Tag Archives: Member

Check it Out:, Guest Blogger, Materials, School Media Specialist

CMLE Mini Grant: Tech Reading Resource: RAZ-Plus kits

Try something new!

This is a guest post from Mike Barton, Media and Digital Learning Specialist at Cokato Elementary Media Center. Read more mini grant reports on our page.

From our EL Teacher, Shannon Otto: I am very appreciative to have been granted money towards the subscription of RAZ-Plus with the ELL edition. I’m utilizing these resources with my caseload of English Language learners.

I’ve printed off ABC books as the students are learning the American alphabet. These books help students develop vocabulary while also practicing the sounds of each letter.

I’ve also used the high-frequency books to help build reading skills. The ELL comic conversations are a great structure for students to see dialogue modeled. In groups, students read the speech bubbled dialogue and then role-play to practice their oral language.

As of now, I’ve only used this resource with my newcomer groups. However, I know that I’ve only scratched the surface with the resources found in this subscription.

My next steps are to explore the library of leveled books to use with my other groups. There are also vocabulary sets that break down harder concepts into visual supports and key vocabulary.

I’m excited to explore this subscription further and to continue implementing this tool within all of my EL groups. Once again, I thank you for the monetary support that provides all these wonderful tools and resources for my students.

Check it Out:, School Media Specialist, Tech

November VR Training in St. Cloud AND Cambridge!

You are invited to in-person training Nov. 5th and 8th!

Quick Update: our St Cloud location is just about full! So we would love to see you in Cambridge too! If you are signed up for St Cloud, but would like to shift to Cambridge (it’s on that Friday), just send us a quick email to admin @ cmle.org (no spaces). Each day and location will be flexible, as we know you have tight schedules – we are just happy to see you!

Mark your calendars! We hope you take advantage of our upcoming VR training to learn how to operate the VR headsets we are loaning to our school libraries FOR FREE. You can reserve your own kit here.

Please RSVP at the bottom of this post. You are welcome to drop in to training as your schedule allows. You are still allowed to reserve VR kits for your school if you cannot attend training.

St. Cloud Training:

Tuesday, Nov. 5th 9am – 3pm (lunch provided 12 – 1)
Classroom at cmERDC location: 570 1st St. SE St. Cloud MN 56304

We are located inside the cmERDC building

Cambridge Training:

Friday, Nov. 8th 9:30am – 3pm (lunch provided 12 – 1)
Meeting Room at the Cambridge Public Library: 244 S. Birch St. Cambridge, MN 55008

We’ll have a morning and afternoon training session with lunch in between so both sessions can eat. Please feel free to attend both sessions in order to get comfortable using the headsets and Portal.

The plan is to cover fundamentals in the morning and more advanced VR skills in the afternoon, but please feel free to drop in or leave as your schedule allows! Remember to bring your own computer (and headphones if interested).

At this training session, you will learn how to operate the devices, find lessons that line up with your curriculum, send the VR/AR content to the devices, and use the headsets effectively in your library, media center, or classroom.

The ClassVR vendor will be holding a free Q&A webinar on Nov. 13th. Here is the link in case anyone is interested in participating. CMLE staff attended the one offered in October and found it useful.

Visit our page to find out more information about the VR kit loan program, including instructions and links to additional materials.

RSVP St. Cloud Nov. 5th training:

RSVP Cambridge Nov. 8th training:

Academic, Check this out:, General, Public, School Media Specialist

2013: Where Have the Media Specialists Gone?

1 Comment

Some rights reserved by Taber Andrew
Some rights reserved by Taber Andrew

This is the third year I have been pulling the Minnesota Department of Education data and studying the slow decline of school library media specialists in our twelve county region. I have no answers for fixing this problem, but sharing the data is my attempt to engage people in helping me think of solutions. If there is inadequate media specialist staffing in high schools, are students going to be prepared with the skills they need to be successful in college? Will middle schoolers be prepared to do high school work, and when students have no library program at school, are they simply going to the public library for assistance? Are the public libraries funded or staffed to absorb this work on a large scale? Everyone is stretched for resources, so we all need to do our part. So, without further ado, here is data for Aitkin, Benton, Chisago, Isanti, Kanabec, Mille Lacs, Morrison, Pine, Sherburne, Stearns, Todd and Wright counties. Please use the comment field in this post as needed.

