the panel shared their state-level advocacy work: Kathy Lester, Michigan, Pat Tumulty, New Jersey, and Christie Kaaland, Washington State. I shared our district-level work in TUSD.

Collaborate! To Build Influence
This was my solo presentation. I am delighted that several participants have been in contact with me regarding their cadre’s Maximizing School Librarian Leadership: Building Connections for Learning and Advocacy book studies. I will be providing webinars, conversations, and support for their leadership and advocacy work in 2020. (A special thank-you to my ALA Editions editor Jamie Santoro, pictured above, for her unfailing support for my professional books.)

Collaborate, Evaluate, Advocate: Tales from the Trenches in Assessing Readiness for Change
I had the opportunity to moderate a panel presentation for four Lilead leaders who contributed articles in the January, 2019, Knowledge Quest “Assessment” issue: Jenny Takeda (Beaverton, Oregon), Jennifer Sturge (Calvert County, Maryland), Misti Werle (Bismarck, North Dakota), and Carolyn Foote (Austin, Texas). Each of us presented further adventures in assessment and leading for change.

International Association of School Librarians (IASL)
Although I had presented at two IASL conferences held in the U.S., participating and sharing at the 2019 conference held in Dubrovnik, Croatia was an even-more empowering experience. In my October 30, 2019 blog post IASL 2019 Reflection, I shared the impact this learning opportunity had on me. I am in contact with several “Empowered Leadership: Building Connections for Transforming Teaching and Learning” participants and look forward to continuing our global conversations.

I want to especially thank IASL President Katy Manck for spearheading a collaborative, international effort to reach out to the International Literacy Association with questions about including school librarians and librarians in their recently published “Children’s Rights to Excellent Literacy Instruction.” Thank you for your leadership, Katy.

2020
“Like a world-famous trapeze artist would never attempt a brand-new death-defying act for the first time without a net, neither can we find the courage to lead without the help of others. Those who believe what we believe are our net” (Sinek 2019, 218).

I am looking forward to continuing to learn and taking action alongside my colleagues near and far as we co-create a brighter, equitable literacy learning future for the children, teens, and communities we serve. Thank you for being my “net.”

Works Cited

Gustafson, Brad. 2017. Renegade Leadership: Creating Innovative Schools for Digital-Age Students. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin.

Sinek, Simon. 2019. The Infinite Game. New York: Portfolio/Penguin.

Leadership Twitter Chat

This fall graduate students in “IS516: School Library Media Center” have participated in bimonthly Twitter chats. The chats are based on the pull quotes from chapters in Maximizing School Librarian Leadership: Building Connections for Learning and Advocacy (ALA 2018).

We invite you to join us our final chat of the fall semester on Monday, December 9, 2019 from 7:00 to 7:30 p.m. Central Time. Chat questions are posted on this blog on the Wednesday before our Monday chats.

December 9, 2019: #is516 Twitter Chat: Leadership

 This post is adapted from the Maximizing School Librarian Leadership preview podcast.

I believe school librarians have three converging pathways that point the way to leadership. School librarians are culture builders, professional developers, and changemakers.

School librarians are culture builders.
When we create a welcoming, accepting, risk-taking space for exploration in the library, our influence can spread throughout the building. With smiles, hellos, and a service orientation toward all library users, the library, the largest classroom in the school, can be as important as the front office in creating a climate of welcome.

With resources reflecting diverse perspectives, the library can be a place where learners – of all ages – come to explore their own worldview and the worldviews of others.

And with a commitment to exploration, the school librarian can model risk-taking—accepting missteps as an essential aspect of learning and growing from mistakes in order to fail forward. A whole-school, or systems thinking, approach helps school librarians serve as effective culture-builders.

School librarians are professional developers.
Through sharing our expertise and integrating the library’s resources into the classroom curriculum, school librarians practice reciprocal mentorship with the classroom teachers and specialists with whom we form effective instructional partnerships.

Collaborators coteach multiple literacies, inquiry, deeper, and digital learning. Educators model and coteach skills, such as collaboration, communication, critical thinking, and creativity. We model and coteach dispositions, such as flexibility, openness, and persistence.

Through coplanning, coteaching, and coassessing student learning and our own instructional proficiency, we practice the best kind of professional development—job-embedded. As collaborating educators, we develop our craft by working as equal partners; we coteach with classroom teachers, real students, actual curriculum, available resources and tools, with the real supports, and within the constraints of our everyday teaching environments.

