Harwood Middle/High School Library

By Judy Kaplan

The next stop on the School Library Spotlight tour takes us to the Mad River Valley, along the spine of the Green Mountains.  Harwood Union Middle/High School welcomes about 650 students from Duxbury, Fayston, Moretown, Waitsfield, Warren, and Waterbury.  Located in Moretown on busy Route 100, enthusiasts rush by to get to well known ski resorts, recreational areas, and towns to the north and south.  The communities take pride in their schools, and Harwood Union provides opportunities for both students and staff to excel.  

Megan Reed, the school librarian, is in her third year as the Harwood librarian.  Her previous role as a science teacher provides a first hand knowledge of curriculum, the implementation of Act 77, and Flexible Pathways which enhances her ability to collaborate with colleagues.  Megan is an active educational partner in classes throughout the school made possible because the library assistant, Celia Dehais, keeps the physical space humming while she is out and about. Celia is working on her MLIS, and brings both knowledge and experience that are great assets to the library program at Harwood. With a stable budget and flexibility in programming decisions, Megan can adjust the library to fit staff and student needs.

Megan believes it is important to embed library resources and services in classrooms while promoting the library as a flexible learning space that can accommodate multiple uses according to various needs and events.  She enjoys the eagle eye perspective of academic and social learning that being in her position affords as it helps her identify opportunities to support student learning.

Megan finds that listening closely to students and colleagues helps her identify changes that might improve library resources and services. After learning that students were looking for group collaboration spaces, she shifted the collection to make this desire a reality.  As shown in the slide deck, the space is large, open, has areas for presentation and group work, as well as quiet study spaces. The fiction collection is located in a separate space with inviting comfy chairs. Windows wrap around three walls of the main space, allowing a view into the surrounding woodlands.

Recently, the entire middle school has committed to a 20 minute daily reading block for literacy. The library is the go to place for resources, so it is busier than ever.  Megan and her assistant are just finishing up genrefying the middle school fiction collection, a year long project. Those who have tackled this job can understand that there are many aspects to getting it right!   Now when students rush in to find something to read, they are able to self select according to genres, and Megan can spend time in readers’ advisory with those who are not quite sure what they want.

Another new feature for the library is a digital media production studio adjacent to the circulation desk.  Equipment and devices for video production are available for student and staff projects.

In addition to her role as librarian at Harwood, Megan has several irons in the fire. As a co-leader in the sophomore teacher advisory program, Megan collaborates with Ellen Berrings, the Employment Specialist, Advisory, and PLP Coordinator, to guide students as they move to proficiency based graduation requirements for 2020 graduates. Along with other faculty members, Megan leads a group of tenth graders on a daily basis to offer small group support for academic and social learning as part of this advisory program.

Megan is excited to be working with two ELA teachers who are teaching a pilot course for Harwood’s new Capstone Project in which students will engage in research related to an area of personal interest. Megan has expanded the library website to support this research, and it has links for resources beyond the school. Megan will be involved in direct instruction in the classroom, and then with advising and guiding access to resources independently with students. A subscription to Noodletools will help organize student learning.  The teachers are thrilled with this dynamic resource, and the students are looking forward to a new adventure that is being launched during the next few weeks. Megan is providing professional development for teachers who are interested in using Noodletools in other classrooms, now that the word is out.

Another related initiative in the school targets wellness, and Megan is enthusiastic about being on a steering committee established by Tara Cariano, the School Counselor. Tara is a 2018-19 Rowland Fellow who has received a grant to spend the year exploring ways to integrate social emotional learning and supports for students and staff in the school experience.  It would be great to follow up with the results generated from this important conversation.

Megan looks forward to monthly meetings with the other school librarians in the district.  All elementary schools, and the other middle school, Crossett Brook, have certified librarian/ technologists, and they gather to share ideas and support new learning.  From those meetings, Megan was encouraged to become a part of the World of Difference Program at Harwood Union.   

Parting words from Megan-it pays to have a sense of humor when working with teens.  Here’s recent joke from some ninth grade boys:

“Why does a golfer carry an extra pair of pants?”  “S/He might get a hole in one!”

Contact Megan Reed with any questions or a request to visit:  hulibrary@wwsu.org

Mill River Union Middle/High School

By Judy Kaplan

Over the river and through the wood to find this month’s Vermont school library spotlight…

Let’s visit Mill River Union Middle/High School in North Clarendon, Vermont to meet Karen McCalla, the school librarian who is as passionate about books and reading as she is about STEAM-Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Math in the library makerspace. She is also excited about the recent renovations in the library learning spaces that serve about 450 middle and high school students.  To keep all the plates spinning in this large and varied space, Karen is assisted full time by a former high school teacher, Lois Castaguay, who really enjoys working with teens.  

Be sure to look through the photos in the slide show to see the results.

