Committee continues efforts to improve CCHS media center

By SHERRYL PETERS, T&D Correspondent

ST. MATTHEWS -- The Calhoun County High School Library Advisory Committee is continuing to work on its goals for 2007-2008 to optimize the media center.

Head media specialist Julia Fanning chaired the committee’s May 2 meeting, reviewing the time-line for progress. The goals include enhancing the media literacy for students and staff and especially student achievement through literacy activities.

Student-use computers were added, and the electronics collection was also expanded, she said. In addition, the reference, fiction and non-fiction collections were increased, Fanning noted. She said she has also continued to weed the collection of books no longer used or appropriate for current studies. In addition, Fanning said she expanded collaboration with the faculty and upgraded the technology available to the faculty and students.

Fanning proposed to continue the same efforts through 2008-2009 while relocating the media center to another building on campus while the new media center is being constructed.

The new Parent Center will be continued throughout 2008-2009, she said, adding that she hopes many parents will take advantage of it. The center features a user-friendly computer and reference books to help parents research colleges and scholarships. The center also contains helpful books designed to provide parents with the knowledge and skills needed to understand and modify certain adolescent behaviors. Some of the titles include “The Defiant Child: A Parent’s Guide to Oppositional Defiant Disorder” (Douglas Riley) and “Choices and Consequences: What to Do When a Teenager Uses Alcohol/Drugs” (Dick Schaefer).

For more information, contact Julia Fanning at Calhoun County High School.

T&D Correspondent Sherryl Peters can be reached by e-mail at boykinbaby@surrealestate.com. Discuss this and other stories online at TheTandD.com.