Many of you asked that I post a HIT to my query about the use of planners for
library passes other schools. In my school, it is less than successful. Whenever I
send students back to class for a signed planner, they rarely return and I feel
that I've discouraged library use. After reading these responses, tho', I've
decided to become more vigilant. Thanks to all who replied! You guys are great!
*If you encourage students being allowed to use the library, but also stress that
you need to make sure they are where they need to be, I would think that teachers
would be willing to take the 30 seconds needed to fill them out.
*Guess it also helps that our middle schools started using them, too.
*Our students are issued planners which they MUST carry at all times. (Middle
school students MUST use them to write homework assignments in each day, in HS
students are not checked to be sure they are using them for that, but most do.)
*We also insist that the front page be intact - some students were removing the
first page which contained name- address, etc. No first page - no pass. Students
must buy a new planner for 5 dollars.
*No student moves in the school without a planner. If a student appears in the
library without a planner signed, s/he is sent back to wherever. If they get there
or not - is not my problem - it is the student's. We don't have hall monitors
either - so a student could wander - but they are usually discovered - as the halls
are empty.
*Everyone must be on the same page - and use the planners. It only takes one staff
member to screw up the system - and usually a staff member will speak to the
offending teacher.
*I do not have to send back very many now because they know that I require
completed planner and most get them before they come.
*When a student arrives without a pass I either call the teacher (our school has
phones in each classroom) or send the student back to get a pass. The students
usually do come back with a pass, unless they should not have been in the library
to begin with.
*The kids generally do have their planner with them when they come to the library
because their internet access sticker (indicating that their parents have given
permission for them to be on the internet at school) is affixed to the front of the
planner. They have to have that to use a computer for online research in the
library.
*If a kid cuts class and gets called to the office, the child may say that they hid
out in the library. Then I (or you) look bad for having basically harbored a
criminal so to speak. I always tell the kids "I will get in trouble if the office
found out you were here without a pass, so do me a favor and go back and get a
pass". That way I am approaching it positively and not assuming they are cutting.
They don't get hostile or anything about it. Your teachers will catch on really
fast if you stop letting the kids in if they don't have a signature in their
planner.
*These are the things I have done always gently and with respect and kindness for
the kid and teachers involved: 1. I require all students to sign in and out of
the library on a clipboard we keep on the front counter. Period, name, time in,
time out, teacher, and reason. We have over 800 students in our school and
sometimes this backs up so we have them use two or three signup sheets during rush
times. 2. The first time a student comes without a signed planner -- I actually
ask them to show them to me -- I say something about this time, but not every
again. I then go on to say it is a building policy and the reason we keep track of
where students are with the planner and sign in sheets is so if parents call or if
a teacher wants to check up on a student they know "you've done exactly, what you
told them you were going to do." I really play up how it is to their benefit, not
just paperwork because the librarian is a pain. 3. If I start getting a lot of
students without signed planners I send them back to get their planners signed and
I usually send an email to all teachers in the building reminding them of (KINDLY)
how important this is for the safety of their students. I mention something about
kids where they are supposed to be. Again, I try to remind them of why this is a
positive for them as teachers as well as the whole school. Kids wandering the
halls disrupt a lot of classes. etc., etc. 4. I sometimes come up with a small
announcement for morning broadcast to remind students to be sure to have their
planners. I try to make this one funny. Most of the time it works, sometimes you
just go with the flow if the majority are doing it right and you know the kid
and/or teacher. I always remind myself this is really not that important in the
big scheme of things.
*Everyone has to be 'on the same page' about them in order to be effective. They
can be a great study skills tool, if teachers require students to have them to
write assignments, keep passwords, etc. I encourage their use by holding a "Best
Personalized Planner" contest. Students decorate their planner with photos, woven
ribbons, etc.. for prizes. It also makes them easier to recognize and more
meaningful.
