RES 5040: Teacher as Researcher (spring 09)

I am very concerned that your alternative school does not have a media center. Even if these students do not like to read, do they have to do research? Yes I know they probably do have the internet, but I am like you- They need books too. Our county has an alternative high school, and they do have a library. The librarian is an App grad. She may be able to help you get your project going. The school is Central Haywood High School in Haywood County. Another thing to think about is the research that has already been done on schools and libraries, how test scores look etc. I know there is a vast amount of research because I had to read research papers on it. I hope this gives you some thinking points. I think your project will be great!
Jill Mann

This is a fantastic topic (I'm biased, as I taught in an alternative school and liked it). Our research was confined to the books on hand in the classroom, and the internet (also in the classroom). We had no media center, or expectation of getting one. Class sizes were so small in these instances that it was manageable, if not ideal.

Conrad Martin

Have you looked into Donorschoose.org? Our school has been very successful at getting grants filled around $100-$200. I have had 3 filled in the last month or two. You could easily build up a library of books, albeit slowly, over the next couple of months/years! Also, are there grants out there specifically tailored to alternative schools?
Also, I know the Bill Gates Foundation does a lot of charity work, but it has to be on a school basis, not individual. I am not sure what it takes for them to look at a proposal from your school, but it might be worth a shot.

I am excited about your research topic. I feel that some alternative schools could do so much more to serve and motivate their students. Shouldn't they be doing all they can to turn the students around? Why not a library? A computer lab? A...whatever? These resources are just as, if not more, important to our alternative school population that a regualar school population. These schools seem to have the fewest resources available and simply doesn't make sense.

I am also interested in seeing where your research takes you. It is definitely a great step to take toward obtaining more resources for your students. Just because it is an alternative school the students should not receive anything less. How do we get students to invest in their education if others are not invested? What does this show those students if they are not receiving, or do not have, the same materials as other schools? It will eventually get to the point where a student will notice this and will loose interest in the importance of their education.

Good luck and I hope this is the first step in obtaining more resources for your school.

Wow - no media center! I can imagine that it's difficult to convince students that reading is important when it's not important enough to have a media center. It might be an interesting place to start with finding the logic behind why there is not a MC at the school. It might be assumed that it's budget related, but are there other factors that are involved?

Heather,
This is indeed an urgent topic. You will need to think of your angle, and your colleagues have given you some good suggestions above.
Essentially, the issue of "access" is an important one. I read that you want the outcome of your research to be something that you take to the powers-that-be to convince them that media centers are valuable places for ALL students. It makes sense, then, to interview students in your school who ARE readers and who DO want access to materials. That way, you can make their voices heard.