Standard 4:
CREATE AND MAINTAIN SUPPORTIVE AND SAFE LEARNING ENVIRONMENTS
The highly accomplished TL will ensure that staff implement inclusive strategies to ensure that all students have access to and are engaged in purposeful learning. They model and share behaviour management strategies and implement system protocol to ensure student's wellbeing and safety. Ethical, safe, and responsible ICT use is modelled and promoted to staff and students.
Collection management
Excellent TL's maintain a collection that reflects the needs, and is relevant to the school community. They will have collaboratively developed a customer service policy outlining strategies necessary in order to maintain a learning environment (and collection) that is inclusive, supportive and safe for all patrons. The professionally selected collection will include genres and topics that relate to the backgrounds of the student body: linguistic; cultural; religious; and socioeconomic, and includes access to digitised and audio books. ASLA (2014)
The TL at site 2 provides a range of reading materials to staff and students, all be it ageing. The collection needs culling and updating however, despite this, purchases have been specifically chosen with the school community in mind. There was an obvious lack of policy documentation, which indicates that purchases are bought using an add hoc methodology.
Phillips and Paatsch (2011:32) identify one way that Librarians make a difference is through their ability to develop a collection designed specifically to support the school community they are part of. When I come to power, I would use student body profiles to make informed collection purchases. I would also use this information to construct a customer service policy that outlines how the library is inclusive, supportive and safe, which would include the criteria used for the selection of stock, and a challenged materials policy. I would ensure that, using the School Library Collection Development Policy Guidelines provided by The Department of Education in South Carolina (2005), and online librarian sites such as OZTL, that I am aware of, ordering, and stocking current publications (as fits with the school community), as is recommended by Phillips and Paatsch (2011:32).
ICT literacy
The highly accomplished TL is fully aware of current digital technologies, is able to use, model and support colleagues in the promotion of supportive, safe and ethical learning environments. They demonstrate a keenness in assisting staff with the development and implementation of site specific learning and teaching programs.
The TL at site 2 has a developing ICT skill level, and is therefor not knowledgable enough to work in a supporting and modelling capacity. There is a safe digital identity program operating at the school, and the school is a BYOD (bring your own device) school, however the TL at this site is not involved in these initiatives.
When I come to power, I expect to provide PD to staff in the use and value of using ICT in the classroom, and model its use, then provide staff with assistance and support in the development of ICT integrated programs. In the case of social media use, I will seek the opinion of the Principal, strongly suggesting the benefits of it's use and work with her in an effort to set up a website and social networking sites for the library, and other interested KLA's. Staff currently use smart boards and I will continue to keep abreast of updates and how they can be used to further improve teacher/learner experiences. IFLA School library guidelines describe the purposes of a school library to "provide a technological space, providing a diverse range of technology tools, software and expertise for the creation representation, and sharing of knowledge" and that a library is a "centre for digital citizenship where the learning community learns to use digital tools appropriately, ethically, and safely, and learns strategies to protect identity and personal information." IFLA (2015:17) To this end, I will endeavour to have the library provide a space that not only promotes digital exploration, but also supports this exploration through the resourcing of staff that are knowledgeable to teach and model digital tools, while endorsing a safe, identity protected digital environment. I will also support the safe digital identity programs that already run in the school, and endeavour to become a member of this collegial group.
