HIT 5: Limit on Students from Study Hall?

[Gabe Gancarz <gancarz@ENTERACT.COM>]

BEGIN HIT PART 5:

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We have a tutorial class which is like a study hall.  I allow teachers in
all classes to send up to five students per period.  Yes, it gets crazy in
here especially when I'm working with classes also.  But students must
show their teachers what they are working on and why they need to go to
the library.  They use library passes which must state exactly what they
are researching.  If they aren't doing what they are supposed to be doing,
I send them back to their teacher.  Works OK.  Sometimes teachers don't
check what the students say they are going to do in the library.  Then I
have to monitor it closely.

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I am in a middle school. I usually limit no. to 5-6 from one study
hall-otherwise some of the teachers would send them all! I also required
that they have something to do - whether it be research, or even looking
at magazines.  My policy isn't written regarding this, I usually just send
a memo to study hall teacher.

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I'm the Library Media Specialist in a high school of approximately 325
students.  Yes, I do limit the number of students who come from study
hall. Unfortunately, too many students who come to the library have
nothing library-related to do, and I feel that my time is NOT best spent
supervising those students.  By limiting the number of students who come I
can better attend to what I need to do.

I have had some grumbling from teachers (of study halls!) in the past and
also from students.  I tell students to get passes from teachers when they
have a research project to finish and these students sign up first to come
to the library. (And, not all study halls send the full number of students
allowed, anyway.)  If a student really needs to use the library, I see to
it that he/she does.

So far no complaints from administration or community either.

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We used to set a limit but found it was difficult to make sure the
students who really needed to come got there.  Now, with no set numbers,
we quickly enforce our rules of having work to do. After one warning, they
are gone.  Our SH is directly open to the MC and sometimes the SH is out
of control.

I've been at this 25 years, and the quick and fair enforcement of rules
has mattered more than quotas.  This may not work for you, but it is our
solution after many, many tries at different methods. I must also add,
that my TA and I are in total agreement.  My former TA was in favor of all
the athletes and her last 3 years with me were hell.  When I complained,
it was "she's going to retire soon, so let it go."  So, your support staff
is important.

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We limit the # of students that can come from SH to 20 students.  We can
seat @40, so that leaves room for some students to come from classes that
need to use resources. If we didn't limit it, there are some SH teachers
who would send the whole SH down & then they would go to the lounge!

Our SH students also tell their SH teacher WHY they are coming to the
library (read magazines, get books, use computer, etc.) and if they are
not on task, they get sent back.

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I am in a school serving about 1500 students in grades 7-12.  We do not
limit the number of students who wish to use the library during study hall
by number, but we also do NOT allow study hall teachers to originate
passes.  Why?  Because we weren't getting much business other than the
kids the study-hall teachers wanted to dump.

What we do is require the student to get a pass ahead of time (before the
late bell for the period).  That pass may come from a librarian, guidance
counselor, or one of the student's subject area teachers.  The student
must report on time to study, where the pass gets co-signed by the study
teacher, and the student comes to the library.  We still get about 75-120
students a day, plus any classes.  Substitute teachers are not permitted
to originate passes at all.

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I am a LMS in a high school of just over 1900 students.  This is my fifth
year there.  I started the position in November and the school was "set"
in a pattern of allowing lots of students to just go to the library from
study hall; it didn't matter if they really had library work to do, they
just came.  This created times of the day when the students were there to
talk because in study hall they couldn't.  The study halls were for
freshmen and sophomores only, upper classmen were able to be in the
cafeteria or library by their own choice.

At Christmas, my first year, I went to the principal and told him I found
this study hall routine to be very disruptive because most of the students
were there to socialize.  He asked me what I would suggest and I was
prepared! :-) Told him I wanted students in the library but the
underclassmen needed to have a purpose so I developed a "pass" system
where they had to get a pass from a subject teacher which was telling me
they had a specific assignment to do using library materials.  This has
worked very well. Yes, there are a few glitches in that some teachers
follow this to the letter and others still don't care and write a pass for
students regardless of why they want to be in the library.  This has
created a much better atmosphere in the library.

