Flexible Access Transition Plan Tricia Kannegieter 03-20-2011 EDG 625 Introduction In order to transition an elementary SLMC from

a fixed schedule to a flexible schedule, numerous factors must be taken into account to ensure that the easiest possible transition is made for teachers, media specialists, administration, and students. According to Michie and Chaney (2000), 95% of secondary schools had transitioned to flexible scheduling while only 60% of public elementary school SLMCs had made the transition. Many elementary school teachers oppose a fixed schedule because it would take away from much needed respite and planning time for themselves. The benefits of flexible scheduling seem to far outweigh the deficits, however. Flexible Scheduling has been explained as a system in which teachers may schedule a time to bring their classes to the media center for instruction when the need arises, as opposed to coming at the same time each week (Creighton, 2007). It is beneficial to students in that it leads to a greater retention rate of information literacy skills because they are using these skills for a practical use within the curriculum rather than practicing them outside of the curriculum on a topic that is not relevant to what they are learning. In the following pages, I will be outlining the steps necessary to transition an elementary school SLMC from a fixed schedule to a flexible schedule. The major aspect of my approach to this plan is the idea of effective change

management. The transition will not be a successful one unless all involved stakeholders are involved and allowed to share their input. Flexible Access Plan Check District Policies The district that the media specialist works in may have a policy against introducing a flexible schedule in the SLMC. The media specialist must investigate this before taking any steps to transition the school from a fixed schedule to a flexible schedule. If there is a policy against such action, the media specialist must find out why it exists and how they can change it. Principal support must be enlisted to go further. Before enlisting the principal, however the media specialist must first polish the necessary personality traits to sell the idea of flexible scheduling. Personal Development of the Media Specialist In order to sway the position of some school faculty who may not be on board with the idea of flexible scheduling, the media specialist must work on her own personal development in order to make herself, in essence, a saleswoman of flexible scheduling. She must exude the traits that make would make her likeable to those who would oppose her cause. She must show that she is: understanding, easy to work with, intelligent, knowledgeable about national SLMC trends, involved with the curriculum, enthusiastic, flexible, and able to have a sense of humor. She must work on her communication skills so that she

is able to converse with even the hardest-to-reach member of the faculty (Creighton, 2008). When the media specialist has begun gaining a relationship with other members of the faculty by utilizing these skills, she will be more able to convince them of the benefits of flexible scheduling. Gain Principal Support The first essential supporter needed for this change is the school principal. If the principal is on board, she can enlist the support not only of faculty, but also other school administrators. In order to gain this vital support, the media specialist will need to arrange a meeting with the principal. In this meeting, they will need to address the following questions (Bush, 2000): What is our mission? How can we work together in order to achieve his mission? How can we encourage collaboration with teachers? How can the media specialist become more involved with helping teachers plan and execute the curriculum? What information literacy skills do we want students to have when they leave our school? After discussing these questions, the media specialist and the principal will move onto published research that supports flexible schedules. A great source is the handout provided by the Laura Bush Foundation, titled, Capitalizing on the School Library!s Potential to Positively Affect Student Achievement by Hartzell

(2001). After reading this research (and any other research the media specialists thinks will help her cause), the principal may decide to join the cause and the next step can be taken. If the principal does not seem eager to promote the transition, the media specialist must be patient and persistent until the principal agrees to help the cause. Construct a Unified Faculty Vision This step is the most critical for effective change management. All stakeholders (staff members) must be on board in order for the transition to be a smooth one. The media specialist and principal must involve the faculty in creating a shared vision for the goals for student accomplishment and in doing so must show the faculty how incorporating a fixed schedule would help these goals. In order to gain the support of all faculty, the media specialist and the principal must present research in a positive light (again, the research provided by the Laura Bush Foundation is extremely persuasive) in a conference attended by all teachers. All questions and concerns can be addressed at this conference. In this conference, the faculty and principal can agree on the role of the media specialist and how she can help them succeed not only in the delivery of their curriculum, but in accomplishing the goal of making students life-long learners and readers and literate in obtaining information. In this meeting, the media specialist can address how implementing a flexible schedule will help meet district technology integration requirements along with curriculum requirements.

If any teachers are not on board after the meeting, the media specialist can individually speak with them until they are also on board. Again, this will take patience, persistence, and quite a bit of time. It is important not to annoy these staff members, but rather casually inform them and speak with them about the issues. Develop a Planning Team Once every staff member is on board (or as many as possible), a planning team must be developed in order to ensure that every interested staff member!s voice is heard. Within this team, an environment must be established that encourages and fosters change. It is the responsibility of the planning team to convert any staff members who are not yet ready for the transition. It is important to remember that different people will accept change at different stages and to be patient and persistent. The planning team is responsible for planning media center sign-up rules and procedures, organizing school visits so staff may see other schools that have been successful in transitioning to a flexible schedule, and ultimately implementing a timeline for action and transition to flexible scheduling. If the planning is the hands of many people, rather than just the media specialist, the ultimate outcome will be much more desirable and more staff members will be content with the system. If this plan is followed to fruition, the transition to flexible scheduling will be amicable and pleasant for all.

References Bush, G. (2000). The principal's manual for your school library media program [Pamphlet]. Chicago, IL: American Association of School Librarians. Creighton, P. M. (2007). Just how flexible are we?. Library Media Connection, 26(3), 10-14. Retrieved from EBSCOhost. Creighton, P. M. (2008). Flexible scheduling: Making the transition. School Library Monthly. Retrieved from http://www.schoollibrarymonthly.com/articles/Creighton2008v24n5p24.html Hartzell, G. (2001). Capitalizing on the school library!s potential to positively affect student achievement. The Laura Bush Foundation. Retrieved from http://www.laurabushfoundation.org/Handout.pdf Michie, J., & Chaney, B. (2000). Assessment of the role of school and public libraries in support of educational reform. General Audience Report. Retrieved from http://eric.ed.gov/ERICDocs/data/ ericdocs2/content_storage_01/0000000b/80/10/d9/38.pdf