You may have guessed which one it was since I've mentioned it before. Yep, Luella Elementary. Allow me to show you some of what I experienced. This first photo has not only a listening center but there is a science experiment for hands-on-learning that came from one of the library books. Imagine that. Actually highlighting a book by not just having it on a stand, but by pulling out the information for students to use in an engaging way. This science area also includes other items the students can touch, such as snake skins, antlers, and animal bones.
Instead of a traditional conference room, there's a gathering space that celebrates different countries with items that have been donated from the community. All kinds of learning occurs in here. One year the media specialist, Anne Wallace, and an after school club created handmade flags of different countries that now hand on the other walls in this room. The students used the internet to find out about these countries and their flags.
The entrance to t
he media center has a listing of the different monthly cultural/organization/people celebrations and a designated bookshelf in the media center has books and items that highlight one of those celebrations. Teachers use this listing in their classes and students are curious to see what the new month celebrates. The media center has two sizes of furniture for the range of students at Luella. Also, computer software further enhances accessibility to information and development of literacy skills.
Grant money made possible the creation of an area focused on learning about the ocean. Books, an aqu
arium, and a TV running one of the ocean DVDs are located here. A parent tends the aquarium and others have donated sea shells and other fish related items. The school has adopted two loggerhead sea turtles. They track them on a website and use this information to update the students by posting the information on a bulletin board.Everything in this media center seems to say- We welcome all and want you to learn in a way that is right for you. I will use a lot of what I learned here to create a diverse and engaging media center. I also want to incorporate some type of global classroom project using the internet, such as Classroom Connect or Global School Net. Specific projects, such as One World Mural, are listed on this handy Diversity resource list from NEA. It also includes a Diversity Calendar. My desire is that when students walk into my school's media center they get it... their uniqueness is honored and celebrated, their eyes are opened to all kinds of people and situations, and they access and use information for authentic learning and to make the world a better place.
7 comments:
I was so glad to hear you visited Luella and Mrs. Wallace. I was at Luella when the school opened. Anne Wallace is the main reason I decided to pursue my media certification. She exhibits all the qualities of an exceptional media specialist. When we opened the diversity room, in what was once an unused conference room, it was such a success. At the time my gifted students dressed in cultural attire from various countries. We had a wide variety of food from around the world. With the help of Mrs. Wallace, we held a ribbon cutting ceremony.
Mrs. Wallace brings vast knowledge in diversity from her years in the Dekalb County school system. She also has lived in several countries as her husband was in the military.
I recently visited Luella after being gone for two years. In that time Mrs. Wallace has added a tremendous amount of new and exciting exhibits. I highly recommend any student going through the media program to visit this award winning media center. The focus on diversity is clearly seen in this media center. It has expanded beyond the media center throughout the school.
I plan to visit Luella sometime while I am studying to be a media specialist. It sounds like a great place to learn lots about what it takes to manage an outstanding media center. It is so important to me to learn how to pull everything together to engage student learning as well as working with other faculty members. Mrs. Wallace sounds like she has lots of ideas from her years of experience. I cannot wait to visit Luella and talk to Mrs. Wallace in person.
It is amazing on how so many media centers are the same, with nothing to capture the students imagination. What an amazing place the Luella medai center seemst to be. I know we can't all live up to that, but imagine if you did one new display every few weeks, what a spark it could light in your students and staff. I will definitely try to visit. Thanks for sharing.
Wow! First let me congratulate you on having visited 11 media centers this semester. I visited 2 and felt I was accomplishing quite a feat. How do you do it? Anyway, the Luella Elementary MC sounds like one I would definitely like to visit, and the photos you shared are great. What diversity is celebrated there. A media center with something for everyone--isn't that what we all hope we will be able to create one day? I am going to look into visiting Luella. It sounds like I could learn a great deal from spending some time there. I am so impressed from the details you posted here! Thanks so much for sharing your experience. Let me say "WOW" again!!
Anne, you never fail to amaze me. I don't know how you visited 11 media center, but this one sounds absolutely amazing. I am going to visit it someday, somehow. Your blog alone inspires me, I can't imagine what being there would do to me...I think I would be overcome. I know I would take a million notes and photos. How wonderful that you took pictures for this blog. I saved it so that I may refer to it. It just goes to show you that people can do amazing things if they just try. You are amazing too.
Anne, I really appreciate how much work and thought you put into your blogs. I look forward to reading your blogs each week as an inspiration to my own goal of being a media specialist. I would like to learn more about this school that you speak so highly about. I would imagine this should be a media center that we all should stop by when we get a chance. I don't want to create a cookie cutter media center- I want to create a "happening" place just as you've described where everyone has something to offer.
Thanks!
I am so glad that you found and shared such a positive exciting experience at Luella Elementary. I too have been quite disheartened with the lack of engagement that exist in the media centers I visited. Your post has inspired me to keep looking because it is worth it if you find a media center that gets it.
I am excited about sharing these ideas you showcased from Luella at the media centers that I am currently visiting. Highlighting a book by pulling information from it is something that I know the middle school students would love. Just having two sizes of furniture is critical in the middle school. I never understood why there was a one size fits all when you house a tiny sixth grader with an adult-sized eighth grader. Thank you for sharing these valuable ideas.
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