Light, Camera, Read: Re-Opening the Media Center

Funded Jan 6, 2023

Over the last few years, the students at my school have adapted without having a media center in the middle school. The teachers have worked cooperatively to maintain the media center. This year, I was assigned to be the media specialist after Gov. Ron DeSantis passed the law for every school to have a media specialist. The funding of this project has made me able to open the media center so my students' love of reading can be ignited. With the materials I was able to receive from this project, I have created an inviting environment with different centers to motivate students to love literacy. In addition, I will soon be implementing areas where students can earn-to-use after they have read a book.

Every year, the schools are asked to choose a theme to enhance the school climate. This year, our theme was Hollywood. The idea of this project stemmed from that theme. As the newly assigned Media Specialist, I felt like I needed to bring to life the media center, or as it is also known to veteran teachers, the library. Our school is a K-8, which means that we service students from kindergarten to 8th grade. This project is specifically for the middle schoolers, i.e., 6th, 7th, and 8th grade students.

The project, "Light, Camera, Read: Re-Opening the Media Center" has been great with the students, teachers and staff. Thanks to this project the media center now has a great Hollywood feel. The middle school students that are usually disinterested in stepping foot in the media center, now seem drawn to it. The students love to sit on the beanbag chairs and read. The plastic stanchions also make checking out a book seem official. In addition, the circulation of books has increased because students are drawn in to media center.

When my students first saw the chairs, curtains, and stanchions, their interests were peaked. They love being able to enjoy this new setting, whether it is with a book or just being able to have a space for themselves. Having the different centers for them has made it an appealing space as well. I certainly plan to continue fostering the love of reading and hope that by creating this inviting environment for them, they will continue to visit the media center and grow a love of literacy.

Not only are the students excited to have this new setting, the teachers, and staff also like coming into this welcoming space. Teachers are eager to bring their classes in and have them check out books.

I appreciate all that you have done to make this idea come to life. The students and teachers see a difference in the ambiance. In addition, my teachers are excited to bring their students to visit the media center.”

With gratitude,

Ms. Hernandez