Gen: Procedural Question

["Thompson, Vanessa" <vwthompson@MORGANK12.ORG>]

I guess my message is part question and part gripe.  Question: Do you limit
the number of books that the children are able to check out?  Why or why
not?

Also, do you limit the number of students a class can send at a time?

Gripe time (you don't have to read - just wanted to get it off my chest)
I was just cornered by both principals this morning.  The elementary
principal (K-4) said the teachers were complaining that the students were
being limited to only one AR book and one non-AR book.  The teachers have
been used to the children being able to check out as many books as they
liked and then swapping them around the classroom.  (Reading levels are not
an issue here - they don't care what level the book is written on as long as
it is AR - another issue altogether.)  I told him that my concern was that
little Johnny might check out the book and little Sally take it home and
destroy it or lose it.  I was told that that was not my concern.  Little
Johnny would still be responsible for the book, but they would handle
getting the money through the office.  (Missed the point that it is not fair
to little Johnny.)

        I told him that I would still like to limit the children to only
check out two books, but that the classroom teacher could check out books to
have in her classroom.  The principal said that the teachers did not know
this (don't know why, that policy was in place before I came and I didn't
change it).  After going off the deep end and telling the principal that we
would go back to letting the children check out as many as they wanted if
that is what he was going to force me to do.  I also let him know that I
didn't appreciate him allowing the teachers to come and gripe to him without
coming to me first.  (I did apologize later that I had gotten so upset but
it just seemed that he was not listening to my concerns.)

        We finally compromised on letting the children check out three AR
books and allowing the teachers to check out books to have in her classroom.

        The second issue was with the fifth and sixth grade teachers.  I
gave the K-6 teachers three book check passes to use when students needed to
check out books.  However, I also told them at the beginning of the year
that if they had a lot of students who needed to check out books that they
could schedule a time to bring their whole class.  The reason behind that
was because I serve over 1,000 students (K-12) with K-2 having fixed classes
plus flexible checkout times.  We also have high school classes who schedule
time in the library.  The passes were a form of traffic control so that
everyone got full benefit of the library and our services.  I have been at
other schools were they used passes and this was not a problem.

        The high school principal was a little more supportive, especially
when I told him that they could schedule a time for the whole class to check
out books, and did not ask me to change this policy.

Any way... those are my questions and my gripes.  Thanks for letting me
unload.

Vaneesa

Vaneesa Thompson
Library Media Specialist
West Morgan Elementary/ High
Trinity, AL
vwthompson@morgank12.org
vaneesat@aol.com

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