School Support System

Question: Our perspective now shifts to a larger view, to include the rest of your colleagues, educators, peers and admin at your own school environment. In many ways, Teacher-Librarians are looked to as school leaders in developing new skills, evaluating and acquiring new resources and leading workshops and in-service around new strategies, resources and school technology. How can we, as educators and Teacher-Librarians share what we’ve learned with our wider communities of practices? How can we best respond to the needs of our staff, in their wide spectrum of abilities and experiences, with the most appropriate and useful professional development? What tools and strategies are best implemented to meet the professional development of staff?

“People don’t buy what you do; they buy why you do it. And what you do simply proves what you believe” (Sinek).

    A new school year is upon us. A new eager teacher-librarian steps into her new library space excited to engage with staff and students and in turn build a learning community. Despite the excitement there is also a flash of nervousness as her stomach turns and multiple questions rush through her mind: 

• How do I best support my staff?
  
• What does my staff need? 
• How do I bring people into the library? 
• Where do I start? 
• How can I be a good leader?
• What makes a good leader?
• What if I have to say no?
• Do I have a strong enough why? 

Teacher librarians are asked to be a lot of things for a lot of different people. I believe it is important not only to see the library as the heart of the school but the brain. It is where great thinking starts and gets carried out throughout the school community. It is not just a hub but the nerve center for change, advocacy and leadership. In her article 12 ways a School Librarian Can Help Teachers Barbara Paciotti separates the job of a teacher librarian into multiple areas. She states that a teacher librarian is: 

• an experienced teacher
• an instructional partner
• an information specialist 
• a program administrator
• a school leader 

Paciotti reminds me that it is important to make the school library a "go-to place for students, teachers and administrators" and advises that this can be done in a variety of way. For example creating: "a learning commons, a project production center, a relaxed reading environment, and a place for staff training to meet the varying needs of the entire school. We may even have a video production studio for school announcements, or a makerspace for student tinkering, or a coffee bar for teachers to enjoy" (Paciotti). For me this showcases that the library space can be diverse, but it is important for that space to meet the needs of it's user base. The first step towards this is to survey your staff. At the beginning of the year I will send out a survey using SurveyMonkey to my staff members. Some example questions I would include are: 

• What topics (science, socials, language arts, ADST) are you planning on covering in term 1? 
• How can you see yourself using the library space this term? 
• What technology are you interested in learning more about? (ex. iMovie, Powerpoint, Padlet, Flipgrid)
• Would you like to collaborate to plan a unit? If so which topic?
• Would you prefer a fixed or flexible library schedule?

Another survey I can have students fill out at the beginning of the year is a "scope and sequence" this would allow me to know which topics teachers are covering throughout the year. By doing so I will be able to approach teachers instead of having them approach me. Which in turn helps minimize the work of the classroom teacher. Here is an example of a collaboration sheet that I found which could be filled out throughout the year. 

Share the Space: 

Making sure the library space is warm and welcoming can help. Snacks along with a tea cart can go a long way to just invite other people into the space. Allow teachers to have meetings in the library. Use the space during Pro-D or Staff meetings. Overall making the space accessible will go a long way to open up conversations that might not have happened. Kimmel advises "advertise food when you want teachers to join you after school to preview new books or get a quick technology update. Brew a pot of coffee every morning, and teachers will stop by for a quick chat that might lead to a collaborative lesson" (p. 49).

Be Proactive:
Show that you are available to collaborate by not leaving right after school and saying good morning to teachers. Walking into teacher's classrooms can give you a glimpse into what is being done inside of the classroom and help give recommendations of resources or activities. In her article Demystifying Librarian Leadership: Five Ways to Find your Leadership Voice Angie Miller advises "Good leaders offer assistance before their colleagues have to ask for help. If you are listening carefully, you know what the people around you need." She also states that there is rarely much that will come out of "How can I help you". But knowing what your staff is doing will allow you to say “I know you do _____ and here is ______ that I think will help you” (Miller).  Being proactive with staff members in turn lets them see you as their "go to person" and helps build a larger collaborative community. 

Support for Admin: 
Although being a good leader entails knowing what matters to you and why a school is a collaborative building thus it is important to know " what matters to your principal and why" (Lewis, p.19). Lewis reminds us that we need to learn to really listen and ask the right questions when having conversations. She says that "sometimes listening is enough, but often following the listening with “How can I help with . . . ?” or “What can I do to support . . . ?” makes all the difference and opens the door to conversation" (Lewis, p. 19). Finally when there are problems, it is important "always come with solutions," (Lewis, p.20) this will in turn open dialogue instead of just presenting more work for the administrator. As curators of resources we can also "find articles, videos, or research studies that relate to the [administrators] concern and share them," (Lewis, p.20) thus supporting them and the schools needs. 

Resource Leadership: 

Miller reminds us that "communication is a tricky thing. When communicating from the library, be clear, consistent and routine". A tip I picked up from another teacher librarian colleague was to leave new resources on tables during staff meetings. Making sure to include a sticky note pad with the resources. This way teachers could write their thoughts about the resource or request it. We need to remember that our teacher colleagues will not always have time to make their way into the library and so we need to make resources accessible to them. Another idea I had was a monthly newsletter that would probably be 3-4 pages maximum. One section could so an overview of what has been happening in the library, keeping in mind that pictures are the best way to document progress. Another section could be 'What's New!' and would showcase new material to staff. Finally a section would would recommend fiction, non-fiction and web resources curated for a specific grade and unit. We can not "assume that teacher know what resources are available, the our schedule is or what events we are hosting," (Miller) thus communicating frequently is necessary. 

Lunch and Learns: 

In the teacher librarian role listening will have to become your greatest superpower. Miller states that "you cannot lead effectively without listening carefully." This includes listening carefully in staff meetings or even the photocopier. To meet the needs of our staff "we need to know what the greatest needs of our teacher, administrators, and students are" (Miller). Once we know than we can accommodate and help learning happen, one way to support learning is by hosting lunch and learns in the library. If a number of teacher have similar Professional Growth Plan goals in the coming year, this could be a way to gather them together to discuss and collaborate. A lunch and learn could be a great place to showcase new technology or resources teachers might want to use in their classrooms. The opportunities are endless but it needs to be kept in mind that the reason for these opportunities is to help staff, not add more to their plates. District consultants for math, reading, or science would also be great precentors at lunch and learns and could even run a mini-series that lasts a couple of weeks. Also remember it is not every lunch hour, make the time manageable for you and your staff.

References: 

Miller, Angie. “Demystifying Librarian Leadership: Five Ways to Find Your LEADERSHIP VOICE.” Knowledge Quest, Knowledgequest, 5 Jan. 2018, knowledgequest.aasl.org/demystifying-librarian-leadership-five-ways-find-leadership-voice/.

Kimmel, SC. PASS THE CHOCOLATE planning with teachers. Knowledge Quest. 42, 1, 48-51, Sept. 2013

Paciotti , Barbara. “12 Ways a School Librarian Can Help Teachers.” 2 Peas and a Dog, 14 June 2020, www.2peasandadog.com/2018/07/12-ways-a-school-librarian-can-help-teachers.html.

Roots Lewis, Katheryn. “The School Librarian and Leadership: What Can Be Learned?” Http://Teacherlibrarian.com/, Apr. 2016, teacherlibrarian.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/1B-lewis.pdf.

Sinek, Simon. Start with Why: How Great Leaders Inspire Everyone to Take Action. Penguin Business, 2019.