Memorandum

TO: Ms. Hawkins, Principal FROM: Julia Anderson (For Kathy Schmidt) at Rock Springs Elementary CC: Ms. Barbee, Instructional Support Center DATE: October 15, 2012 SUBJECT: Georgia DOE Evaluation Summary

I recently performed a self-evaluation of the Rock Springs library media program using the 2012 Georgia DOE rubric. I want to present the results of the evaluation to you and also provide an action plan for improvement. In Category 1, Student Achievement and Instruction, Rock Springs is at the exemplary level for most areas, including 1, 3, 4, and 6. Our media specialist collaborates regularly with teachers, helps with lesson planning and assessments, and meets the needs of both the language arts curriculum and recreational reading. Areas 2 and 5 meet the proficient level. Collaborative planning is based on Common Core standards, however, learning strategies are based on general needs of students and are not highly individualized due to teachers limited planning schedule. Also, individual classroom data is not religiously kept, however, yearly RBES data is used to measure overall school achievement. In Category 2, Staffing, Rock Springs met the exemplary criteria in all areas. Our library media specialist is a full-time employee. With the help of a full-time clerk, the media center is always open during school hours and always has a staff member available to assist students and teachers. In Category 3, Facilities, Access, and Resources, we exhibit the exemplary status for areas 8, 9, 11, 12, and 13. Our media center uses a flexible schedule and the media specialist has time available for collaboration throughout the school day. The library media center is available for student check out before and during school hours. Teachers may come before, during, or after school hours for check out or assistance. The media center is an adequate size with 3 separate areas for teaching and learning, one of which has a class set of 30 student computers. Materials such as databases are available online for use on the school computers and also at home. Destiny allows students to locate print resources in the media center and keeps the librarys circulation accurate and up-to-date. Faculty and staff can take full advantage of courses and lessons available through GALILEO. Area 10 meets the proficient level as streaming video is used regularly and interactive white boards are used heavily throughout the school. Unfortunately, the interactive white board in the media center is old and not fully functional. In Category 4, Administrative Support, Rock Springs meets the Exemplary criteria for areas 14, 16, 17, 18, and 19. The school district facilitates a good level of communication between the SMCP and the local media specialist. A county wide advisory committee is in place to evaluate budgets and materials, and also reviews the media policies annually. The media specialist constantly engages in professional learning opportunities and is a leader in school staff development sessions. Area 15 meets the proficient level as the school principal encourages teachers to utilize library resources, but is not highly involved or informed with the goings-on of the library media program.

Action Plan for Improvement: Upon the review of the successes and short-comings of the operations of the media center, I would like to suggest a plan to improve in Category 3, area 4, which relates to the interactive white boards. As mentioned above, our librarys smart board is very old and not fully functional any longer. In order to improve the quality of lessons and maximize learning opportunities in the media center, I would like to see a replacement of this equipment. A new smart board or the installation of a white board with a mimeo attachment would allow the media specialist to greatly enhance group lessons. State funding allotted for technology should be used for this purpose. If this is not possible, a fund-raising project at the local school level should be used to earn funds for this purpose. Thank you for your time and attention to this matter. With the help of the administration and the countys support, Rock Springs can continue to provide quality services to students and staff.