The transformation of the library reflects changes in the schoolwide shift to proficiency based learning, and personalization embodied in VT Act 77, “Flexible Pathways.”  Learners are encouraged to take responsibility for charting their own futures with voice and choice.  Teachers provide a framework and guidance for the learning. Traditional classroom spaces need to be redesigned to accommodate opportunities for individual or group projects that challenge learners to solve authentic problems-and that includes the library.  

For years the Mill River library occupied a large space within the middle school wing, that was enclosed by a wall along a corridor with controlled access through a front door.    In the redesign, emphasis was focused on opening up the space so that learners could have multiple spots for active learning and collaboration, while providing quiet spaces for individual concentration.

The solution was novel-just move the wall to allow for open access to one half of the space, and repurpose the glass wall to separate the quiet learning area with the bulk of the print collection.  In the open space, there are multiple tables and comfortable seating to accommodate small groups for project work. Restaurant booth seating defines the library space apart from the open hallway to several classrooms. Rotating displays of new and popular books, as well as multimedia attract students by interest and format.  During my visit, there was a constant low hum of quiet conversation and students were busy with their laptops and projects. Everyone seemed to be on task and purposeful.

An entrance through the glass wall that was reinstalled to divide the space leads to the quiet area that has nonfiction, some reference, and the fiction print collection.  There are work tables, and comfortable chairs for reading and thinking. The non-fiction has been weeded, and continues to be weeded, as the digital library has expanded on the library website available 24/7.  The fiction collection is currently being genrefied.

Karen works in high school classrooms as she collaborates with content area teachers and students with research. Then, she is able to continue to support individual and group projects in the library learning space, and makerspace.  Middle school teachers also collaborate with Karen to work with classes in the library spaces, or in classrooms. Her schedule varies from day to day, week to week according to curriculum and literacy needs of teachers and students.

While one may think that a major space redesign might be prohibitively expensive, Karen has shown what ingenuity, perseverance, and old fashioned New England thrift can accomplish.  The makerspace areas of the library learning space have morphed over the past few years. Adjacent to the main learning space, there are multiple areas for exploring STEAM projects, and for creative production.  Karen has been able to provide many resources through donations, grants, and gifts to supplement a limited budget. For example, she acquired sewing machines from the dismantled living arts classrooms, and provides electronic and digital equipment and devices for science exploration and tinkering.  A green screen room is an advantage for digital filmmakers.

As an auction junkie, Karen has been able to snag attractive bookshelves from a bookstore that was closing in the area, and tables and chairs from restaurants going out of business.  Even on a shoestring budget, vision and determination can bring about success. Karen’s energy is evident in her welcoming smile and bountiful enthusiasm for helping learners reach their potential as scholars and creators of new ideas.

Karen is a resource for colleagues throughout the local area and across Vermont.  The MINT community makerspace in Rutland is another one of her pet projects, and she is often a presenter at Dynamic Landscapes and Vermont Fest.  If you run into her there, be sure to ask her, “What’s new?”

You can reach her through her email: kmccalla@millriverschools.org

October Spotlight:

This month the spotlight is on the Fair Haven Union High School I-Media Center, in Fair Haven, Vermont. The 9-12 school with about 450 students from area towns has a renovated learning space led by Deb Ehler-Hansen, LMS. Two years ago, the library was traditional, and now, thanks to Deb’s vision and support from her administration, it is an I-Media Center with multiple learning spaces, production spaces, quiet learning zones, comfortable seating, and resources for print and digital learning. What makes it an I-Media Center?

“The "i" in I-Media stands for innovation, information, inquiry, and interest-based learning opportunities! The i-Media Center is both the physical and VIRTUAL "HUB" of all school learning!”

That just about says it all in a nutshell! Great branding! Future ready!

The I-Media Center welcomes classroom teachers who collaborate with Deb for research projects, students who are looking for reading adventures, others who want to explore STEM learning, and more. Deb is especially excited to have about 20 students participating in a book club, and also collaborates with a history teacher to sponsor students involved in a 3D tech competition.

The I-Media website is a treasure trove of information for all users and visitors. It is truly a wonderful example of how a virtual library complements the physical space. The resources and links are useful anytime, anywhere. Spend some time scrolling through the photos and videos on the front page to get a sense of the variety of activities that make this an active learning space.

Deb is developing a makerspace area and has curated some tech tools for innovation and creativity. During the summer, she offered a two week course for high school students to explore Finch Robots, Scratch, MIT Hummingbird, Little Bits, and Makey Makey. Watch the video to see High School Prep 2017 in action. The secret she says, is to let the students take the lead in the learning. Innovation sometimes means failure, and lots of persistence!

Next on Deb’s agenda, is to provide professional development for her colleagues at FHUHS who are tasked with personalizing learning for their students. She is creating an online course to guide educators to transform learning with technology and inquiry. In November, she will be presenting her work at the AASL Conference in Phoenix. Look for more information about that and a link to her presentation in a later post.