*I did away with date due slips and have the kids write the due date in their
planners - they put LBD (Library Books Due) on the appropriate day
*We have a school/parent/student compact in the front, which has to be signed by
the principal, student, and parent. We also have our AUP for computers, signed by
parents and students. Students must have their planners open to this page when
using the computers in the building.
*Even if students have a signed planner, we ask them to sign into the library on a
clipboard. We told them we were tracking library usage (which we are) and have had
no hassle and have needed very few reminders. In this day of tight budgets, we
decided any stats we could maintain to prove our relevance was worth the extra
effort.
*We gave the students 6 "free" passes per six weeks for the bathroom, water,
locker. If they were tardy to class, they lost one of the passes. They were
highlighted in different colors every six weeks, and taken away by the teacher
signing over the whole pass.
*Our students write the pass on the date that they are visiting; the teacher signs
the pass. If the student wants to do research, his/ her pass must say that they
are here to do research. Otherwise, I assume that they are here to checkout a
book, and do not allow them to use the computers for anything other than book
search.
*I have the same issue here -- teachers don't want to fill out a pass -- to me if I
am going to watch &/or teach their students for 15 - 45 min., they can take 2
minutes to write a pass. I don't like to punish the student & send them back, but
I have had "ditchers" a few times this year....I have actually started calling
repeat offender teachers & politely telling them I know it's a pain to write the
pass, but I've had several students ditching this year & could they be sure to
write a pass? It has helped quite a bit.
*I do send the students without passes back to class, however, the use of a pass in
the planner is REQUIRED according to the student hand book (also found in the
planner!). I would discuss with the staff your concerns regarding knowing where a
student it. I know that in Michigan we have had a couple of incidents of Columbine
like threats made in the last couple of weeks. The student(s) responsible were
tracked through the use of passes and who was released from class. Powerful
argument!
*Here's what I do--No planner, no entry, no kidding!
*Each kid needs to have their planner signed and time dated/destination noted in
the planner on the page for the given day. If not, I ship them back to the teacher
and/or call the teacher and interrupt their class with a "Did you REALLY send a kid
to me without a signed planner?" over half the time the kid shot out of class
without the teacher's knowledge!
*I do not let them put more than one name on a planner (I call this hitchhiking)
and they must have me sign the planner before leaving. Hence my nickname -- Planner
Witch (or something that rhymes with Witch).... I try to be as consistent as
possible and have Assistant Principals and the Security folks thanking me over and
over.
*We use planners, and I always send 'em back if they don't have the pass part
filled out. It is school policy, number one, and for a second reason, I don't want
to be in the wrong when a student spends a period in the library when he should be
in class (i.e. is "cutting"). That happened to me my first year here, and the
teacher came in and reamed me out. Since then, I've decided to follow the rules.
Now, the teachers get annoyed when they end students without writing a pass for
them, but at least they are mad at me for the right reason, not the wrong one!
*We have planners and I see what you are seeing plus all other types of fake
signatures, etc.
*We tried this a few years ago, and eventually dropped it. Some kids would use up
all their passes, then get a new planner and keep roaming. Others would use a
friend's planner (accidentally or on purpose, with or without the owner's
knowledge) and later on bring their own up with blank pages, "proving" that they
had never left the room. Some kids just plain lost their planners and never
replaced them.
*The effectiveness of planners really does depend on the STAFF buying in to the
concept. At our high school, less than 1/2 the teachers sign them, so they aren't
reliable.
*We just had a bomb scare (highly unusual at our rural school) yesterday. The
clipboard passes in each room listing which student went where at what time were
important evidence. The threat was found in a bathroom after school on Monday.
The documentation was used the next morning and was very helpful to the
administration. Planners would not have been as accessible and would have been
more cumbersome.
Deb Evers, Library Media Specialist
Cushing High School
Cushing, OK
devers at cushinghs dot k12 dot ok dot us
Always read stuff that will make you look good if you die in the middle of it.
--P. J. O'Rourke
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