Cummings was nominated by J.D. George Elementary School library media specialist Susan McPherson. She has been a leader in the effort to establish a collaborative and integrated library media program at J.D. George Elementary School. Both Cummings and McPherson said the ability to seek out and thoughtfully interpret information is critical to student success. J.D. George is in the second year of a new approach to providing access to library resources. Flexible scheduling means that rather than limiting library access to a weekly visit, teachers may schedule as many library sessions as necessary for students to work on research projects.
Students can also use the library independently to continue their work.
Integrating research skills across different content areas and providing flexibility in library hours, Cummings and McPherson said, gives students the opportunity to develop skills they'll need in high school as well as through-out their lives. The skills we want students to develop are the same skills you'd have in any language arts curriculum, and that's to be able to communicate, to get information and to utilize and interpret information, no matter what they're doing. Our goal is to help students become independent learners, not just within school but at any time during their lives.