School librarians are also changemakers.
We understand that the teaching and learning landscape is in a constant state of change. Lifelong learning is an essential behavior for all education stakeholders. Preparing students for futures that we cannot imagine takes a leap of faith and a willingness to accept change as the defining feature of all our lives.

Rather than sitting back and waiting for change to happen to us, changemakers are proactive. We strategize; we experiment; we test and retest until we create learning environments and opportunities that engage, excite, and support students as agents in their own education.

All three of these pathways to leadership require collaboration.

Effective school librarians can maximize leadership opportunities by collaborating with others—with administrators, educators, and students, and with family and community members.

#is516 Chat Questions (for copy and paste)

Q.1: How do you/can you show a commitment to continuous change/professional growth? #is516

Q.2: Why is collegiality so important? #is516

Q.3: How do you bridge Ss in-school and out-of-school lives? #is516

Q.4: How can you help develop an effective teaching force in your school? #is516

Please respond with A.1, A.2, A.3, A.4 and bring your ideas, resources, experience, questions, and dilemmas to our conversation so we can learn with and from you!

For previous chat questions and archives, visit our IS516 course wiki page.

Thank you!

Post Adapted from
Moreillon, Judi. 2018. Maximizing School Librarian Leadership: Book Study: Preview Podcast. https://www.podomatic.com/podcasts/moreillon/episodes/2018-08-05T19_58_04-07_00

School Librarians Share and Celebrate

The 2019 AASL conference in Louisville (November 14-16, 2019) was a non-stop, jam-packed learning and networking event for me. Due to meetings, a school visit, and my own presentations, I didn’t have a great deal of “free” time to take full advantage of all the conference presenters had to offer. I suspect that may be the case for you as well.

School Librarians Share!
That is why I am particularly grateful to Nancy Jo Lambert for curating presentations, notes, and links on this Google doc.

I have been dipping into this rich well of learning as I reflect on my own conference experience and further develop my understanding and practice in our profession. Thank you, Nancy Jo.

An Important Session You May Have Missed
That said, I attended a powerful session offered in the very last concurrent time slot for the conference: “Leadership Partnerships.” Misti Werle, Library Systems Innovator, Bismarck (ND) Public Schools (BPS), moderated this session that should have been spotlighted and REQUIRED for every attendee.

Misti brought BPS principals, librarians, a classroom teacher, and an instructional coach from all three instructional levels to share how they are collaborating to meet the needs of the K-12 students they serve. WOW! This is the link to their presentation.

This is what I took away from the session.

  • A whole-school approach results in the most successful outcomes for students.
  • School librarians earn the trust and support of administrators and classroom teacher colleagues by building relationships and helping others meet their instructional goals.
  • Administrators build school librarians’ confidence and leadership skills when they trust and support librarians’ change initiatives.
  • Administrators are focused on helping all educators reach their capacity. This is a responsibility of leaders and one that school librarians can support through collaboration and coteaching.

Congratulations to the “Leadership Partnerships” team:

High School:
Tom Schmidt: Principal
Michael Jacobson: Library Media Specialist
Maggie Townsend: Instructional Coach

Middle School:
Tabby Rabenberg: Principal
Kat Berg: Library Media Specialist
Jenni Kramer: Classroom Teacher

Elementary School:
Brenda Beiswenger: Principal
Alisha Kelim: Library Media Specialist
Stacy Olson: Library Media Specialist

Celebrate!
Along with you, I celebrate the amazing work you are doing in BPS. I wish everyone who attended #AASL19 could have heard your powerful testimonials on the impact the school librarian and the librarian program can have on building an empowered culture of learning and collaboration in our schools.

Thank you and keep on sharing and celebrating!

Twitter Chat: Job-Embedded Professional Development

This fall graduate students in “IS516: School Library Media Center” are participating in bimonthly Twitter chats. The schedule is listed below. The chats will be based on the pull quotes from chapters in Maximizing School Librarian Leadership: Building Connections for Learning and Advocacy (ALA 2018). We invite you to join us for our first chat on Monday, September 9th from 7:00 to 7:30 p.m. Central Time. Chat questions will be posted on this blog on the Wednesday before our Monday chats.

Monday, September 9, 2019: #is516 Twitter Chat: Job-embedded Professional Development

“A team is not a group of people who work together. A team is a group of people who trust each other” (Sinek, Mead, and Docker 2017, 104).

Professional learning embedded in the everyday practice of educators is an effective way to transform teaching and learning. In this model, school librarians can serve as professional learning leaders. They enact this role in a number of ways: through providing formal staff development; by serving as a member or team leader in one or more professional learning communities (PLCs); and through classroom-library collaboration, which involves trusting colleagues in coplanning, coteaching, and coassessing learning outcomes.

