Here are some of the responses I received for the
following post:
Does anyone have a suggestion for literature or other
information to share with teachers to explain the
benefits for a flexible schedule? My principal would
like to change the current fixed schedule to fixed K-2
and flexible 3-5. I'm not sure how much resistance
this change will generate with the teachers. This
will be my first year at the school. I'd like to find
some good, easy-to-read or glance through information
that would help facilitate this change and help
educate the teachers about the possiblities and
oppportunities that will be available with the
flexible schedule. Thank you for your help!
Melissa Toner
media specialist
Idlewild Elementary
Charlotte, NC
mtoner8@yahoo.com
Jan Buchannan's book on flexible scheduling is still
excellent. Also, Martha Alewine has a PowerPoint
presentation on her state dept. website.
*****
Click here: AASL Position Statement on Flexible
Scheduling
from the Amer. Assn. of School Librarians
*****
Martha Alewine has an excellent PowerPoint
presentation on flexible scheduling. She used this
during an inservice with our 3rd, 4th, and 5th grade
teachers at the beginning of last school year when we
changed from fixed to fixed/flex. The Power Point can
be found on the SC Library Media Page at
http://www.myscschools.com/offices/technology/ms/lms/getpage.cfm?ID=1045
It is a helpful resource.
*****
A bibliography of flexible access resources is
available at
http://www.libsci.sc.edu/shannon/flexbib.htm
*****
I found that giving my teachers some examples of
things we could collaborate on worked great. I also
found several teachers who were easy to work with --
very approachable, open to new ideas, creative, etc.
--
and used those teachers to work with first. Soon
other teachers came to me and said they wanted to
collaborate,
*****
Our media specialists at five elementary schools used
this power point show to explain a bit about flexible
access. I created it and you can use it or change it
as you wish.
*****
I am in your shoes....this is my second year at my
school and we are changing to flex schedule - but
teachers are required to bring students once a week. I
have created a sort of advertisement about what i can
do for them and plan to give it out at the first
faculty meeting. I also bought Making Flexible Access
and Flexible Scheduling Work Today by Karen Ohlrich.
It lays out some of the benefits well. You can order
it from Libraries Unlimited at www.lu.com i think.
Also, a previous professor at USC has created a
bibliography all on flex schedule - the url is
http://www.libsci.sc.edu/shannon/flexbib.htm
*****
ALA has a position paper. School Library Journal has
had several good articles in the last few years. Main
points are integration with curriculum and
collaboration with teachers - information literacy is
not a stand
alone subject.
*****
I tried to change over a K - 8 (not my current site)
to a fixed (K - 2) and a flex (3 - 8)with my
principal's initial backing for a semester on a trial
basis. I had the little ones scheduled during the
upper grader's lunch
so that the maximum number of upper grade classes and
individual students or small groups would have
alternate access during their class time for research,
etc. (Opening at lunch for upper graders was pointless
- they
just wanted to play on the computers or socialize
LOUDLY!). I even allowed the teachers to "book" in
advance up to 3 weeks for any time slot they wished,
but they didn't like the hassle. I originally went to
the flex because the upper grade classes would
"forget" to come or decide not to come and didn't
bother to tell me. I and my two volunteer helpers
would postpone working on the many projects we had (we
had no work room, so had to use the main table area or
the research area for processing books, etc.) while we
waited. I was tired of calling and reminding teachers
and then having them show up late with barely enough
time to get in and out (we had big classes of 33 to 35
4th - 8th). I figured if they scheduled a time, then
they'd remember, and I also sent them reminders. I
found that by 6th grade, the kids had so much assigned
classroom reading, they didn't want to read much else,
so all they really needed was time to find books when
they had an interest or an assignment, not on a
regular weekly basis. Most of them just goofed off
when their class visited. The teachers complained so
much (to the principal) that just as things were
really beginning to work out (in my opinion - I was
finally able to
have classes for 45 minutes of teaching and research,
instead of 25 - 30 which was not adequate to teach and
then have hands-on practice) and the principal
abruptly forced me to change back. I did, and the very
teachers
who had been so adamant about having "their own"
permanent time slot still "forgot" to show up. So,
"Poop!" on them! (There were other teachers who
adamantly supported the flex - flowers to them!)I wish
the principal
would have at least let me finish out the semester
trial period, but she didn't. If she had backed me up,
I would have willingly changed back at the semester if
they still felt it wasn't working. This was at another
district several years ago, not my current site or
district, so if you need to quote any of this for a
post, you can just
list me as anonymous or "name & district withheld" .
I hope you have a better response at your site. I
believe the info you need is printed in "Information
Power" which should be available from many sources
(ALA or your state school library association, or
library supply companies like Libraries Unlimited).
You are on the right track!
*****
I just did a "dog and pony show" for my faculty this
morning. I would love a K-2 fixed, 3-5 flex, but am
easing into it a little at a time to preserve the holy
of holies, planning time. I'm hoping to get where you
are some time in the near future. Anyhow--start with
all the work done by Keith Curry Lance. That is the
standard. You can throw in some Information Power,
too. If you want me to send you the PPT that I did for
my faculty I'll be
happy to. It seemed to go over okay (i.e. nobody bit
my head off to my face). Part of it covered the
reasons for a semi-flex schedule and "what's in it for
them."
*****
Check Information Power: Building Partnerships for
Learning. Although the section on flexible scheduling
isn't written in lay terms, it will give you some
fuel.
*****
AASL has an excellent position statement on flexible
scheduling that will explain the advantages and the
rationale behind it. It's online at
http://www.ala.org/aasl/positions/ps_flexible.html
*****
AASL has a Resource Guide on Flexible Scheduling that
provides a number of good links. You may want to
check it out.
http://www.ala.org/aasl/resources/flexible.html
*****
Hi! I purchased this book at the conference this year
and finally picked it up a few weeks ago. The title
is "Making Flexible Access and Flexible Scheduling
Work Today" by Ohlrich and is published by Linworth
2001. I don't know about giving it to teachers to
read but it would be great for your administrator. It
is the best book I've read in a long time. It gives
you steps in how to go about implementing it. It
really is good. Good luck!
*****
In response to your inquiry on LM_NET, and following
up on the referral to the AASL Position Statement on
Flexible Scheduling
http://www.ala.org/aasl/positions/ps_flexible.html
...AASL also has a "Flexible Scheduling" bibliography
among our Resource Guides for School Library Media
Program Development. The "Flexible Scheduling"
bibliography can be found at...
http://www.ala.org/aasl/resources/flexible.html
An alpha index of all of our Resource Guides is
available at... http://www.ala.org/aasl/resources/
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