[CASL-L] High School Learning Commons and Student Use

[Cathy Andronik]

 Stephanie, you have my sympathy and my total understanding.  I've been there--including the block scheduling.  My reaction was retirement soon after what you're describing started happening (pre-COVID for me).  But hindsight is a wonderful thing.  Here's an idea:  When the comments come from YOU, it comes across as you, just you, complaining about what the administration believed, no matter what WE think of it, was a convenient solution to a problem. But sometimes we need to PROVE we're needed.  Enlist teachers you have collaborated with in the past.  Sit down and talk to them, and to teachers who have expressed an interest in collaborating, or with whom you would like to collaborate, and put together a slate of lessons you'd love to do --but cannot because of the study hall situation.  As a group, approach the administration and explain this (make sure you have the ideas fully fleshed out and realistic, dates, timelines, etc.).  It's sad in this day and age, but administrators STILL don't quite know what their librarians are or do or are supposed to do; they still think of us as bound to the library and in charge of what- or whom- ever happens to be within its walls.  For years I've said that librarians need to infiltrate administrator certification programs and conferences, to bring them into the 21st century.  But I digress.  The reply your administration would say to YOU, alone, might not be the same reply he/she/they would want the rest of the faculty supporting you to hear, or it could be worded in a more open way that would allow for some progress.  Ultimately, though, when I was in this situation, I thought about where my own priorities as a teacher librarian lay, what my value to the school was.  Was I a teacher first, or a study hall monitor first?  Needless to say, I was a teacher first.  So, if I was invited (or invited myself) to do a collaboration in a classroom (given that a library full of study hall kids was untenable for most groups), I let the administration know that I would be outside the confines of the library for that period/block, and it was up to them to find CERTAIN coverage (not the assigned teachers who never showed up).  The more it happened, the more they'd have to rethink the whole study hall situation.  Passive aggressive much, lol?  If I hadn't been that close to retirement, I'm not sure I would have risked it.  It  did not make for a comfortable relationship with the administration. 
Best of luck.
Cathy AndronikRetired, Brien McMahon HS, Norwalk    On Tuesday, 6 June 2023 at 02:26:02 pm GMT-4, STEPHANIE PATTERSON via CASL-L <casl-l at mylist.net> wrote:  
 
 #yiv6744590417 P {margin-top:0;margin-bottom:0;}I am the sole media specialist with a 2000 or so enrollment. Since COVID all study halls have been here in a very spacious library but it has been a largely social. Teachers with scheduled "duty" to question students coming and going at 4 entry points has been lackluster at best. I have not done any collab with teachers at all, and I am the level 1 tech interventionist. 
PreCOVID freshmen had classroom study halls and the rest could either go to the cafe or stay in library. That was ideal- I could get out and about and the sanction for poor behavior was go to the cafe.
We are moving to block sch next yr... and for all the emails I've sent about safety and overcapacity and supervision (sometimes 1:150) it falls on deaf ears. I've no idea what will happen next year- seems to vary depending on who is talking about it.
Stephanie PattersonSouthington High School Library "Building character with critical thinking, creativity, collaboration and communication."
tel: 860.628.3229  at  ext 11335 or ext 11377From: CASL-L <casl-l-bounces at mylist.net> on behalf of Hsiang, Sara <hsiangs at stratk12.org>
Sent: Friday, June 2, 2023 1:43 PM
To: Jaclyn Deloma <jdeloma at milforded.org>
Cc: CASL_L <casl-l at mylist.net>
Subject: Re: [CASL-L] High School Learning Commons and Student Use 

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Library Trac has been great here! A bit of time to set up but you can customize visitor caps per period, per day, etc.
On Fri, Jun 2, 2023 at 1:22 PM Jaclyn Deloma <jdeloma at milforded.org> wrote:

Hi All!
This is our first full year implementing our Teaching and Learning Commons as plans were derailed due to COVID.  I am the sole Media Specialist without assistance and therefore, the school placed 11th and 12th grade study halls in the TLC during each period where the adults could serve as extra sets of eyes for all students.  In addition, 9th and 10th grade students are allowed during their study hall periods, so the amount of students can become certainly overwhelming and the usage of the TLC has definitely veered away from what its multifaceted purpose should be. I've spoken with admin and they would like a plan moving forward on ways to structure the environment to be in alignment with the TLC's purpose.  
My main concern with the current environment is safety along with wear and tear of new furniture, (many freshmen are being asked to stop rolling around on the chairs), and the fact that a social hour has commenced, expunging the critical elements of our TLC space utilized for 21st century learning.  I also have varying perspectives/viewpoints on what the study hall teachers feel their role should be while in the TLC.
If you wouldn't mind sharing how your high school organizes and manages student access/numbers in the TLC, I would really appreciate it!  Feel free to reply to me off list.
Thanks in advance!Jackie
-- 
Jackie DeLomaTeacher LibrarianForan High SchoolMilford Public Schoolsjdeloma at milforded.org(203)-783-3502 (x-2320)
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Ms. Sara Chute Hsiang (pronounced "Shang")
(she/her; mother of they/them)Library Media SpecialistStratford High School Library Learning CommonsINCLUDE>ENGAGE>INSPIRE
e-mail: hsiangs at stratk12.org
website: https://sites.google.com/site/stratfordhighvlc/SHS NHS site: https://sites.google.com/view/nhsshs
SHS Outing (Outdoor Adventure) Club: https://sites.google.com/stratk12.org/shsoutingclub/homeSchool Instagram and Twitter: @SHSLibraryLC 
245 King St, Stratford, CT  06615
Phone (203) 385-4245, x3054
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