Melissa's+attempt

** Name of Applicant: ** PS 32 Samuel Mills Sprole Elementary School **State:** NY ** Amount Recommended: ** $5,000 ** Number of Students Served: ** 300 ** Number of Teachers: ** 50 (I actually don’t know and didn’t check) PS 32 seeks a grant of $5,000 from the state department of education to improve collaboration among teachers and library media specialists to improve students’ use of libraries and information though a project called “The Teacher has Become the Student.” The project will provide for 300 students in grades K-5 and 50 teachers in an urban section of Brooklyn, NY to improve teachers’ instruction and student acquisition of information literacy skills. The average family poverty rate in the school is 78%. 36% of students receive special education services. “The Teacher has Become the Student” will: · Provide high-quality professional development to teachers and administrators. · Educate teachers and administrators of the benefits and resources of a school library media program. · Allow for collaboration between librarian and teachers in planning content area curriculums to promote information literacy skills. · Facilitate communication between librarian and teachers. · Facilitate links and other resource-sharing networks among schools and school library media centers, and academic libraries; · Provide high-quality professional development for aides, teachers, and building administrators; and · Support teachers pursuing school library media specialist certification. As part of the evaluation, data will be collected to indicate success in the key performance areas of: 1) percentage of teachers who are utilizing the library to enhance their teaching, 2) number of books and media materials borrowed by teachers, and 3) students information literacy skills.    Statement of Need.   Having just begun a school library media program in September of 2010, students are just beginning to develop information literacy skills. Teachers are unaware of the library’s role in higher student achievement. Only 46% of fifth graders score at or above grade level on the social studies exam. (The New York State School Report Card Comprehensive Information Report). Just 34% of students grades 3-5 are reading at or above grade level as based on the 2009-2010 English Language Arts Test scores (New York City Department of Education Progress Report). One reason our students are underperforming is that they are not learning or using information literacy skills in the context of their classroom studies. The library media program can help change this. Keith Curry Lance’s research shows that collaboration between the school librarian and teacher is directly linked with higher student reading levels (**The Importance of School Libraries** Keith Curry Lance, Ph.D. Director, Library Research Service Colorado State Library). Having taught without a library for many years, the school’s teachers are unaware of the library’s resources and ability to enhance their teaching and student learning. Teachers need to be shown that their school library media program is a resource to improve instruction, deepen students’ understanding of concepts taught and to instill a love of learning in students. According to research the librarian and teachers should be involved in collaborative activities such as: librarian identifying materials and information for classroom teachers, librarians cooperatively planning instruction with teachers, librarians providing training to teachers, librarians teaching students both independently and with classroom teachers. (**The Importance of School Libraries** Keith Curry Lance, Ph.D. Director, Library Research Service Colorado State Library). Teachers need to be educated about the power of a quality school library media program. Teachers may at first view collaboration with the school library media program as “another thing to do,” but they need to understand that they have a responsibility in students’ acquisition of literacy information skills. These skills are not just important for student achievement but they help children develop valuable 21st century aptitudes essential to their success in school and beyond. As resources and technologies evolve and change, information literacy skills become more important. Technology has made access to information easier, but in many ways more complicated. Students need multiple information literacies to find, evaluate and use information in a variety of formats. (AASL Standards). . Research suggests that early information literacy instruction, using informational texts and collaborative, teacher–librarian curriculum planning, promotes critical thinking and increases the ability to problem-solve—two skills necessary for survival in today’s Information Age. (Heider, Kelly. "Information Literacy: The Missing Link in Early Childhood Education.") If their education is not providing instruction in information literacy, these students are missing out on crucial skills necessary for the 21st century. Needs works cited. If we don’t do direct quotes do we need any cites after a sentence. Or just a list of sources cited? This citation stuff is really confusing to me. 3) Goals and Objectives: a) Goal 1: Teachers will improve information literacy instruction to increase students’ information literacy and general literacy aptitudes. i) Objective 1a: 50% of the teachers on each grade level will participate in 4 in-service information literacy professional development workshops over the course of the 2011-2012 school year. (1) Teachers will read and familiarize themselves with the AASL’s Standards for the 21st Century Learner. (2) Teachers will learn about Web 2.0 applications and how to use them in the classroom’s curriculums.  ii) Objective 1b: Teachers will plan with the librarian to incorporate two information literacy skills into two content area units by January 2012. (1) Activity: Teacher and librarian will review content area curriculum and lesson plans to see where information literacy skills can be addressed. (2) Activity: Teachers will assign students an end of unit project that require the use of the information literacy skills taught to evaluate student learning and the effectiveness of their instruction.
 * Abstract (is this the same as the ‘notes to instructor’ you mentioned? I copied the format of the abstract Deb put on the content page)**

b) Goal 2: Teachers, librarian and administration communicate and collaborate to provide students with well-developed instruction.  i) Objective 2a: Over the course of the 2011-2012 school year, at least 50% of the teachers on each grade level will borrow materials related to their classes' units of study. (1) Librarian will provide professional development to teachers to showcase the library’s resources for classroom instruction. (2) Teachers will visit the school library to find materials for their units of study.

ii) Objective 2b: Collaboration between teachers and librarian will increase by 25% by January 2012. (1) Librarian will join teachers during their grade level content area “June planning” days to plan instruction for the 2011-2012 school year together. (2) Librarian will attend monthly content area grade level meetings.