Professional Growth Plan

Alicia LeRoux, 21st Century Librarian

PROFESSIONAL MEMBERSHIPS: I am committed to maintaining my
professional memberships in both the American Association of School
Libraries and the Virginia Association of School Libraries. I will actively
participate by attending conferences, checking the websites for events and
information, and following any literature or blogs.
PROFESSIONAL CONFERENCES: In the upcoming year, I applied to attend
a three-day seminar on Teaching Primary Sources taught by Heather
Balsley and Krissy Schleicher which is held July 27-29, 2015 at Hamilton
Holmes Middle School. I would also like to attend the Longwood Summer
Literacy Institute for the second time which is held July 23-24, 2015. Also
for my second time, I will plan to attend the VAASL Annual Conference in
Williamsburg, Virginia from November 19-21, 2015. In the future, I will also
plan to attend a week-long session called The Library of Congress
Summer Teacher Institutes on Primary Sources in Washington, D.C. I
am committed to attending conferences such as the VAASL Annual
Conference on a yearly basis.
PROFESSIONAL PUBLICATIONS: In order to stay abreast of current library
trends and best practices for student success, I will read professional
publications. Such publications allow me to continue to teach myself and to
maintain what I have always been: someone who loves to learn. By
advancing my learning, I can implement what I learn for the benefit of the
students and teachers with whom I will work. The publications I read include
VAASL Voice which allows me to stay on top of current issues in my home
state. In addition to the Voice, I also read Knowledge Quest which is the
journal for the American Association of School Libraries. I would also like to
read School Library Journal so I am aware of the latest trends in library
education as well as relevant books.
PROFESSIONAL INTERNET RESOURCES: I will also keep abreast of
current school library educational trends by following professional blogs and
investigating pertinent websites. I will follow the American Association of
School Libraries blog at http://knowledgequest.aasl.org/ and their
counterpart website http://www.ala.org/aasl/. On the Knowledge Quest site, I
can follow daily blogs such as Technology Tuesday and What to Read
Wednesday. I will also explore http://www.slj.com/, the School Library Journal
website among others.
SHARING WITH EDUCATORS: I will provide professional development
opportunities for the teachers in my school. It is important to me that the
teachers in my building see me as a collaborative partner for student
success. I will write a monthly newsletter for teachers keeping them up-todate on events in the library, including professional development sessions

that will be offered on technology or ways to build collaborative partnerships.

I will create mailing lists for content areas within my school; this will allow
me to focus on departments when new materials arrive or to encourage
collaborative opportunities. I will also maintain a professional library for
educators and will send out surveys for feedback regarding what is helpful
and useful information. Finally, I would like to institute a monthly coffee
shop where teachers can visit the library for food and freebies so that I can
maintain a visible and effective presence in the school.
ESTABLISHED CONNECTIONS WITH OTHER LIBRARIES: I will establish
positive relationships with other libraries. Within my county, I will use other
schools for interlibrary loan as well as feedback on current issues within our
school system. On my school library website, I will have a link to the regional
library system, Pamunkey Regional Library. When students have projects or
reports due, I will send the assignment to the local library branch such as the
Atlee Library so they can assist our students. I will encourage students to
partake in summer programming at the regional library as well.
Furthermore, I will seek to connect with other academic libraries such as the
Virginia Historical Society which has amazing programming on primary
sources and other topics, as well as other online sources such as the Library
of Congress.
COOPERATING WITH LIBRARY COLLEAGUES: I will maintain an active
role with fellow librarians within my district. This includes participation in a
county mailing list, attending monthly meetings, and utilizing the countys
library BlackBoard site. When I attend conferences, I will bring back new
ideas to share and will welcome other new ideas brought by my colleagues.
MEMBER OF SOCIAL AND INTELLECTUAL NETWORK OF LEARNERS: To
extend my role as an active learner, I will participate in listservs such as
LM_NET, the worlds largest listserv for school librarians. Locally, I
participate in the VAASL listserv. Participation in listservs allows me to glean
from the experiences of others by reading the daily posts or to ask for advice
and input as needed.
MODELING OF ETHICAL PRINCIPLES: I will practice and promote the
ethical principles of our profession, advocate for intellectual freedom and
privacy, as well as model digital citizenship. On my library website, I will
create a link to the Intellectual Freedom Statements written by the American
Library Association: http://www.ala.org/advocacy/intfreedom. I will further
support ethical principles, such as copyright law, by having helpful tip sheets
on my library website that list steps for the correct ways for creating
citations. Each year, I will scaffold grade-appropriate lessons on digital
citizenship for the students within my school.
USE OF EVIDENCE-BASED ACTION RESEARCH: As a 21st Century
librarian, I know that effective lessons and programming demonstrate the

importance of the library. Therefore, I am committed to collecting data to

show the benefits of reading and library education. For example, I have
created programs to improve the SOL reading scores whereby SOL data is
collected before the program and after. Sometimes, other data can be
tracked if SOL scores are not available for a particular skill or topic. In a
recent collaborative lesson on primary sources, a survey was taken by the
students to show the impact of the lesson. A pre-assessment survey
showed that 25% of the students felt that primary sources were something
used to help you understand a historical time period. A post-assessment
survey revealed that 92% of the students felt that primary sources helped
them to understand a historical time period. The next lesson on primary
sources could try to reach the remaining 8%!