**IMPROVING LITERACY THROUGH SCHOOL LIBRARIES** HIGHLIGHTS FROM THE 2004
GRANTS

## **Cattaraugus-Allegany-Erie-Wyoming BOCES** new york 

> Total No. Of Schools: 6 Students Served: 1,490 Award Amount: \$339,066

## 

The area served by the Cattaraugus-Allegany-Erie-Wyoming BOCES is
characterized by a lack of economic growth, increasing unemployment, the
absence of technology resources, and high illiteracy. The districts
served have a combined poverty rate of over twenty percent. In order to
strengthen and improve the reading, writing, listening and comprehension
skills of students, BOCES administrators applied for and won a 2004
Improving Literacy Through School Libraries program grant. Led by
Project Director Diane Crater and Project Coordinator Chris Page, the
central goal of this project was to make the library media center into
the hub of learning for each school. According to Ms. Page, teachers and
administrators often cited the following saying by Kelly Kuntz of the
Oregon Educational Media Association: "A strong library program would be
like an octopus. It would work its way into every classroom, and if you
try to cut off the tentacles you couldn't, because it was so interwoven
into the fabric of the school."

This Improving Literacy Through School Libraries program was awarded to
a consortium of six districts, all of which received equal funding and
equivalent up-to-date technology. Each school library media center
received seven computers, an array of reading software and online
subscriptions, and a Via Video camera and Polycom unit. These units
allow students to connect to any library in the Polycom network and
provide increased access to the world. All training for the software
occurred during the 2004-2005 school year and there was a great deal of
excitement among both teachers and students as the technology was
integrated into the classroom. Program funds also went towards the
sizable purchase of print materials in order to enhance library
collections. Books were chosen by each school according to specific gaps
and needs in the various library media center collections.

A major component of this program is professional development and
enhanced collaboration among teachers. Each school served by the grant
assembled a core team of seven to eight teachers and library media
specialists who underwent professional development and took leads in the
facilitation of the program. According to Ms. Crater, the school library
media specialists and teachers in these schools do not often get the
chance to work together. By combining their efforts on these core teams,
strong professional relationships were forged. During the next school
year each core team will share their professional development with
colleagues in their district so that the entire faculty will be
up-to-date on best practices in literacy.

## **Colubus county schools**

## north carolina

> Total No. Of Schools: 11 Students Served: 4,188 Award Amount:
> \$214,511

## 

In North Carolina, the Columbus County School District is strapped to
provide even the most essential services to its students. The county
suffers from a high unemployment rate and its schools have been affected
by the state's budget shortfalls. The poverty rate in this
geographically large and rural, yet sparsely populated county, is 23.74
percent. The county receives \$875.00 per pupil in local funds in
comparison to the North Carolina average of \$1,645.14.

In 2004, the Columbus County School District applied for an Improving
Literacy Through School Libraries grant. In its application, Columbus
County proposed to use grant funds to improve student literacy through
the purchase of books for its 11 elementary school libraries and to
increase student access to the school libraries though a pilot summer
reading project in six of these schools. On August 24, 2004 school
administrators officially accepted an Improving Literacy Through School
Libraries grant in front of Columbus parents, teachers, and staff. In
the year since, Ken Buck, Director of Media and Technology for the
Columbus County School District, has received countless words of thanks
for the grant and for the new books and resources purchased with grant
funds. According to Mr. Buck, the grant has had a tremendous positive
impact on the school system, teachers, and students.

During the course of the year, Columbus County utilized its full award
amount of \$214,511 to fund the Columbus Discovers Reading Project. The
project served eleven elementary schools with a combined enrollment of
4,188 pupils. The funding was allocated per school according to student
enrollment. Each of the eleven schools received an allocation of \$52
per student. Each school successfully increased the number of
appropriate curriculum aligned books in its media center collection. As
a result, there are more books available for use by teachers in the
classroom and to be checked out by students. Grant money has also gone
towards a summer reading program, which provides access to six school
media centers for five hours each week during the eight weeks of summer.
According to Mr. Buck, many students have taken advantage of this
program and school officials predict that it will have a significant
impact on student reading levels when classes resume in the fall.

