[LM_NET] HIT: Federal mandates/testing/guaranteed instructional time and Collaboration

[Toni Buzzeo <tonibuzzeo@TONIBUZZEO.COM>]

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! 

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