Coteaching offers educators the opportunity to hone their craft while teaching “actual students in real time, with the taught curriculum, available resources and tools, and within the supports and constraints of their particular learning environments” (Moreillon 2012, 142). School librarians add value when they co-collect evidence (student learning outcomes data) to demonstrate the effectiveness of their teaching in terms of what is important to colleagues and administrators. These data point the way toward continuous instructional improvement. Coteaching also creates the opportunity for school librarians to co-lead in a culture of adult as well as student learning in their schools.

#is516 Chat Questions
These are the questions that will guide our chat on September 9, 2019 at 7:00 p.m. CT.

Q.1: What does the term “reciprocal mentorship” mean in terms of classroom Ts & #schoollibrarians #collaboration? #IS516

Q.2: What is your experience in coplanning w/Ts? #IS516

Q.3: What’s an example of “engaging curriculum”? #IS516

Q.4: How do #schoollibrarians & administrators work together for change? #IS516

Please respond with A.1, A.2, A.3, A.4 as each question is posted.

Join us and bring your ideas, resources, experience, questions, and dilemmas to our conversation so we can learn with and from you!

Thank you!

Works Cited

Moreillon, Judi. 2012. “Job-embedded Professional Development: An Orchard of Opportunity.” In Growing Schools: School Librarians as Professional Developers, edited by Debbie Abilock, Kristin Fontichiaro, and Violet Harada, 141-156. Santa Barbara: Libraries Unlimited.

Sinek, Simon, David Mead, and Peter Docker. 2017. Find Your Why: A Practical Guide for Discovering Purpose for You and Your Team. New York: Penguin.

 

#IS516 Twitter Chats: Time: 7:00 – 7:30 p.m. Central

Second and Fourth Mondays – Fall 2019

September 9 | Twitter Chat #1
Topic: Chapter 2: Job-embedded Professional Development
Questions posted on Twitter and on my blog (SchoolLibrarianLeadership.com) on: 9/4/19

September 23 | Twitter Chat #2
Topic: Chapter 3: Inquiry Learning
Questions posted on Twitter and on my blog (SchoolLibrarianLeadership.com) on: 9/18/19

October 14 | Twitter Chat #3
Topic: Chapter 6: Digital Learning
Questions posted on Twitter and on my blog (SchoolLibrarianLeadership.com) on: 10/9/19

October 28 | Twitter Chat #4
Topic: Chapter 7: Assessment
Questions posted on Twitter and on my blog (SchoolLibrarianLeadership.com) on: 10/23/19

November 11 | Twitter Chat #5
Topic: Chapter 8: Leadership and Advocacy
Questions posted on Twitter and on my blog (SchoolLibrarianLeadership.com) on: 11/6/19

December 9 | Twitter Chat #6
Topic: Chapter 9: Sustaining a Connections in a Culture of Collaboration
Questions posted on Twitter and on my blog (SchoolLibrarianLeadership.com) on: 12/4/19

Collegiality and Teamwork

Chapter 9 Podcast: Sustaining Connections in a Collaborative Culture

Collegiality and teamwork are essential for future ready educators. In a collegial work environment, coworkers see each other as “companions” or equals. They cooperate and share responsibility for their collective goals and objectives. Collegiality implies friendship, caring, and respect for work mates. Teamwork implies that colleagues work together in an effective and efficient way to accomplish a task or achieve a goal. Members of a team may make unique contributions to the success of the work but all will take “credit” for the outcome.

Peter Senge and his colleagues note that “schools that learn” are in a continual process growth and change. As such, educators in these schools must exhibit collegiality and engage in teamwork in an open and trusting environment. Through developing shared values and common agreements, formal and informal school leaders ensure that the environment remains conducive to collective work.

Competitive Collaboration
It may seem counter-intuitive but principal leader George Couros advocates for a bit of competition among colleagues. He promotes what he calls “competitive collaboration,” in which “educators push and help one another to become better” (Couros 2015, 73). “Competitive collaboration” can help ensure that faculty learn with and from one another, cheer for each other’s achievements, support each other as team members who take risks individually and collectively, fail forward, and grow.

“Competitive collaboration” requires a high level of trust. The willingness to risk and fail in front of one’s colleagues is not easy for most adults. When principals, as lead learners, are the first to demonstrate this level of openness and transparency, it will be easier for faculty members, including librarians, to follow suit. In an environment of trust and shared commitment to each other’s growth, the result of competitive collaboration can be improved student learning and continuous improvement in educators’ instructional practices.

