Tag Archives: Question From the Field

Results from Quick Poll: Extended Contract Days

We asked and you answered! Our questions about Extended Contract Days drew many great responses from school media specialists. Thank you for taking the time to weigh in! In this post we summarize responses from those questions.

Original poll on Extended Contract Days

Extended Contract Final 1

Extended Contract Final2

Comments/Additional Feedback:

~Our secondary media specialists have 10 day extended contracts. We at the elementary level have been told it is because their buildings pay for them. At the elementary level we have higher circulation of library books, as much technology, and less staff people. Interesting right!

~Your survey is flawed. I work in a K-12 school and that isn’t an option. Not all schools are just elementary, middle or high school.

~The question doesn’t allow me to pick both middle school and high school, but I work in a 6-12 building.

~Extra contract days vary in our district depending on the grade level: elementary, middle, high school all have a different number of extra contract days.

~This practice went away in the Buffalo-Hanover-Montrose Schools about 25 years ago.

~We are a k-12 building and I oversee both the elementary and high school library. In addition, I am the technology coordinator for the district. I just contracted for a 215 day contract that will be addressed on a year by year basis.

~In the district I worked prior to the position I’m in, 8-10 extra contract days were on the schedule. It was amazing, and much needed for budget, planning, teacher development, etc.

~I had a 4 day extended contract k -5 building with 850 students. My administrator and District Media Director decided I no longer needed it. Only the middle school and high school media specialist in our district have a 10 day extended contract. Supposedly, if you work in the secondary you have a bigger work load

~I wish I was paid because I always end up working extra days to complete set up for the school year and the end of year wrap up.

~I don’t work in the summer. What I do get is 1 day of workshop before school starts in the Fall, and 1 day of workshop at the end of the school year.

~Used to have 10 days and now we are cut back to 5 days. Finding it not enough to prepare technology.

~I work in a Middle & High School. I am also the director of tech integration, and my extra days are related to that part of my job. My EA, does not get any extra days, but we lament how we are not prepared at the beginning of the year, and end the year abruptly without things being settled. She needs extra summer days.

~When I started in 1977, I had a 10 month contract. I had that for one year.

~I have five days before the school year starts and five days after the school year ends. I spend more time than that at school, but it is nice to know some of the extra work necessary to be done is acknowledged.

~I get 3 before the school year and 3 at the end, but I could technically use them all at one time.

~I get six days, and it’s not nearly enough. I use them up before the school year even starts and work for free at the end of the year/beginning of summer. I’ve been here five years. The year before I was hired, they changed it from ten days down to six.

~It takes us about 2 weeks into the school year to get everything set up so that kids can even check out.

~We get paid hourly ($26.50) for six days outside the teacher contract.

~Additional days would be nice since I’m working with a full teaching load and still trying to maintain a media program. My ESP hours were cut by my building principal to 2 hours (from 6) this year to increase instructional ESP help in the classroom.That has created a lot of job pressure to keep everything going. We’re relying on volunteers to put away the so far, 20,000 books! I know that this year will be especially trying to wrap up the year and extra days would be greatly appreciated. I had maybe 2 extra days at the end of the year when I first started my Library Media Career in 1980!

~Your poll doesn’t allow for a person who has more than one school library.

~I am only part time and paid an hourly wage.

~Wish it was more like 10-15

~I am the District Library Media Specialist. There are 5 buildings in my district which averages out to 2 extra days per building. I would like to request additional hours this summer, as this will not be enough time for bigger projects at a school (i.e. genrifying, extensive weeding).

~We are also first line of tech. support so much of that time is spent with iPads and other devices.

~I went from 10 days to 6 days 2 years ago

~I keep track of my hours (days) worked during the summer and can use the hours as special leave during the school . If I accumulate a lot of hours I can ask for reimbursement.

Quick K-12 media specialist poll: Extended contracts

Recently, a media director in our region asked if we could poll Central MN media specialists about extended contract days (additional extra paid days in the summer). The deadline for this 30-second poll is 2/15/16 and CMLE staff will share the compiled results in an upcoming blog post. The compiled data could help you make a case for much needed extra paid days.  This CMLE service to 265 schools informs professionals and keep jobs competitive too. Thank you for participating!

 

Your advice about combining media centers

Library of historic photo booksWe asked and you answered! Our questions about Combining Media Centers drew several great responses from the field. Thank you for taking the time to write in! In this post we summarize responses from those questions.