  • 53 individual schools (28 percent) in Central MN have no licensed media specialist (compared to 48 last year)
  • 25 schools (47 percent) percent of the 53 schools are middle, secondary or high schools
  • 28 elementary schools have no media specialist, yet we are hell bent on demonstrating reading proficiency by 3rd grade!
  • Fourteen of our school districts have no media specialist in any school in the district at all (compared to nine last year)
  • The great news is that 32 percent of our schools have a full time media specialist. Let’s applaud those school administrators for understanding the value of maintaining a professionally staffed media center.

CMLE will use this data in its advocacy work, in targeting its programming, and in working statewide to bring attention to this growing problem. We all need to think about how we can change this trend so that all students have the benefit of a well-maintained, relevant, and properly staffed school media center.

Academic, Check this out:, General, Public, School Media Specialist, Special

Excellence in Our Schools!

CMLE member schools receive state-wide recognition!

Information in this post has been provided by Keith Hovis, MDE (keith.hovis@state.mn.us)

CMLElogoFY11

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
April 18, 2013

Minnesota Department of Education Recognizes 16 Schools for 

Excellence in Behavioral Prevention Efforts

ROSEVILLE – Today the Minnesota Department of Education recognized 16 schools for their successful efforts to create positive learning environments for students. Using a program called Positive Behavioral Intervention and Supports (PBIS), the schools designated as Sustaining Exemplar Schools, have been identified as leaders in establishing a comprehensive, set of practices to support positive behavior, improve school climate and increase student achievement.

“PBIS helps schools set clear expectations for students, teachers and families and to find new ways to address behavior issues,” said Commissioner Brenda Cassellius. “Each of these 16 schools showcases the benefits of creating respectful and supportive school climates and the positive impact on student achievement. By recognizing their success, we can help them to share their best practices with schools across Minnesota.”

The 16 schools being recognized are:

  • Chaska Middle School, Eastern Carver County Public Schools
  • King Elementary, Deer River Public School District
  • Maple Lake Elementary School, Maple Lake Public School District
  • Sheridan Arts Magnet School, Minneapolis Public School District
  • Sunnyside Elementary School, Mounds View Public School District
  • Valentine Hills Elementary, Mounds View Public School District
  • North Elementary, Princeton Public School District
  • Princeton Middle School, Princeton Public School District
  • South Elementary, Princeton Public School District
  • Apollo High School, St. Cloud Public School District
  • Oak Hill Community School, St. Cloud Public School District
  • Lincoln Elementary School, St. Cloud Public School District
  • St. Michael-Albertville Middle School East, St. Michael-Albertville School District
  • St. Michael-Albertville Middle School West, St. Michael-Albertville School District
  • United South Central K-12 School, United South Central School District
  • Matoska International School, White Bear Lake School District

Since its launch in 2005, PBIS has spread across the state and is currently being implemented by 423 Minnesota Schools, or 21 percent of the state’s nearly 2,000 schools. To establish a PBIS program, 80 percent of a school’s teachers and staff need to agree to implement a more positive approach to discipline. Participating schools then receive intensive training, support and coaching from teams at the Minnesota Department of Education, as well as instruction in how to monitor and track results. Data from participating schools show clear evidence of the program’s success, specifically in reduced number of behavioral incidents, fewer student suspensions and increased levels of student engagement.

To be identified as a Sustaining Exemplar School, staff needed to submit an application that documented their work with PBIS, including, professional outcomes, a plan for sustaining the program and how they are giving back and sharing their practices with other schools throughout the state. Schools must also have been implementing PBIS for at least three years.