Library Services for K12

Early College High School (ECHS)

The main campus of our college has an early college high school that serves about 400 high school students who are dually enrolled in the community college. In addition to providing a core high school curriculum, the program allows them to take their high school electives in regular community college classes and earn college credit. The presence of an ECHS program has not required many changes in the main library’s collection as the high school instructors found the resources they needed in the existing materials. The main library has, however, added a number of young adult fiction titles to support pleasure reading among the ECHS students. The main campus librarians have had some complaints about noise and behavior of the ECHS students, that they have changed the atmosphere of the library, but they also have seen an increase in their reference and circulation statistics since the ECHS started. Our campus does not have enough classroom space to have and ECHS program, but will consider it once a new classroom building is constructed. In addition to the new classroom building, we are on track to receive a new library building at the same time. Our branch library will merge with the local public library in the new building. This will represent a new client mix for us and there may also be ECHS students added to that. It will be interesting to see how the atmosphere of the library changes with a new mix of patrons.

Huskins

The Huskins program was initiated by the State of North Carolina as an alternative means of providing vocational training to North Carolina high school students. Vocational education varies among school districts depending upon the funding available. Through the Huskins program, high schools can partner with community colleges to provide this training. Like ECHS students, Huskins students have dual enrollment. Their Huskins classes qualify as both high school electives, but they also carry community college credit. In some cases, the community college provides instructors that travel to the high school campus. Other classes are offered on the community college campus and some are delivered online. On our campus, welding and criminal justice classes are held at the local high schools. We also have a World History class that alternates between the high school campus and the college campus. Early Childhood Development and Auto Mechanics are held on the college campus because we have the specialized facilities these classes require. Some business classes are offered online. On all three campuses, Huskins students are issued ID cards and have library access just like the regular college students. The Huskins instructor I interviewed noted that there were some problems offering college classes to high school students, mostly behavioral. She observed that some high school principals were more supportive of the program than others, and occasionally the program was seen as a place to “dump” problem students, but overall, her experience with the program had been really good. All campus libraries provide library instruction upon the instructor’s request. My experience giving library orientation to some of our Huskins classes has been very positive. While they may not have been familiar with the level of research expected of them in a college level class, they all seemed eager to learn and were pleased with the library resources available to them.

Adult High School (AHS)

On the main campus, AHS and GED students meet in a satellite location. The main library has provided reference books and encyclopedias for the satellite classrooms and occasional library instruction, but these students do not regularly use the main campus library. On our campus, AHS and GED students meet on campus. As the AHS classroom is just down the hall, AHS students are regular visitors in my library.

AHS was designed to serve adult individuals who were returning to pursue their high school diploma but were not prepared enough to take the GED exam, which reflects the 11th and 12th grade high school curriculum. The AHS instructor noted that over the years, the average age of her students is getting younger. She serves primarily 16-19 year olds who have dropped out, had their high school careers interrupted by pregnancy or getting into trouble, or who struggle socially or academically. Some of her students are children of families moving in from out of state who are not satisfied with area high schools. Some are home school students whose parents are not comfortable with the high school curriculum. Some students just do better in a smaller setting. Her average class size is about 12 seated students but she also currently has 20 online students. There is a maximum time limit of 2 years for students to earn the required 20 credits. Many students either need just a class or two or were unable to pass a gateway exam and need additional preparation for that. The challenge for the instructor is to provide help and support in a variety of subjects according to each student’s needs all in a single classroom setting. Her classroom has a variety of computer resources so students can work independently.

Our small library does not have the resources to support special recreational reading materials for high school students, but the main library has been generous in providing a selection of reading materials for the AHS English classes. And we can borrow a variety of items through the community college consortium. I have enjoyed providing support and library orientation to these students. For some, this is their first library experience and I hope to make it a positive one. When they need to take an exam or need more quiet than the classroom provides, the library provides that as well.

Adult Basic Skills

The community college supports adult basic skills instruction in a variety of packages. I spoke with the Basic Skills assessment and recruitment counselor on our campus about our programs. Her job is to recruit students and administer assessments that help her place them in the right program. If they need a lot of remediation for the GED test, they may go into an ABE class that helps boost their math, reading and writing skills. Then they can test into a GED class which helps them prep for the GED specifically. Or she may direct them to the AHS program if that is the appropriate setting for their goals. The college also offers ESL (English as a second language) instruction. AHS, ABE, GED, and ESL classes are all free. State and federal tax dollars support these programs and also subsidize the fees for taking the GED. Compensatory Education classes are offered at a different site. I don’t see these students often, but I’ve been offering our basic skills faculty information about our access to Career Library and the Learning Express database of practice exams. They are beginning to use them. As they refer more students to these databases, I expect to see more of them in the library.