Emily Levine

LBSC 744
2/2/14

Initial Vision and Expectations Paper
I believe an effective library media program is the heart of the school. It is able to bring
the entire school community together and provides endless opportunities for teaching and
learning. The school cannot operate without it.
The library media center is a warm, welcoming place where staff, students, and parents
feel comfortable and at home. All members of the school community frequent the media center
to gather information, as well as to use materials for personal enjoyment. Communication is
open between the media specialist and all school stakeholders. High levels of collaboration take
place or are being strived toward.
The media specialist should be open and inviting to all, as well as proactive in reaching
out to fellow members of the school community. She should be flexible, knowledgeable, and a
prominent leader within the school. Mutual trust and respect is essential in the relationship
between the media specialist and other school community members.
An effective school library program maintains a well-rounded, current collection that
meets the needs of the school community. A variety of genres, formats, and materials should be
made available that is representative of the community of users. There are numerous print and
non-print resources accessible to patrons. The school staff is able to utilize library resources that
meet instructional purposes for students. An effective program is one in which the school staff
has been given training in media resources that can be used with students.
The most effective library program runs on a flexible schedule. Flexible scheduling
encourages higher levels of collaboration to occur and more meaningful units to be planned,
Emily Levine
LBSC 744
2/2/14

taught, and assessed. An effective media specialist applies the teaching of information and
digital literacy skills within collaborative subject area lessons.
An effective program also has a media specialist who fills all five roles teacher,
instructional partner, information specialist, leader, and program administrator. It has well-
trained staff and/or volunteers who help make sure the media center runs smoothly.
As I prepared to enter my placements, I believe my biggest strength is my background in
education. The experiences Ive gained in my seven years of teaching have been invaluable. My
teacher training has provided me with a solid background in educational theory, methods, best
practices, and classroom management. My certification is in early childhood, as well as
elementary education. This includes pre-kindergarten through 6
th
grade, as well as middle
school. I have taught many subject areas, including reading, writing, math, science, and social
studies. My experience teaching two different grade levels, kindergarten and second grade, will
help me both with the curriculum, as well as being prepared to work with a variety of different
ages of students. Having previous experience in Montgomery County will aide me as I get ready
to work at Little Bennett Elementary School.
Planning, delivering, and assessing lessons and units is something Ive been doing for
many years. During my time in the classroom, I have worked with diverse groups of learners
and tailored my teaching to their individual learning styles, needs, and interests. Many of my
students have had special needs or speak English as a second language. I am experienced with
differentiating my lessons and providing scaffolding to help students succeed. My experience
with the new online curriculum, Curriculum 2.0, will give me an additional edge with planning.
Emily Levine
LBSC 744
2/2/14

I also have had experience working alongside fellow teachers and school staff. This will
help me when beginning to collaborate with classroom teachers. I know the importance of
fostering positive relationships with fellow teachers, support staff, and administrators, as well as
students and families.
One weakness I bring to the program is my lack of prior experience working in a school
or public library. Through my classes here at the University of Maryland, I have learned so
much about all five roles of the school librarian. I have lots of experience teaching but not as a
librarian. Though I have taught in collaboration with a media specialist, I have very little
experience teaching digital citizenship and information literacy skills. I am looking forward to
putting on my librarian hat and applying all the knowledge Ive gained from my graduate classes.
Another area for improvement I hope to work on is time management. As a teacher, I
have always had difficulty fully preparing for my lessons within the allotted planning time
during the day. I regularly needed to dedicate extra personal time before and after school to have
thoroughly completed lesson plans. I am hoping that my mentor librarians will help me learn
how to manage time more wisely.
Last semester, Dr. Mega Subramaniam held a class session of LBSC742 in which Beth
McKay was our guest speaker. I was blown away with all of the roles she fills and what she is
able to accomplish at Little Bennett Elementary. I am lucky enough to be able to work with her
this semester for one of my placements. I am looking forward to learning how she juggles all
that is expected of her. I know that she is also a mother and one of my biggest fears is learning
how to maintain a work-life balance when I return to the workforce. I hope to learn from Beth
how she is able to manage her time and be a successful librarian while making time for her
Emily Levine
LBSC 744
2/2/14

family. I am also very interested in seeing how a flexible schedule plays out in the elementary
school since my experience with this is quite limited.
Although I am interested in staying in the elementary school setting, I am curious about
working with middle school students. I wonder if I will find that I enjoy working with this age
group and how the middle school librarians schedule compares to that of an elementary
librarian. Students at Wilde Lake Middle School come from families with a lower socio-
economic status and about 40% receive FARMS. I am looking forward to working with a very
different population than what Ive experienced. The librarian Ill be working with is very
proficient with technology, so I expect to learn new tools and techniques that can be utilized in
the media center. From our conversation, it sounds like Wendy McNeill does not spend very
much of her day teaching. Rather, she seems to be very busy with duties, meetings, and helping
teachers with tech problems. I am hoping that well have plenty of opportunities to collaborate
with classroom teachers and implement lessons to get the teaching piece in. She also shared that
she provides many professional development opportunities for the staff there at Wilde Lake, so
Im looking forward to gaining some experience with offering staff training.