Breanna Bales

TE 875
Advocacy Plan
Target Audience
The target audience is for the teachers at Wauneta-Palisade school. Teachers can help
with advocacy for the school library by influencing students and administration.
“Collaborating with teachers, learning will not only take place at the teacher’s level, but
will then start to trickle down to the students’ level as well (Levitov, 2007, p. 29).

Demographics
Wauneta- Palisade is a small D2 school district located in southwestern Nebraska. The
district is divided into two towns, Wauneta and Palisade located 15 miles apart.
Wauneta has a population of 620 people while Palisade has a population of 312.
Palisade holds the elementary school of pre-k through 4th grade. Wauneta serves
students in 5th grade through 12th. There are a total of 12 teachers in Wauneta, 6
teachers in Palisade and 3 teachers that serve both schools.

Interests of teachers
I chose to advocate towards teachers because it’s important for the school librarian to
develop partnerships with all stakeholders in the learning community. In order to give
our students the best education, school librarians and teachers must collaborate. By
collaborating with teachers, we can tailor our resources in order to meet the needs of
their curriculum. “The library media specialist serves as the leader to foster collaboration
and build instructional teams throughout the school and into the community” (Morris,
2010, p. 32) Our teachers strive to meet the needs of every student, therefore the library
collection should have resources to meet the needs of students regardless of where
they are academically.

Needs of teachers
1. Collaboration with the school librarian.
2. Up to date resources
3. To be able to easily navigate the library collection to find the resources they are
looking for.
4. Flexible scheduling
5. Technology training.
Library media specialist have a key role in "collaboration with teachers to develop
assignments that are matched to academic standards and include key critical thinking
skills, technology and information literacy skills, and core social skills and cultural
competencies" (AASL, 2009, p. 17). Instructional partnerships and collaboration are a
key component in ensuring that students reach their maximum academic potential.
Many teacher’s count on the school librarian to help with technological issues. By
keeping up to date with the ever changing technology, the school librarian can help train
both teachers and students to help them use different technology devices correctly.
“The SLMS introduces and models emerging technologies, as well as strategies for
finding, assessing, and using information. He or she is a leader in software and
hardware evaluation.” (AASL, 2009, p. 17).

Goals for Advocacy Plan

1. Introduce teachers to the library and make them feel comfortable knowing where
to locate resources.
2. Encourage teachers to collaborate instruction with the school librarian.
3. Encourage staff to utilize library services and materials by promoting what is
available.
4. Provide increased technology training for teachers.

Benefits to target audience

1. Create and foster positive relationships between teachers and school librarians.
2. Teachers will get to use free resources.
3. To better serve students by staying up to date with the latest technology
resources available.

Benefits to school library

1. The library will be more welcoming place that teachers and students want to visit
more often.
2. The library collection will be evaluated based on needs and use therefore
providing a useful valuable collection.
3. Contribute to student achievement.

Activities for Advocacy

1. Rearrange the library in order to create a more inviting, comfortable space. Place
signage all over the library so it’s easy to navigate. Nonfiction books will be on
 one side of the library while fiction is on the other. Nonfiction will be broken down
into categories so it’s easy for everyone to find what they are looking for. I will
include many book displays promoting different books. This will make the library
easy to navigate so teachers (and students) can comfortably find what they are
looking for. (Goals addressed: 1)

2. Promote school library at teacher in-service days by scheduling trainings on

available library resources and software updates. I will advocate for my program
by letting teachers know that I’m available and willing to help them meet their
instructional needs. My presentation will include examples of ways that we can
work together to create valuable lessons. During this time, I will let teachers know
what new resources are available. I will also give them ways to utilize and feel
comfortable with the ever changing technology. (Goals addressed: 2, 3, 4)

3. Schedule one on one meetings with teachers quarterly. This would be a great
time to find out what teachers are working on within their classrooms. The
meeting can be tailored to what the teacher needs from you (resources,
technology training, or collaboration ideas.) “Perhaps the best way to reach
teachers is to give them the personalized attention and professional concern that
will aid them in preparing, organizing and presenting instructional programs”
(Morris, 2010, p. 99). This would be a great way to get teachers opinions to
weigh on purchasing decisions. (Goals addressed: 2, 3, 4)

Marketing

In house
- The school librarian will send out e-mails to keep staff up to date with the
happenings in the Library (goals addressed: 3).
- Create joint displays to gain teacher’s support and promote the library’s collection
(Morris, 2010, p. 99) (goals addressed: 2).
- Attend department meetings in order to get the inside scoop of what teachers are
teaching (goals addressed: 2, 3).
- Encourage teachers to participate in activities in the library (goals addressed: 1).
- Survey to find out how the librarian can better serve teachers (goals addressed:
2,3).
- Share articles on the importance of co-teaching with teachers (goals addressed:
2).
Outreach
- Keep an up-to-date webpage on the happenings in the library. This will include
information on the resources and books available along with announcements and
student work (goals addressed: 3).
- Attend school board meetings to advocate for the funds to send the school
librarian to technology training conferences (goals addressed: 3, 4).

References

AASL. (2009). Empowering Learners: Guidelines for School Library Media Programs.
Developing Visions for Learning: The Changing Roles of the SLMS (pp. 16-18).

Levitov, D. (2007). One library media specialist's journey to understanding advocacy.

Knowledge Quest, 36(1), 28-31.

Morris, B. J. (2010). Administering the school library media center. Santa Barbara, CA:
Libraries Unlimited.