Sharing Data
“Along the way, faculty will share their practices and student learning outcomes data more openly. They will coplan, coteach, and collectively reflect on practice. They will build deeper and more trusting relationships in a culture of continuous learning” (Moreillon 2018, 50). If educators are to succeed at solving individual instructional challenges and schoolwide issues, they must openly share data. Again, it is not easy to actually document a misstep or failure.

Still, sharing data can be a pathway to engaging colleagues in helping individual educators reflect on their practice in new ways. Others can “show” us our teaching from another perspective and suggest strategies for revising our instruction, changing up resources, or making other improvements that can better meet students’ needs. Principals and supervisors can take this role. When we break down the walls between our classrooms and libraries, coteachers can also offer new perspectives on thorny issues.

Building Capacity
Creating the conditions in which all members of the learning community can reach capacity is a primary function of the school principal. School librarians can colead alongside their principals in capacity building. They “can serve as models for continuous learning while they engage in professional development (PD) with colleagues. School librarians help all library stakeholders reach their capacity” (Moreillon 2018, xiii).

One of the on-going challenges for school librarians is that they are not necessarily working in contexts that allow them to achieve their capacity or help students, classroom teachers, and administrators reach theirs. In a fixed schedule library where school librarians are providing planning time for classroom teachers, school librarians cannot achieve their capacity as instructional partners. School librarians who lack library staff, especially a full-time library assistant, cannot fully serve their learning communities if they spend their days doing clerical work rather than teaching. School libraries without adequate budgets cannot provide students, educators, and families with up-to-date books and resources to meet their academic and personal learning needs.

As noted in Chapter 8, leadership and advocacy go hand in hand. School librarian leaders will continuously advocate and enlist stakeholders in advocating for the most effective library scheduling, staffing, and budgets. They will use their voices and influence to build and sustain effective library programs in which collegiality and teamwork can thrive.

Questions for Discussion and Reflection

  1. What is your response to George Couros’s idea of “competitive collaboration”?
  2. What are your/your principal’s specific behaviors that build trust in your learning community?

 

Works Cited

Couros, George. 2015. The Innovator’s Mindset: Empower Learning, Unleash Talent, and Lead in a Culture of Creativity. San Diego, CA: Dave Burgess Consulting.

Moreillon, Judi. 2018. Maximizing School Librarian Leadership: Building Connections for Learning and Advocacy. Chicago: ALA.

 

Reciprocal Mentorship

October Podcast Episode 2: Job-Embedded Professional Development: An Interview with Misti Werle, Library Systems Innovator, Bismarck (North Dakota) Public Schools

One challenge school librarians have faced in collaborative work is being acknowledged as equal partners with classroom teacher colleagues. In states where school librarians are required to hold classroom teacher certification and have classroom teaching experience, this may not be as much of a challenge. If, on the other hand, teaching certification and experience is not required, classroom teachers may need to be convinced that the school librarian is indeed an “equal.”The reverse may also have been true. I may be that when professionals serving in school libraries are perceived of as “coaches” or “mentors,” their classroom teacher colleagues may feel “less than” in terms of knowledge and expertise. A hierarchy—whether or not it is intentional—is implied. If school librarians position themselves as professionals who know more than their colleagues—in all areas of teaching and learning—classroom teachers may perceive that the school librarian is trying to “fix” a classroom teacher’s instructional or other practices.

In either case, relationships will suffer and collaboration may not be successful in the long run.

Reciprocal Mentorship
If, on the other hand, school librarians and classroom teachers collaborate as equal partners who learn with and from one another, then relationships have a better chance of thriving and collaboration is more likely to be on-going. Educators are adults who need to be respected for their knowledge and experience. Collaboration needs to be experienced by both/all parties as a problem-solving activity that benefits both/all educators and subsequently, all students.

In the best of instructional partnerships, mentorship goes both ways. It is reciprocal. There will be areas of the curriculum in which school librarians may lack knowledge or lack teaching experience. Classroom teachers may have little or no knowledge of or experience teaching the inquiry process or reading comprehension strategies. One or the other educator may be stronger in integrating technology tools and devices. One or the other may have better student observation skills or classroom management skills.

School librarians who approach collaborative work as educators with both strengths and areas for growth and who communicate the dispositions (character traits) of lifelong learners will have more success as coteachers. School librarians’ opportunities for professional development in their daily practice are truly limitless!

