By Neil D. Grimes
Section 1
The Cheng Library’s Academic Library-School Partnership with Paterson Public Schools
Connecting with school systems within northern New Jersey is part of the David and Lorraine Cheng Library’s strategic plan. A specific annual goal is to provide library outreach to a minimum of 10 schools. To accomplish this goal, a partnership with the Paterson Public Schools, an urban district made up of 52 schools was established (Paterson Public Schools, 2020). Facilitated by Library Dean Edward Owusu-Ansah, this partnership is essential as some of the students that attend these schools will later apply and attend William Paterson University. Additionally, students will be better prepared to embrace the project-based learning activities and scholarly research that is expected at the college or university level.
In the months prior to the pandemic, one in-person professional development session was held for middle school and high school social studies and science teachers on the topic of project-based learning. In addressing the need to assist K-12 teachers and students in remote teaching and learning during the pandemic, William Paterson University sought to connect with teachers and students in the Paterson Public Schools. The librarians of the Cheng Library were able to provide support and resources to teachers through a series of online professional development programs targeting specific groups of educators: K-12 technology teachers, K-12 librarians, and middle school and high school social studies teachers. A more focused approach was offered in the form of offering single school online professional development sessions to the faculty at International High School. Single school online professional development sessions were focused on project-based learning and research across the curriculum, online resources for teaching and learning, and culturally responsive education resources. In addition, virtual library support and instruction was provided to several AP teachers and their students.
Supporting the teachers and students through online library sessions during the pandemic through the school-university partnership was at no cost to the district. In providing support to teachers and students, academic libraries should consider offering online professional development sessions for teachers and then providing a combination of in-person and online library instruction sessions for students once the COVID-19 pandemic ends. The positive outcomes of this partnership will result in more successful learning outcomes for students and improved pedagogies for teachers. The Cheng Library and librarians have plans to continue this partnership well into the future. For further information on how to coordinate efforts for your library in supporting a school district in your geographic region, feel free to reach out to the author.
Section 2
Shifting Focus: Academic Libraries and K-12 School Partnerships
In the United States today, there are an estimated 116,867 libraries of all kinds, with 3,094 being academic libraries (American Library Association, 2020). Imagine if 25% of academic libraries pursued a partnership with a K-12 school system in their geographic region. The result would be roughly 774 school-academic library partnerships. It is no small number and it could have a tremendous impact on the teachers and students in schools across America.
In providing support to teachers and students, academic libraries should consider offering online professional development sessions for teachers and providing a combination of in-person and online library instruction sessions for students once the COVID-19 pandemic ends. Connecting with K-12 teachers and students needs to become more of a focus for academic libraries across the United States and in the state of New Jersey. A fact supporting this is that the U.S. Census Bureau indicates that PreK-12 teachers form the largest occupational group in the nation, and it is growing even larger every year (Ingersoll, Merrill, and Stuckey 2014). Given this fact, an important question comes to mind:. Why wouldn’t academic libraries want to partner with K-12 schools, teachers, and students?
An academic library-school partnership serves to better prepare K-12 students for the project-based learning and research projects that are expected of students at the college and university level. Supporting the learning experiences of K-12 students sends an important message to all students. That message is that libraries and librarians matter and they play an important role in supporting K-12 teachers and students.
Across the United States, there are 90,400 public and private K-12 schools with 56.4 million students attending these K-12 schools (ALA, 2019; NCES, 2020). Of that total number of schools, 82,300 (91%) have school libraries with only 56,000 (61%) having full-time librarians (ALA, 2019). It is a fact that the number of certified school librarians across America continues to decline annually. Schools with a strong school library program and certified school librarian give students their best chance at academic success with more than 60 education and library research studies indicating this (ALA, 2019). One fact supporting the need for certified school librarians stands above the rests. According to the American Library Association (ALA), “students in high poverty schools are twice as likely to graduate when the school library is staffed with a certified school librarian” (2019). The message here is that school librarians provide the necessary support for students to achieve academic success and graduate from high school.
Academic libraries and academic librarians have the potential to contribute to students’ academic success and lead teachers to resources and innovations that support their in-person and online teaching. The work of academic librarians with K-12 students could lead to higher graduation rates, especially in high poverty schools, as well as an increase in overall enrollment in higher education. Imagine the impact and the success that can be achieved by students across America, and specifically in the state of New Jersey, as a direct result of an academic library’s external partnership with a K-12 school or district.
References
American Library Association. (2020, June 14). Library Statistics and Figures: Number of Libraries in the United States. LibGuides. https://libguides.ala.org/librarystatistics
American Library Association. (2019, March 24). School Libraries. News and Press Center. http://www.ala.org/news/state-americas-libraries-report-2019/school-libraries
Ingersoll, Richard, Lisa Merrill, and Daniel Stuckey. 2014. “Seven Trends: The Transformation of the Teaching Force Updated April 2014 CPRE REPORT.” Consortium for Policy Research in Education. April. https://www.cpre.org/sites/default/files/workingpapers/1506_7trendsapril2014.pdf
National Center for Education Statistics. (2020). NCES Fast Facts . National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) Home Page, a part of the U.S. Department of Education. https://nces.ed.gov/fastfacts/display.asp?id=372#:~:text=What%20are%20the%20demographics%20of,14.0%20million%20Hispanic%20students
Paterson Public Schools (2020). Promising Tomorrows: Annual Report July 2018 - September 2020 (pp. 1-2, Rep.). Paterson, NJ: Paterson Public Schools.
Neil D. Grimes is the Education & Curriculum Materials Librarian at William Paterson University. He can be reached at grimesn@wpunj.edu.