Original post: Question from the field about Combining Media Centers

1. A local media specialist asked…We are looking to combine our Middle School and High School Media Centers (grades 6-12). Has anyone else done this?  (yes or no responses given)

2. If yes, can you share some tips for making it a smooth transition?

  • A school in our district has done this. If you would like to contact the media specialist her name is Angela Yanke, Zimmerman MS/HS Media Specialist.
  • I did this at Melrose High School in 1983-84 when we still had a paper card catalog! When I arrived that fall as a long-term sub for someone on maternity leave, the books were all in boxes laying on the floor everywhere. Sigh.
    *First step, arrange the boxes in order next to the shelves on which they would live.* Second, begin the process of shelving.* Third, file catalog cards.  Thankfully, the weeding had already occurred. That would be my first step today – weed, weed, weed. No better time! Then I would mend everything that needed mending. No better time. The physical packing and unpacking is rather straight forward, just make sure the boxes are well labeled on many sides. Finally, I would document the process with photographs and post them to the website, informing staff, administration and parents of the new look and the new titles available for ‘our’ students. Many blessings!!!
  • The Middle level should be the bigger selection. No need to separate seating areas as they usually don’t schedule time together, however the high school group usually are at the computer area.

3. How did you separate content that only high schoolers should be able to check out and not the younger children?

  • Wow. This was a deal breaker when we talked about combining school and public library collections. And it is difficult. Some ideas, but none is perfect …

1) color coding dots on spines (yuck)
2) shelving codes in the online catalog
3) physically separating books on the shelves
4) housing the most difficult selections behind the desk? problematic at best. icky solution.
5) teach teach teach browsing techniques and selection techniques to all ages.

  • We did not separate – the high schoolers usually don’t check out reference books but prefer the computer for research. The middle schoolers seem to shy away from any fiction that is too old for them anyway.

4. If you have gotten through your transition, how is it working?

  • I never heard how it worked at Melrose exactly, beyond the year I was there. I think well, since the groundwork had been established before I arrived.
    This second question of appropriate age checkout is not a fun problem. I have no good answers.
  • It has worked out just fine. Kids adapt to most situations
Image credit: http://tinyurl.com/jvm4ghy, licensed under CC BY-NC 2.0

Question from the Field: How do I combine media centers?

Wait, where am I again?Question from the Field is a service CMLE offers to busy professionals who want to gather wisdom from colleagues in Central MN library or school media center settings. CMLE staff pose the question in a blog post, then collects answers using a Google form. After a designated time period, the responses are shared in a subsequent blog post. 

An area media specialist asked: We are looking at combining our Middle School and High School Media Centers, grades 6-12.  Are there other schools in the area who have done this? Your answers to four short questions will help this media specialist plan and/or better communicate with administrators about this proposed change. Thanks in advance for sharing tips, tricks, and best practices to further enhance school libraries. Your input is valued!

January 21 is the deadline for responses!

 

 

Questions from the field: Accelerated Reader Responses Part 2

We asked and you answered! Our questions about Accelerated Reader drew a bunch of great responses from the field. Thank you for taking the time to write in! In this post we summarize responses from question 2. The question 1 summary can be found here.

Question 2 from the field about Accelerated Reader: Our school is into the AR (Accelerated Reader) program.  In the past, there has been a “store” twice a year for students to spend their points.  I want to come up with a different plan or a better plan. What do your schools do?

For question 2 we got a lot of detailed descriptions of school’s AR reward program. Most were “not a store, but rather a progression of simple prizes.” Prizes ranged from pencils to ribbons and were awarded when students reached certain pre-determined goals (i.e. 10pts, 100pts). One responder said they distribute prizes every Friday and prizes are usually from Amazon or Oriental Trading.

One response pointed out a problem that some schools have with AR and struggling readers: “Occasionally, some students didn’t earn the points and I struggled with what to do with those kids. Often, a few days before the end of our timeline, if a student wasn’t at his/her point goal I would request that those readers come in before school or during recess or free time to catch up and get their points so that they could attend the ‘party.’ Rarely, did we have anyone not make it!”

“I think AR is a highly effective reading program. It helps create good readers because students get a lot of reading practice and with practice we all get better at the skill we are trying to develop.”

We would love to continue to hear from you about Accelerated Reader. Comment below, email us, or continue to fill out the questionnaire!

 

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