Job-Embedded Professional Development
In a learning commons library model, adult learning is as important as student learning. It is, after all, the adults who organize the learning environment and create learning opportunities for students. If adults do not engage in on-going professional development and continue growing their practice, then future ready students will be short-changed.

“Collaboration” involves “working with a member of the teaching team to plan, implement, and evaluate a specialized instructional plan” (AASL 2016). Collaboration requires effective on-going communication, joint planning, individual and collective action, and commitment to a shared outcome.

While coplanning, coimplementing, and co-assessing a lesson or unit of instruction, school librarians and classroom teachers are engaged in a just-in-time opportunity to learn with and from one another. Most educators do not have the golden opportunity school librarians have; they are not positioned to learn with and from colleagues who teach in all content areas. Due to that fact, it’s my experience that collaborating school librarians can accelerate their instructional expertise at a faster rate than most classroom teachers. And still, school librarians have more to learn from every educator and student they have the good fortune to serve.

One of the Future Ready Librarians™ gears is personalized professional development. When school librarians and classroom teachers engage in reciprocal membership, they are indeed providing and receiving personalized professional development. And students are receiving a higher quality of instruction. Win. Win. Win.

Questions for Discussion and Reflection

  1. What is your definition of a learning commons, and how does your current library measure up to that description?
  2. How do you ensure that the colleagues with whom you collaborate perceive classroom-library collaboration as the work of equal partners?

Work Cited

American Association of School Librarians. 2016 “Position Statements: Definition for an Effective School Library Program.” www.ala.org/aasl/advocacy/resources/statements

Twitter Chats

What does a Sonoran Desert tortoise have to do with a twitter chat? Thanks to Aesop, tortoises have a reputation for being “slow but steady.” Online professional development (PD), particularly a “slow Twitter chat” may result in the slow and steady progress we all want to experience in our personal learning networks (PLNs).

Online PD is a trend that meets the test of aligning with library and my personal values. The Web allows near and distant colleagues to get together in real time or asynchronously. We can share our questions and challenges, successes and missteps. We can interact with others with particular areas of expertise. We can respond to shared readings and current events. In short, we collaborate to expand our knowledge and improve our individual and collective practice.

Twitter has become a go-to PD platform for many state-level, university-based, and independent groups of school librarians. Through regular contact with one another, participants in these chats “learn from one another, develop shared meanings through exchanging ideas and information, and enculturate one another into the ever-evolving profession of school librarianship” (65).

Developing a strong PLN is one important way to stay current in the field and freshly energized in our practice.

In the 2014-2015 school year, I had the pleasure of being a participant observer studying the #txlchat. This Twitter chat meets during the academic year on Tuesdays from 8:00 to 8:30 p.m. Central Time. Members post using the hashtag throughout the week as well. I set out to learn about the #txlchat culture and the value participants place on this online PD experience.

The #txlchat cofounders and core group members have created a “democratic” context for the chat. They are committed to ensuring that participants’ voices are heard. Everyone I interviewed and those who responded to the survey noted the benefits they receive from learning from others and from sharing their knowledge and experience with the group. “@debramarshall summed up her experience this way: ‘I am a better librarian because of Twitter’” (68).

Chats can also be an excellent way to get out a message and share resources. The AASL/ALSC/YALSA Interdivisional Committee on School-Public Library Cooperation is currently exploring the use of Twitter chats to promote school-public library collaboration and the toolkit we created.

Currently, I am participating in the American Association of School Librarians (AASL) Supervisors Section (SPVS) book discussion. We are using the #aaslspvschat to discuss the book Switch: How to Change Things When Change Is Hard by Chip and Dan Heath. SPVS Chair Lori Donovan (@LoriDonovan14) is posting questions for our consideration over a five-week period.

This is my first experience with an intentional “Twitter slow chat” and my first experience with a total focus on a shared book reading. I think the slow chat format will help us take time respond to the moderator’s questions, savor each other’s tweets, reply to one another, and reflect on our discussion throughout the course of the slow chat.

Whether or not you’re a school librarian supervisor, check out the hashtag and check in to note how the discussion is progressing. This “slow chat” may be a model for a book study or other conversations with your PLN.

Work Cited

Moreillon, Judi. “Building Your Personal Learning Network (PLN): 21st-Century School Librarians Seek Self-Regulated Professional Development Online.” Knowledge Quest, vol. 44, no. 3, 2016, pp. 64–69.

Image credit: From the personal collection of Judi Moreillon