School Librarianship, MEd

Dr. Audrey P. Church, Chair
Department of Education and Counseling
434.395.2682, churchap@longwood.edu

Dr. Karla B. Collins, Graduate Program Director
434.395.2325, collinskb@longwood.edu

The Master of Education in School Librarianship program follows the  School Librarian Preparation Standards from the American Library Association/American Association of School Librarians (ALA/AASL) and the Virginia Department of Education Licensure Regulations for School Personnel. The program is nationally recognized by AASL and the Council for the Accreditation of Educator Preparation (CAEP) and approved by the Virginia Department of Education.

Coursework prepares individuals to meet the varied roles required of a school librarian in the 21st century - the roles of instructional partner, teacher, information specialist, leader, and program administrator. The concept of the librarian as a catalyst for academic achievement is emphasized, as is the importance of helping our preK-12 students become critical thinkers, enthusiastic readers, skillful researchers, and ethical users of information. Collaboration, leadership, and technology are themes which run throughout the program. Successful completion of this program meets current eligibility requirements for the Virginia Postgraduate Professional License with an endorsement in Library Media grades preK-12. The program offers two tracks for those interested in becoming a school librarian:

• Licensed Teacher Track for candidates who possess a valid Virginia Collegiate Professional License or equivalent from another state and wish to add the endorsement
• Initial Licensure Track for candidates who wish to pursue initial licensure as a school librarian.

Admission

Prior to starting their graduate program, students must hold a conferred bachelor’s degree or international equivalent from a college or university accredited by the appropriate institutional (formerly regional) accreditation agency. Additionally, all applicants to this program must have:

• a 2.75 cumulative GPA (on a 4.0 scale)
• provide a minimum of two recommendations
• a 500-word personal essay
• a résumé
• official transcripts of the bachelor’s degree and any course work completed after that degree.

In addition to the above, Licensed Teacher Track applicants must hold a valid Virginia Collegiate Professional License or equivalent from another state.

Professional Portfolio

All students in the Master of Education in School Librarianship complete The Professional Portfolio, SLIB 691 , as the culminating experience and exit requirement for the program. Students are scaffolded by their advisor throughout the program regarding professional portfolio requirements. The portfolio is electronic. Grading is Pass/Not Pass. A grade of incomplete (I) may not be assigned. A student who earns a Not Pass is allowed to retake SLIB 691  once. Should the student earn a second Not Pass, the student will be dismissed from the graduate program.

General Requirements: Development of a portfolio provides each candidate opportunities for reflection and self-evaluation, which documents their mastery of program standards and highlights their growth throughout the program.

Administrative procedures for culmination of the process:

• student registers for SLIB 691  - Professional Portfolio;
• portfolio will be reviewed and evaluated by program faculty members;
• candidate will present a synopsis of the Professional Portfolio to the faculty committee and his/her program peers on a date selected within the semester enrolled in SLIB 691  ; and
• instructor will record the collaborated grade of P/NP for the course.

Clinical Experiences

Licensed Teacher Track: Students in the Licensed Teacher Track, enroll in SLIB 690 - Clinical Experience in School Libraries . Placements are coordinated by the program director for the school librarianship graduate program. Students enrolled in SLIB 690  complete a minimum of 150 clock hours in a school library setting supervised by Longwood program faculty.

Grading is pass (P) / satisfactory progress (SP) / not pass (NP) and will not be used in calculating the grade point average. A grade of incomplete (I) may be assigned at the discretion of the instructor ONLY if all field clock hours have been successfully completed. All students must be enrolled in a minimum of one (1) credit hour of the applicable field experience to be completing any clock hours of placement in the field in order to be in compliance with insurance regulations per the Attorney General’s office.  Students cannot begin a placement prior to registering for the required course in the semester they wish to begin observing all applicable deadlines.

Initial Licensure Track: Students in the Initial Licensure Track, enroll in SLIB 689 - Supervised Experience in School Libraries . Prior to enrollment in SLIB 689 , students must meet Virginia Department of Education professional studies requirements by completing the following Longwood University courses or their equivalents: EDUC245, EDUC 521 , or COUN 507 ; EDUC487 or EDUC 550 ; EDUC 506  or undergraduate equivalent; EDUC430 or EDUC 530 . Students enrolled in SLIB 689  complete a minimum of 300 clock hours in school libraries at the elementary, middle, and high school settings, supervised by Longwood program faculty..

Teacher Preparation Program Requirements

Students in the Initial Licensure Track, must complete a professional semester to meet state licensing requirements. This professional semester is designed as the capstone course in these programs. For those students who are already teaching under a Provisional or Special Education Conditional License, enrollment in the professional semester is still a requirement, but will be a mentorship of their current teaching position.

Upon acceptance to the graduate program, Initial Licensure Candidates will apply to the Teacher Preparation Program by the end of the first semester of enrollment after acceptance.

To be admitted to the Teacher Prep Program, the teacher candidate must:

• Complete the Admission Application to Teacher Preparation in Tk20 Watermark observing all deadlines.  Components of the application that require additional steps before submission include:
  • a criminal background check;
  • a negative TB test;
  • automobile insurance information on the required form;
  • Child Abuse and Neglect Recognition and Intervention Training module - certificate of completion;
  • Dyslexia Awareness Training module - certificate of completion;
  • Restraint and Seclusion module - certificate of completion.
• Qualifying Virginia Comuication and Literacy Assessment (VCLA) test scores - Reading and Writing subtest scores of 235 or a composite score of 470.
• Meet the Teacher Preparation GPA requirement of 3.0.

Graduate Studies Professional Semester

Students who wish to graduate in a timely manner must complete the Field Placement Request for SLIB 573  and SLIB 689  form in Tk20 Watermark and meet all requirements by the required deadline. Failure to meet any requirement by the deadline will delay placement in practicum and/or the professional semester.

• Maintaining an overall GPA of 3.0.
• The Field Placement Request for SLIB 573  and SLIB 689  form includes submission of a card or certificate proof of hands-on training in Emergency First Aid & CPR with AED for adults & children and passing VCLA scores if not submitted with the Admission Application to Teacher preparation.

NOTE: Teacher candidates bear any costs associated with meeting placement requirements. All documents must be current within one year of actual placement in the professional semester. In addition to these Longwood requirements, school divisions may have other forms to complete and procedures to follow. It is the teacher candidate’s responsibility to access the information and comply by the appropriate deadline.

Meet remaining program area requirements by the deadline established by the program area, which in most instances is prior to starting the professional semester (Seminar Day).

• The OTP will obtain professional semester placements for the initial licensure candidates who are not employed as full time teachers. 
• If you have a provisional license, you will work with the school division personnel in completing and submitting the licensure packet to the Virginia Department of Education (VDOE). OTP  will work with all other teacher candidates to apply for initial licensure with the VDOE.

Program Outcomes

The mission of the school librarianship program at Longwood is to prepare school librarians as reflective citizen leaders who are grounded in content and best practice and who positively impact student achievement and the educational environments of their schools.

The graduate program in school librarianship will:

1. Provide coursework and clinical experience required for licensure in school librarianship.
2. Prepare candidates to be effective school librarians who see themselves as teachers, instructional partners, information specialists, instructional leaders, and program administrators.
3. Prepare candidates who embody the professional tenets of the field.