Sarah Penn

FRIT 7739
Technology Program Administrator
Part A: Program Evaluation
Executive Summary
The Media Center at Sallas Mahone Elementary serves as a resource and information
center for literacy and technology resources. It is operated by one Media Specialist
and one media clerk. It is the central hub of research and technology based activities
throughout the school. The media clerk opens up the Media Center at 7:30 am and
closes it at 2:50 pm. Students can access the Media Center throughout the day with
permission from their teachers. Periodically, the Media Center closes for any special
events going on at the school.
Organizational Chart
Our district has a separate Technology Department that manages all the technology
issues. The roles and responsibilities of both the Media Specialist and the media clerk for
Sallas Mahone Elementary School are depicted in the following chart:

Sallas Mahone Media

Center

Media Specialist

Media Clerk

Closes the Media Center

each afternoon

Opens the Media Center

each morning

Manages the
Circulation Desk

Manages the
Circulation Desk

Promotes literacy

Shelves books that

have been returned

Budget Responsibilities

Coordinates the Helen

Reading Ruffin Bowl

Sarah Penn
FRIT 7739
Technology Program Administrator
Methods
A variety of sources were used to complete this evaluation report. The data was
obtained by an observation checklist while visiting the Media Center (Appendix A),
various interviews conducted of the media specialist, media clerk and students
(Appendix B and C), and the schools website (Appendix D).
Center Context and Goals
History
The Media Center at Sallas Mahone Elementary School was added with the new school
when it was built and dedicated to the community in 2000. The original Sallas Mahone
Elementary was built in 1950 and was named after Ms. Mamie Sallas and Ms. Cora
Mahone. These ladies were both former educators and principals well known in the
community.
Mission
The Mission of Sallas Mahones Library Media Program is to ensure that students and
staff are effective users of ideas and information. This mission is accomplished by
providing intellectual and physical access to materials in all formats, by providing
instruction to foster competence and stimulate interest in reading, viewing, and using
information and ideas and working with other educators to design learning strategies to
meet the needs of individual students. Information Power: Guidelines for School Library
Media Programs (ALA, 1988)
Goals
The Goal of Sallas Mahones Media Center is to encourage learners to become critical
thinkers, enthusiastic readers, ethical and skillful researchers, as well as users of 21 st
century technology. In order for the Media Center to meet these goals, the Media
Specialist must collaborate with teachers, assist students with projects and teach proper
use of the learning tools located within the Media Center.
Stakeholders
The stakeholders for the Media Center are the students, teachers and administration.
Key Personnel
The key personnel that run and maintain the Media Center are the Media Specialist
and the Media Clerk. The Media Specialist maintains the materials/collections, provides
guidance with the electronic database, conducts orientations for the Media Center,
provides computer or research assistance to anyone in the Media Center and
supervises the Media Clerk. The Media Clerk maintains the circulation desk, shelves
returned books, provides assistance with minor computer issues within the Media Center
and maintains organization throughout the entire Media Center.
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Sarah Penn
FRIT 7739
Technology Program Administrator
Center Activities
The Media Center provides the following programs/services to students and staff:
Students

Morning News Broadcast The gifted students present the news broadcast each
morning. This activity promotes differentiation by challenging the students to find
the necessary information and by practicing their listening/speaking standards.
Story Time - Classes can use the Story Corner to listen to a favorite book.
Accelerated Reader/STAR - AR is used to promote reading. Students who have an
85% or higher when taking AR tests become Reading Rockstars and are able to
attend a special function. STAR Reading/Math assessments are taken in August,
October, December, March and May to track the students reading comprehension
skills and math development over the course of the school year.
Helen Ruffin Reading Bowl Students are selected according to their Lexile level and
behavior. These students are usually mostly 5th grade students with a few additions
of 4th grade if needed. Once the students have been selected, they are able to
select a few books from a Reading Bowl list to begin reading. They have practice
once a week to be drilled with questions about the books on the list in an effort to
prepare them for the competition in the spring of the year.
Spelling Bee The annual Spelling Bee is held in the Media Center. One student
represents each 4th and 5th grade homeroom. The top three spellers advance on to
the district level.
Book Fairs - Major fundraiser that helps purchase books for the media centers
collection.
Periodicals (including newspapers and magazines) - These are not as prevalent as
they used to be with everything being so easily accessible online. The media center
does purchase a subscription to the Valdosta Daily Times. Upon teacher request,
they are divided up among the grade levels. Currently, they do not have any
magazine subscriptions.
Computers/Internet - Nine computers are available for use in the media center.
Computer Lab - The Computer Lab is located within the media center, but is used
during the elective rotations and is manned by a paraprofessional. The students
work on keyboarding skills due to standardized testing moving towards 100% online.
Library Media Web Page - The district just changed the layout of the web page
again. Therefore, Sallas Mahones media center page only has the media
specialists email, a message to like the Facebook page and the mission.

