Library Program Flyer: Colors of The Rain
Part 1 of 5. Colors of the Rain Overview
Identify the intended audience of your program. In your role, you serve a variety of stakeholders. Based on the needs and goals you identified previously, develop a program for a specific group (e.g. students, students and families, fellow teachers, etc).
Teen-aged students in grades 9-12 increased reading and awareness of dealing with grief
Parents
Define the timing (e.g. before, during, or after school), duration (session length), and periodicity (e.g. ongoing, weekly, monthly, twice a year, one-time) of the program, and explain why they are appropriate for this type of program. Describe how often program activities occur. For example, Battle of the Books (reading promotion program) is ongoing, requiring activities throughout the year. In contrast, a new faculty library orientation happens once per year.
The meeting will occur on Monday after-school from 6:30pm to 8:30pm. This is a suitable time frame because as the librarian, I was able to secure the author, RL Toalson, to speak to our students about her newly-written book, Colors of the Rain. This will provide the setting for the topic of grief.
This is not a “fun” topic however in my community recently the topic of grief has been ever-present in our school and it is relevant to the community
It will also promote reading as the author will donate books to give away and several copies in the library for students to check out.
Describe your program, including the types of activities in which participants will partake. (5-7 sentences or bullet points)
Students will listen to a short reading from the author
Students will discuss in groups questions posed by the author about dealing with grief
Counselors on campus will share ideas on dealing with grief and other resources
Students will reflect on grief in their own lives and how they can cope
Students and parents will write a short poem of hope and share if they choose
Refreshments will be available during author's signing
Part 2 of 5. Program Rationale and Outcomes
Describe why you have decided to implement this program, addressing how the program will meet the needs of its intended audience, and explain what outcomes you anticipate as a result of your program; you may wish to consult the demographic profile when crafting your response. For example, if your demographic analysis showed weak writing scores, you could plan to create a student writing anthology, because being published will motivate them to practice writing, possibly leading to better test scores.
In the last six months, students have experienced the death of parents and the death of a fellow student. When it comes to grief support at school, many educators feel under-prepared to help: a recent study revealed that only 7% of classroom teachers have received any amount of bereavement training and 92% of them said childhood grief was a serious problem that deserved more attention from schools. As a librarian, I felt it necessary to provide a space for dialogue around a book that a local author wrote as a way to open dialogue, and provide the support that is meaningful.
According to Schonfeld (2015), grief can have a profound effect on learning and school performance, and typically, students experience difficulty with concentration. The emotional state of our students is important to address. Addressing the topic of grief can then help overall test scores.
Choosing an author to come to share her story is compelling. Parents will be encouraged to read with their children and continue the conversations about grief.
School is a part of the student's, teacher's, and parent's lives. Managing school life can be difficult without the addition of grieving a school family loss.
The program implemented will help provide much-needed support to students and counseling staff.
Ultimately the program will build grief awareness on campus, help students and parents read together, and help students' poetry understanding and writing skills.
Part 3 of 5. Program Planning
What personnel resources (e.g. you, other faculty, volunteers) will you need to implement this program, and what roles will these personnel play in implementing the program?
Librarian: Introduce the author, oversee operations for the evening
Parent Volunteers: ( to hand out brochures, books, pens, poem paper, refreshments, etc.)
Counselor: Briefly discuss resources available and hand out brochures if requested.
Faculty: invited to attend
What physical resources (e.g. craft supplies; library materials, print or digital; technology or other equipment; venue) will you need to implement this program, and how will these resources be used?
Section part of the library with tables and chairs for guests to sit
Podium for the author to read
Table for an author signing and book display
Projector and Screen to present questions
Computer and internet connection to play music or video from the author
Brochures printed from counselor to share resources
Special paper for poems, pens, and markers
Refreshment table and refreshments of lemonade, cookies, and napkins for attendees to eat
Part 4 of 5. Program Marketing
PART A: Develop two strategies for marketing your program. Remember that the target audience for the program and for marketing may differ. For example, if you have an evening program for elementary students, you need to market to their families who provide transport. For each strategy, define the target audience, explain why you chose them, and why you selected that strategy for that audience.
Marketing strategy #1: Student announcements, student flyers, and website
Rationale: Students will tune in to morning announcements more than any other time of day. Announcements about the upcoming program can be done 2 weeks prior to the event. Enlisting the help of the student council and other student organizations on campus to pass out flyers to take home is a marketing strategy to reach teens. Updating the library website with the program of the month can also help keep students informed.
Marketing strategy #2: Parent newsletter and phone call home
Rationale: Connecting with the parents is also an important marketing strategy. Parents can see the benefits of such a program many times before the student. Sending the parent newsletter to parents' inboxes can help spread the word. Asking for parent volunteers is another strategy to help build awareness about the program. Finally, my school has automatic phone calls to all parents in the school. As a final push, I could ask the principal to complete a call specifically for the program a week, 3 days, and the day of the program.
PART B: Create a digital marketing piece that you will share with the school community to promote the program. Use any digital tool you wish. Be creative and have fun with it!
(Image above)
Part 5 of 5. Program Evaluation
Describe how you will assess how well the program met the outcomes you described in Part 2 of this assignment.
Compare school performance reports before the grief program to one year after the grief program and present findings
Survey teachers on the things that they notice may be different in the student body after the grief program
How many books were given through donations and how many times was the book checked out of the library within 6 months of the program
What potential programs have been requested as a result of the grief program (results found via a survey given at the event)
What requests of resources have the counselors seen an increase in? Who has requested the information? This may get into an area of confidentiality but basic data would help determine how useful the grief program was
Promoting a spin-off book club discussion about the book with other difficult topics for students and parents. Did anyone participate? Was there any interest in such a group?
Describe how you will measure participant satisfaction with the program.
A brief survey will be completed as part of the program to measure participant satisfaction and future offerings on the topic of grief. Participants can complete the survey on paper or on specific computers in the library.
References
Martin, D. (2018). New YA book by San Antonio writer deals with grief. Retrieved at:
Schonfeld, D. (2015). Grieving Children: An Essential Role for Schools. Retrieved at:
https://www.etr.org/blog/my-take-grievingchildren/
Comments
Post a Comment