LIBRARY/SCHOOL PARTNERSHIP

Library Administrator's Digest, Jan 2004

"A+" has come to mean quality, the very best, the-top-of-the-line, cream-of-the-crop. It's also an apt designation for the newly developed partnership between the Wadsworth Public Library and the Wadsworth City School System, two institutions with a commitment to quality.

In September, representatives from the library and the school system signed the "A+ Partners in Education" agreement, formalizing a collaboration with an emphasis on enhanced academic achievement for all students.

Key elements of the partnership agreement include:

* Register all students for library cards

* Provide access to homework assistance and professional online tutoring through KnowItNow

* Host, sponsor and lead book discussion groups with faculty and students

* Provide library orientation sessions for students in transitional grades (Kindergarten, 5th, 7th, 9th and 12th)

* Provide welcome packets for new students and orientation sessions for new teachers

* Use "Assignment Alert" forms for projects requiring library research

* Place a reference-only copy of Wadsworth Schools' textbooks in the library for student use

* Feature library events and programs in school newsletters

* Provide links to each other's Web sites

Many of the objectives outlined in the partnership agreement are already in place. By committing to a common mission and vision, the library and the school system are pledging to be more mindful of those objectives. The vision statement summarizes the intent quite handily: "As partners in education, we will work collaboratively by combining our strengths and resources to invest in each student's future and accomplish, together, results that we could not otherwise readily achieve."

Ellagram, Wadsworth (OH) Public Library,

December 2003