Sarah Penn
FRIT 7739
Technology Program Administrator
Staff

Presentation Equipment - Mobile cart with laptop and projector are available.
Laminating - Limited lamination is available for smaller items. Big items need to be
sent to our district resource center.
Equipment Repairs and Troubleshooting - Media Specialist is available to help
troubleshoot any problems with equipment, but may refer you to technology
department if she cannot fix the issue.
Technology Training for teachers and students - Media Specialist is available to train
teachers and students on technology upon request.
A-V Equipment - The media center purchases headphones each year to replace
those that are broken at the students computer stations within the regular
classrooms.
Professional Development - Professional Development is currently not prearranged
or planned in advance. It is only available upon request.
Digital Cameras - The media center has Flip cameras available for checkout by
teachers only.

Evaluation
After several observations and interviews, it is evident that while the Media Center
meets its goals of encouraging learners to become critical thinkers, enthusiastic readers,
ethical and skillful researchers, as well as users of 21 st century technology, the Media
Specialist was not collaborating with teachers, assisting students with projects or
teaching proper use of the learning tools located within the Media Center. Therefore,
in order for these goals to be met, the teachers must be working with the students in an
effort to accomplish the goals. In my interview with the Media Specialist, she stated
that she rotates to different grade levels for collaboration, but is only available upon
request. Therefore, a suggestion for improvement would be to have the Media
Specialist do a better job of seeking out when she could collaborate with teachers to
reinforce the information literacy skills and reference skills necessary to become fluent
21st century learners. She could also conduct a needs assessment and offer
professional development for the teachers in the areas of their need instead of at their
request. Another suggestion would be to set up a schedule to meet with all the classes
in an effort to train the students on some sort of technology. It could possibly be a Web
2.0 tool. This would not only help the teacher with teaching the content within the
standards, but would grasp the students attention to make learning more fun and
interactive. In an effort to make the Media Center a 21st century learning environment,
the Library Media Web Page needs a major overhaul. It needs to be kept up to date
and contain resources for all stakeholders.

Sarah Penn
FRIT 7739
Technology Program Administrator
Appendix A: Observation Checklist

Media Center Checklist

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Class conducted in the Media Center

Class conducted in the Computer Lab
Students using computers for research
Students using computers for finding books
Circulation desk is circulating books to students
Staff members are checking out materials
Students actively engaged on finding books
Students just hanging out
Peer Tutoring
Mentoring
Media Specialist collaborating with teachers
Media Specialist assisting students with projects

Appendix B: Media Specialist/Clerk Interview

Media Specialist/Clerk Interview

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What is your job title?

How long have you been in this position?
How long have you been in education?
What are your main responsibilities?
What is the mission of the Media Center?
What are the goals of the Media Center?
Who are the stakeholders?
What is the current inventory of technology?
What activities/programs are carried out by the center?
Are any training sessions provided for students or teachers?
What is your budget?
What Web 2.0 tools do you offer the students and teachers?

Appendix C: Student Interview

Student Interview
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What grade are you in?

Why are you in the Media Center?
Have you ever checked out a book?
How often do you check out a book?
Do you ever use the computers in the Media Center?
If yes, what do you use them for?
What are some other reasons you visit the Media Center?
Are you involved with any of the activities or programs the Media Center offers?
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Sarah Penn
FRIT 7739
Technology Program Administrator
Appendix D: School Website
http://sallasmahone.gocats.org/