Interview date: March 4, 2022
Librarian and school: Tricia Candor (Librarian) and Tara Parker (Librarian Assistant) at College Park Elementary School, Ladson, South Carolina
Shared Foundation: Explore
During a recent visit to College Park Elementary School library, I was privileged to observe a kindergarten, first grade, and second grade library class in session. I discussed with Mrs. Candor and Mrs. Parker some of their organization methods and time-saving strategies, and I also asked Mrs. Candor what experience has taught her regarding the implementation of the shared foundation Explore from the National School Library Standards for Learners, School Librarians and School Libraries (American Library Association [ALA], 2017).
We specifically discussed domains Think and Create and how these come to life in her library. The Think domain of shared foundation Explore states that. "School librarians foster learners' personal curiosity by encouraging learners to read widely and deeply in multiple formats and write and create for a variety of purposes..." (ALA, 2017, p. 102). Address of this domain comes very naturally when teaching elementary students. Mrs. Candor accomplishes this by selecting a wide variety materials to share during read alouds, taking advantage of opportunities to suggest similar but different materials during readers' advisory, and by giving away books several times a year. Books for these give-away events are usually acquired through grant money or are purged items and they always encompass a wide variety of texts and genres.
While I was visiting an unexpected opportunity presented to encourage writing for one particular student. A second grade girl, according to Mrs. Candor, has begun to leave messages on sticky notes attached to her books when she returns them. Expressions of admiration and appreciation from adults for her messages have encouraged her to write even more. I can't help but think there is a beautiful, budding idea there waiting to be applied to the larger school population.
The Create domaine states that, "School librarians prepare learners to engage with the learning community by providing strategies for acting on curiosity about a topic of personal interest or curricular relevance..." (ALA, 2017, p. 102). Since the onset of Covid 19 many of the usual ways to address this domain have been put on hold. For example, the library had purchased a lego wall just before the height of the pandemic (look for a bonus resource about how to build your own lego wall at the end of this blog!) but it has not yet been used because of complications with social distancing. Activity stations, puzzles, crafts, and a read aloud station with stuffed animal reading buddies have all been abandoned this year for safety concerns but Mrs. Candor is hopeful that they will be put to use again soon.
Collaboration takes place with a few teachers at College Park Elementary School who have projects they repeat yearly. Mrs. Candor creates library lessons that support a third grade language project, a fourth grade hobby project and a fifth grade endangered animal project for example. Her involvement largely involves research instruction and helping students locate books for their project topic.
Mrs. Candor shared that her biggest challenge is getting kids to read at home, especially over the summer. The school's population is 40% hispanic and 90% low income. One might speculate that the language barrier many of the students' parents face is one reason reading at home is not as frequent as a librarian would like. Along with book giveaways, Mrs. Candor encourages students to be bold and ask their adults or older siblings to read to them, and encourages them to also read back to their adults or even pets as a means to increase exposure to books.
My visit to College Park Elementary School library turned out to be one of the most enjoyable of the series. I was impressed by the welcoming atmosphere of the library, the happiness of the students to be there, and the effective, time-saving organization strategies that Mrs. Candor has developed through her experience. I left feeling very encouraged and excited about my new professional venture. Hats off to Mrs. Candor and College Park Elementary School library!
References
American Library Association. (2017). National school library standards for learners, school librarians and school libraries.