## **pIKE cOUNTY SCHOOLS**

## kENTUCKY

> Total No. Of Schools: 15 Students Served: 4,657 Award Amount:
> \$350,000

## 

Pike County, Kentucky, located in the heart of Appalachia, is
geographically and socially isolated. Though the county spans 747 square
miles, the area is served by just one central library and four branch
libraries. Pike County is listed among the districts with the highest
rates of illiteracy in the nation. Over 22 percent of students in the
Pike County School System live below the poverty level and approximately
470 K-5 students have been labeled "homeless" by state and federal
standards. Nearly ninety percent of Pike County students have been
identified as "at-risk" for succeeding in schools.

Despite these obstacles, the Pike County School System's commitment to
achievement and literacy has produced tangible gains in student success.
In 2004, the Pike County School District was awarded \$350,000 in
federal education assistance through the Improving Literacy Through
School Libraries Grant program. All 15 of Pike County's elementary
schools have since received approximately \$70 per child based on
student enrollment. Each elementary school library media center received
the Waterford Early Reading Program, a comprehensive, research-based,
early reading curriculum and three technologically up-to-date computer
workstations. Funds were also used to purchase over 20,000 up-to-date
books and matching Accelerated Reader tests.

All 15 school library media centers are now operating on an extended day
cycle twice a week during the school year and are open one evening each
month for family night. Family reading nights have been so popular that
it was necessary to implement shifts in order to accommodate every
parent. In the summer of 2005, school library media centers will be open
for an additional twenty hours as part of the summer read-a-thon. In
total, each school library media center has amassed over 70 hours of
increased access. According to Maritta Clark, Director of Technology at
Pike County Schools, many parents have come to her to express their
gratitude for the extended library hours and for the opportunity to
accompany their children to the school library media centers.

## **LIVINGSTON union school district** california

> Total No. Of Schools: 3 Students Served: 2,433 Award Amount: \$231,774

## 

The Livingston Union School District, in rural Livingston, California,
used funds from Improving Literacy through School Libraries for a
project entitled, "Livingston Libraries for Literacy." Among the three
schools served by the grant, over 75 percent of students are of limited
English proficiency and over 87 percent are socioeconomically
disadvantaged. The poverty rate in the district is 26.16 percent.

Livingston students come from low socioeconomic households where age
appropriate reading materials are not available and so the demand for
books is large. Primarily, grant funds have been used to increase access
to each school library media center and to purchase materials. Each
school received \$54,000 to purchase new books and media that can be
accessed through technology, such as online encyclopedias or reference
software. The enhanced collection helped to meet the demand of the
community where schools had been running short on books. The demand for
books is even greater now that the school library media centers are open
longer hours. The Livingston Union School District has used grant
funding to keep the library media centers open four days a week after
school. Livingston schools are also opening library media centers on
select Saturdays. The library media centers are open to students,
parents, and community members.

## ![](media/image1.png){width="1.375in" height="1.18125in"}**Laveen elemtnary school district** arizona

> Total No. Of Schools: 3 Students Served: 2,000 Award Amount: \$126,097

## 

The Laveen Elementary School District, located in Laveen, Arizona,
serves 2,000 K-8 students at three schools. Twenty-two percent of
students come from families living below the poverty level. Librarians,
teachers, administrators, and parents in the district firmly believe
that libraries are unique portals to literacy, but lack of funds made it
difficult to implement programs necessary to fully realize this
philosophy. In 2004, an Improving Literacy Through School Libraries
Program award grant helped Laveen make the school library the center of
learning and the school. Project TASK (Total Access = Student Knowledge)
was designed to improve literacy skills and academic achievement.

Increased student and community access to the Laveen school libraries
was accomplished by extending the hours before and after school as well
as during the summer. Students participating in the library extended
hours were given a survey in the fall and then again at the end of the
year. Over the year, positive responses more than doubled on the
following questions: Do you feel confident searching the Web? Do you
feel confident using the library's resources? Do you feel confident
using online subscription databases? Students were taught how to find
books, how to log onto the computer, and how to make a web page. Student
feedback has been very positive. Students commented on the increase in
books and enhanced feeling of competency in using the computer and
Internet. Teachers commented on the ability of students who had been
struggling to complete homework assignments and are now producing good
work with greater ease and confidence.