In the beginning...
The library had become a storage place /dumping ground for all sorts of things. It was not being used as a library in any way, shape, or form.
There was random stuff EVERYWHERE.
BTW: those 2 air conditioners are purely decorative, LOL. What I would have given to have functional air conditioners...
Furniture just put in any space, books stacked anywhere, maniupulatives scattered about.
And the TERMITES! They had claimed most of the shelves and furniture. Many spiders and other insects had also made the books their home. Mold and mildew also claimed many books.
The overall vibe was dirty, stinky, unwelcoming, and not engaging for students or teachers.
Enter these committed women...
Throughout fall term, my counterpart Lauretta and I were having conversations about how the library could be turned into a more welcoming space for teachers and students.
We had all sorts of ideas and knew that in the upcoming months I'd be able to write a grant to try to fund these ideas.
December 2023
Lauretta takes a trip to the US. She starts chatting with the lady sitting next to her on the plane. In the course of conversation, she shares our vision for the library. The lady tells her that she has a foundation that helps Caribbean schools establish libraries and she'd like to help us.
Early 2024: the early middle of our story...
The volunteers painted the entire library--notice the bright green and yellow color on the walls.
We also got rid of the curtains, which opened up and brightened the space.
A good amount of the clutter and garbage was gone--because we had to clear out the space for them to paint. But unfortunately, it wasn't gone for good.
April-July 2024: the late-middle of our story...
At this point, I am still stationed in the grade 2 classroom--so the library is basically unattended. We take a few steps in the wrong direction...
Academic Year 24/25: the end of our story...
Big changes for this year! First of all, I've moved out of the grade 2 classroom and I'm now stationed in the library. The picture below is of me on the 1st day of school and my little (termite-infested) desk! Second, I was awarded my grant and so I now have a clear plan for everything that needs to happen in the library. Third, what I'm showing here has only to do with the physical renovation to the library. There were other components of the grant and the work that I do in the library that were all important in making it a welcoming place and also helping to support literacy instruction at the school--they'll get a brief mention at the end.
The new space!!!
The Cozy Corner!
Colorful, soft tiles for students to sit on the floor. Also note the colorful cushions--they use these on the mat but also at the short tables you'll see in the next photos.
Students use this space to color, to read quietly to themselves, to read together, or sometimes just to chill. I use this during my lessons as the "reflection station" where students go when they need to be out of the group for a little while to settle and compose themselves.
We got new colorful, child-appropriate tables for the space. They are adjustable; 2 are set up for chairs and the other 2 are low so that students can sit with a cushion. You can see along the wall that we did keep one big table for the older kids. But it turns out that even the grade 5 and 6 students love sitting at the blue and greeen tables!
Our book collection is now organized and on termite-free shelves! Upper photos show 1/2 of our non-fiction collection and our Caribbean books. White shelves on the bottomr are double-sided and hold our junior fiction while the brown shelves on the bottom contain our intermediate fiction.
Teacher Resources
In addtion to the library space, my grant focused on creating teaching resources for teachers.
This bookshelf contains binders of literacy teaching materials that I collated for teachers. Each one has a table of contents, making it easy for teachers to find a resource they can copy and use in class. Also on the shelf are class sets of texts; I discovered these as I was sorting through the entire collection of the library.
Not shown in this picture are portable Bluetooth projectors and speakers that I bought with my grant. These allow teachers to bring technology into their classrooms.
What are some of the things that happen in the library?