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I had five excellent responses to this question, all from elementary librarians. Is it true, then, that NCLB, federal mandates, and standardized testing are not wrecking havoc with collaboration at Middle School and High School? Thanks! Toni ORIGINAL TARGET: I'd love to hear from LMS's at all levels (middle school and high school as well as elementary) about how NCLB has changed your ability to collaborate. How does increased testing and (at the elementary level) mandated Language Arts and Math time affect your ability to work collaboratively with your teachers? RESPONSES: EL: NLCB has effectively ended any collaboration I used to do with my teachers. I have 47 scheduled classes (50 minutes each) over a 2 week period, and every minute I have free during the school day is spent helping students find books or shelving books. I am at school 1 hour early every morning and 2 hours late most afternoons, and I'm still finding that I need to come in on the weekends to get caught up! I still do a lot of pulling of resources for teachers, as well as making recommendations, but we don't have any team teaching going on like I used to. The teachers simply aren't able to take the time to plan it, or willing to give up their unofficial planning period (their official one is PE) to do something collaboratively. It really isn't the teachers' fault; they are completely overwhelmed. *** EL: Here are some facts: 2005-06 fully flex sched - 556 collaborative periods (a few were double periods) Attended team time on a weekly basis 2006-07 fix/flex (AMs one week/PMs the next week) 346 collaborative periods. Attended most team times - less productive than year before because of admin. change 2007-2008 fix/flex sched - teach 6 periods/day/ 3days/week and the days vary by 2 week rotation (no one is able to set up consecutive days to learn /model info lit - to date 12 (yes twelve) collaborative periods Have attended 5 team times (it's on Tuesdays, Tuesdays are open 2 times during 8 week rotation/some have been cancelled - some I forgot what day it was!) Mandated AND pacing guides for standards are given to teachers each month (spend two periods on SS standard 5.3 - really cuts down the collaboration!) We are talking among a few of us in the elementary schools about the ramifications of these pacing guides and mandates - our kids are losing out tremendously on the 21st century skills as well as the research. And our teachers (and we have 6 brand new teachers) are losing out on learning to use information literacy, media literacy, and ICT. Link to social pacing guides http://www.sctlc.com/ss/soc/ Click on a grade level, click on a standard, scroll down and you'll see the pace. Expand the indicator and it is broken down further! Imagine spending two 40-50 minute periods comparing the articles of confederation with the constitution! And it is supposed to be integrated into ELA with appropriate accommodations. I feel sorry for the teachers. One cannot in this atmosphere teach to their passion and show children how life long learning comes about. One teacher understood from the curriculum coach that Horry County Schools was not going to teach "research" at the elementary level because it's not tested! We are investigating - and we don't want to teach "research" only embed the process so the process becomes part of the investigation, part of the learning. It is so hard to do it out of context. I feel that I am letting down the children I now have and will send them to middle school completely unprepared. Our county has its own pacing guides for everyday math, ELA (they call it "Literacy" - pretty much only print literacy (we were asked for input and I put in my two cents worth) See the attachments for the guide our curriculum specialist sends out (and she is new to our school this year.) And some of my fourth grade teachers can't believe that Nov/Dec.were spent on animals and habitats and now Jan/Feb are to be spent on weather. It's amazing how many computer programs we now have to do test prep at elementary - MAP testing 3 times a year, Larson's math, Teachers toolbox, and next on the list is Study Island. We have more discipline situations than we have had in years... any correlation? *** EL: Plain and simple....K - 2 still fully collaborate and 3 - 5 only bring their classes for checkout unless I happen upon a can't-be-turned-down idea that takes little time. They are all about teaching for the test and just don't think they have time.... *** EL: In a recent discussion about equity among bargaining unit members, a teacher asked me what I could possibly need a planning period for. I informed her first, because the contract gives me one, second, to meet with and plan collaborative lessons with classroom teachers to meet the standards I am supposed to teach. Her response? "I don't have time to do that, I'm too busy worrying about my own lessons so we're ready for the PSSA (Pennsylvania System of School Assessment) *** EL: I read your post with interest as I was just discussing this topic with our computer lab teacher. We were wondering how other librarians and technology teachers teach lessons involving databases, research and the like. I was showing second grade students how to access Grolier online and it was challenging to say the least. Fortunately each student had a computer to use so that made it a little easier. Since that grade level is part of my rotation schedule, we were able to use the computer lab. Generally, however, the lab is completely scheduled for Success Maker lessons with no time for other usage. There's just so much info and not enough time to do a quality lesson, especially since this will probably be the only time I will have the chance to show them. I am in a rotation schedule (teacher planning period) with art, music, P.E. and computer lab for 1st, 2nd, and 5th grades, and the remaining time on a fixed schedule--30 min. once a week for K, 3rd, & 4th. Those two things by themselves severely limit collaborative planning. The other big factor is the state TAKS testing that we do. We have before school, during school, and after school tutorials to help boost kids into passing this standardized test. Teachers are so busy with those things, they seldom rely on the library for support and help. I just happen to have big ears and glean as much as I can and plan lessons around what I hear. Some teachers are good about asking me to pull books and that's how I find out what they are teaching. It is very frustrating for most librarians in our district and we do not have aids or other individuals that help at the elementary level. I do love my job though and am very, very passionate about literature and connecting students with books. Weekly, I read to as many classes as possible since the classroom teachers seldom have time to do this--what a tragedy!! I know I'm rambling--I'm typing between my crazy schedule!! Toni Buzzeo, MA, MLIS <mailto:tonibuzzeo@tonibuzzeo.com> Maine Library Media Specialist of the Year Emerita Maine Association of School Libraries Board Member Buxton, ME 04093 http://www.tonibuzzeo.com Collaborating to Meet Standards: Teacher/Librarian Partnerships for K-6 Second Edition (Linworth 2007) BRAND NEW! -------------------------------------------------------------------- Please note: All LM_NET postings are protected by copyright law. You can prevent most e-mail filters from deleting LM_NET postings by adding LM_NET@LISTSERV.SYR.EDU to your e-mail address book. 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