Students can still go to the library before and after school and during
their lunch period without a pass. If it is their lunch period, we insist
they are in the library first, then we write them a pass to go eat lunch.
Most students have been very receptive to this method...they know there is
a place where they can go and get some work done.

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Yes, we limit the number of students who can come in from study halls.
Here's how we do it:

1.  Before the beginning of the semester, I meet with the guidance
counselor (he's the person who does the schedules in our school) to see
how many students are in each study hall each period.

2.  Then I decide how many kids can come in each period.  If there are 3
study halls, 8 people can come in from each of them.  If there is one
study hall, 24 students can come in.  ( I only allow 24 per class period
because that's all spaces--chairs at tables and computers).

3.  I type up a form for each of the study hall teachers indicating how
many kids can come in each day from their study halls.  The teachers
decide _who_ comes in, not me.  Most of them set up some type of rotation.
The kids who are left in the study hall can come to the library at the
beginning of the period to get magazines and newspapers to take back to
the study hall if they want.  We don't have a lot of trouble getting these
items back.

4.  My principal approves my "allotments."  He pretty much lets me decide.

I have not had any PR problems with this mainly because the teachers know
that I want the maximum number of students in the library at all times. I
like having the kids there--I get to know their reading tastes, their
personalities, and I can teach them how to use applications on the
computers.

If a class needs to come in to do research, the library is closed to any
students from study halls.  I always give the study hall teachers as much
notice as possible when the library is going to be closed.

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In my previous library, a middle school, I limited students coming in from
study halls simply because there would not have been enough room for all.
Each teacher could send in a certain number.  Others could come in for
about 5 min. to find a book.  Students had to bring passes showing time
they left classroom and why they were coming (research or recreational
reading).  Each had to sign in (helped prevent problem of kids who got
pass for library but never arrived).  It was not a social time.

If I had kids who were not "on task," I tried to find out how I could help
them find what they needed (this really bugged the kids who wanted only to
socialize).  I could send kids back to study halls if they were problems,
and I could suspend them from library privileges for a period of time.  If
they really needed to do research but had been suspended, I gave them the
option of staying but using a study carrel.  I rarely had a kid who would
stay and work that way (told me how important the use of the library was).

I also had teachers who obviously sent me their very worst kids over and
over again.  One was particularly irate when these kids were "suspended."
Most teachers and the administrators were fine with the idea that the
library should be used for the purpose for which it was meant.

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I'm head librarian in a 1908-student inner-city high school in Portland,
OR.  We limit study hall students to five per study hall.  We expect the
study hall teacher to screen the students sent so that they have a library
purpose in coming.  We have multiple sections of study halls each period
so the total load from study halls is often 25-30 students.  In addition,
we accept five students from any other teacher who has a need for them to
do independent or small group library work.

We have had NO negative PR;  in fact, it has been positive in that the
limit has seemed to make the library a "preferred, selective" alternative,
and we have not had the discipline issues we once had with study halls
"dumping" students on us. A study hall teacher can phone to see if there
is room for additional students.  We will take additional ones if there is
room (we take 3 full classes per period, too).

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We definitely limit study hall students!  The study halls have two
teachers assigned to them. If the students wanting to come to the Media
Center and/or Computer Lab exceeds 11 then one of the study hall teachers
must come with them and supervise. This is, of course, when classes
haven't already signed up for Media Center or Computers. If that is the
case then study hall students are allowed to fill the empty computers once
classes are situated.

It is a nightmare of scheduling; takes almost the first 10 to 15 minutes
of a short 50 minute period to get everybody in and happy. A REAL PAIN OF
A CLERICAL NATURE, which I hate (can you tell).  I can't wait for block
scheduling to arrive at our school

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Our district has long had a policy of weekly progress reports to parents.
If a student is carrying a D or F, he cannot come to the library from
study hall without a pass to complete a specific assignment or a pass to
work with the peer tutor on a specific subject.  When I first started, I
was upset about this policy but now like it -- about 90% of our kids
failing or almost failing classes are in that situation because of not
completing work; study halls (or resource they're called in our high
school) allow them time to complete this work.

