Interview with Laura Horton

                 Camden High School Library

         


Introducing.........

                            Mrs. Laura Horton

Mrs. Laura Horton has been the librarian at Camden High School for 39 years. She is very well known for her outstanding work in the school district and the community.  Mrs. Horton was CHS Teacher of the Year in 2003-2004 and CHS Reading Teacher of the Year for 2018-2019. Mrs. Horton is the leader of communications for the high school as well as the head of the Bulldog Club.

Include

During my visit to Camden High School, I was able to ask Mrs. Horton how she implements the Inquire Shared Foundation. This was my first time in a high school library and I was very interested in ways to make the library appeal to the entire population of a school. The Include Shared Foundation focuses on "inclusiveness and respect for diversity in the learning community" (National School Library Standards, 2018). During our conversation, I kept thinking about the Grow Domain within the Include Shared Foundation. One way Mrs. Horton empowers all learners is with the use of large book displays that highlight diverse cultures, differently-abled students, and women. These displays are filled with books that provide students the opportunity to explore different perspectives and develop awareness and respect for diversity. This month the display highlighted Black History Month. 

The library at CHS has been organized in a way that fits the needs of all readers. Graphic Novels has their own section. This section quickly attracts reluctant readers.

Mrs. Horton also created a section called Rapid Reads. This section is filled with shorter books that take less time to read than most young adult novels. 

Camden High School has an growing spanish speaking community. Mrs. Horton is actively growing a collection of popular books written in spanish.

    

Mrs. Horton would love to add STEAM and STEM activities to the library. Having these activities in the library would appeal to students with a variety of reading levels, abilities, and interests. The biggest obstacle for her is money. These tools and kits are extremely expensive. 

Mrs. Horton does an amazing job filling her library with books and materials that are mirrors, windows, and sliding glass doors for the students at Camden High School.

Resources

National School Library Standards for Learners, School Librarians, and School Libraries (2018).

            American Library Association, Chicago, IL.

An Interview with Emily Baccomo

                   Lugoff-Elgin Middle School                  

Meet the Librarian......

                         Mrs. Emily Baccomo 

This semester I had the opportunity to spend the day with Emily Baccomo, the librarian, at Lugoff-Elgin Middle school. Mrs. Baccomo is in her third year as a librarian and she is winning big in her profession! She was extremely open and eager to show me all of the tools she uses to be an effective librarian to students and teachers. 

Collaborate

During my time at LE Middle, I was able to conduct an interview with Mrs. Baccomo. I was very curious about how the library was used by teachers. My questions were centered around the Collaborate Shared Foundation of the AASL standards. The Collaborate Shared Foundation states that librarians and teachers should "work effectively with others to broaden perspectives and work toward a common goal" (National School Library Standards, 2018). When a teacher and a librarian collaborate, students can develop a deeper understanding of classroom standards as well as the AASL Domains: Think, Create, Share, and Grow.

Mrs. Baccomo became the librarian at a school that was not accustomed to teachers working closely with the librarian.  Before, the library was mainly used for book checkouts. When Mrs. Baccomo began her job, she knew the importance of collaborating with classroom teachers.  Soon she found herself on a mission to win over the teachers in her school. Mrs. Baccomo created a "menu" outlining her services. Mrs. Baccomo wanted to help teachers take their classroom lessons and make them more impactful. She understood that teaching students how to formulate research questions based on their intrests and effectivly seeking the information to answer the questions is the best way to create lifelong learners.

 

Then, she started attending department and grade level meetings. At first she would listen to the topics that  were discussed and leave the teachers with a copy of her "menu".  Slowly, teachers began asking her to work with them on lessons. As time went on, word got out that the new librarian could be an amazing classroom resource! More and more teachers were eager to collaborate with Mrs. Baccomo. 

Now, Mrs. Baccomo is constantly on the lookout for new resources and materials teachers can use in the classroom.  She has created a wonderful rapport with the faculty and students. Her library was full of students exploring the books on the shelves, students researching information for class projects, and teachers asking questions about the resources in the library that relate to their classroom lessons. 

Mrs. Baccomo was quick to let me know that winning over the teachers and convincing them to use her as a resource has been her biggest challange as a middle school librarian. She still has one grade level that hasn't utilized her as much as others, but she calls it a work in process.  

Resources

National School Library Standards for Learners, School Librarians, and School Libraries (2018).

            American Library Association, Chicago, IL.

An Interview with Betsy Long

INTRODUCING..........

                        Mrs. Betsy Long 

                     

Mrs. Long has been a librarian for 25 years. She is a master of her profession. She was the Teacher of the Year for Doby's Mill Elementary school in 2004-2005, NBPTS certified in 2008, and she won South Carolina Media Specialist of the Year in 2008. I was honored to have the privilege of studying under her during this semester. 

INQUIRE

During my time with Betsy Long, I was able to ask her a few questions about how she incorporates the Inquire Shared Foundation into her library program. She immediately started telling me how she gets the students to "Think" about things they want to know more about and how she teaches them to find information. Mrs. Long starts teaching her students how to research in kindergarten! She finds that scaffolding the research process with students is essential in creating learners who are comfortable seeking information. She collaborates with classroom teachers and selects a book to read with the students that will spark interest in a researchable topic. Due to the limited amount of nonfiction books in the library, Mrs. Long often checks out books from local public libraries to use for her lessons. Technology is also a big part of engaging learners' curiosity. 

The most recent 5k research lesson centered around a book about animals. She pointed out the animals in the book and asked the students to pick one of the animals they wanted to know more about. She pulled resources on the different animals and had the students find facts about the animals and write them on sticky notes to use later. 

Mrs. Long tells me that students often come to the library and strike up a conversation about current events. Like most kids, they will ask her questions about a topic that she has no idea about; such as, who was the first person to climb Mt. Everest, or when did the biggest earthquake happen? Because she has taught them the skills to find answers to questions, she can direct them to the section of books or computers where the students can find their answers. Little do these kids know, Mrs. Long has "enabled them to seek knowledge, and make real-world connections"(National School Library Standards, 2018).

During this interview, a group of fifth-grade students filed into the library with their notebooks to research their Black History Month person. I watched as they went straight to the biography section, grabbed their book, and headed back to a table to work. Her story of the kindergarten research had come full circle during our interview. Mrs. Long is creating lifelong learners with each lesson she teaches. 

Resources

National School Library Standards for Learners, School Librarians, and School Libraries (2018).

            American Library Association, Chicago, IL.