It really keeps our discipline problems down -- the kids that are in the
library mostly read, work quietly, and we are able to work with them
without having to watch the ones with nothing to do.  The kids that are on
passes have an obligation to work on their research and, there again, we
can help them work.

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Yes, we have to limit the number of students who come to the library.  Our
facility is too small, and there are not enough chairs or space for all
the students.  Our study hall students accept this graciously as long as
they feel the system of chosing those who come is fair.

If a teacher brings in a class, then no study hall students may come in.
They complain about that more than anything. You can only fit so many
students in a small room.

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Yes, we limit the # of students.  If we have no class scheduled, we allow
15 to come.  If we have one class scheduled, 10; if two classes, we allow
5 to come.  Those students are informed on the first day of study hall
what the library rules are--they can come for quiet study, research &
reading, or Internet use (however, students from the classes have priority
over study hall students).  Strict enforcement of this policy (in addition
to the policy of having them sit one/table, no talking, no
bathroom/locker/student services passes except in extreme emergencies) has
almost eliminated problems.  Students who violate and require
"babysitting" are not allowed back for one or two weeks.  The key is to
set your expectations very high, and enforce them early in the term.  The
students catch on quickly to what is allowed and follow the rules, because
they really would rather be in the library reading, working, etc.

We also have between 15 to 40 students come during the day from teacher's
classrooms--to finish typing something, to research a quick fact, to
complete an assignment, and we have no way of predicting that traffic.
That is why the limits on study hall students.  In addition, there is a
teacher doing duty time in the study hall, and one helping us moniter in
the library.  Our study halls are not that large anymore since we went to
block schedules, so at most there are 40 in the study hall to begin with.

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Yes, I limit the number of students who come to the library for study
hall.  I am in a middle/high school of about 1300 students. I take 24
students when I have no classes, 12 when I have a class and none when I
have two classes.  One period each day, I take 36 students when there are
no classes.  Again, many of these students have nothing to do that is
productive.  It is a problem.

Teachers complain that students with real research needs are prevented
from using the library, but, they don't want the added "burden" of
assessing which students should get to the library. Oh, well, we try...

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I only allow five students from any one class unless their teacher comes
with them. This included study halls when we had them.  After all,
teachers have no way of knowing who else has sent students to the library;
if several teachers each let ten come, the room would be in chaos.

This was also my predecessor's rule, so there has been very little flack.
I'm content to keep the rule: I want to accommodate any students who want
to work, but not those who want to roam around and kill some time.  (We're
a school of about 500 students; I have no adult assistant.)

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We limited our people who come to the library from Study Hall because they
don't have to be doing research in order to check out of Study Hall.  Some
of the kids just prefer to sit at a table instead of a desk and some just
come to read.  Because they don't have to have a "reason" to come, I use
the same rules as Study Hall.  They must ask to speak to someone at
another table, have a pass for restroom/locker/another teacher, etc.  We
limit also two to a table.

In answer to your immediate question:  if there is one Study Hall 20
students can check out to the library.  If there are two Study Halls 10
students can check out from each Study Hall.  Anyone who gets a pass from
us or another teacher to do an assignment/research may always come to the
library and they do not count in the number checking out from Study Hall.
Our "20" number comes from how many we can seat comfortably (with some
seats left for people with passes).  You will have to come up with your
own number.

It works well for us.

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I work in a high school of 1100 students.  Some periods there are up to 8
study halls! We limit the number that can come from study hall to 8 from
each most of day & 6 from each study hall in the last 2 periods of the
day. We find that if we limit the number further at the end of the day, it
helps with limiting the students that come down only to socialize.

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That's all, folks!  Thanks so much once again.

Gabe :-)
------------------------------------------
GABE GANCARZ, Assistant Librarian
Glenbard East High School
Lombard, IL
gancarz@alexia.lis.uiuc.edu
Mac G3/OS 8.5, Netscape 4.06/Netscape Mail

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