Congratulations, Ellen Lewis, library media specialist at Chapman Elementary School, Strongsville City School District. Ellen is the Rosen Publishing Ohio School Librarian of the Month for March.

Ellen was nominated by Joan Battle, school library media specialist at Center and and Albion middle schools. Joan had this to say about the goals and learning objectives of the Sensory Book Collection at Chapman: “We wanted to address the needs of students with more intensive special needs in our building who would benefit from additional sensory interaction with literature; making books more accessible, enjoyable, and meaningful to them.”  Furthermore, she stated “We wanted to provide books with a variety of tactile, auditory, and sensory feedback to our students.”  The students can use the books during their weekly library story time, in their classrooms, and to check out so that they can share the books with their families.

Currently the collection includes sixty books that are heavily used and are so popular that Ellen and Joan are looking to create a similar collection at another elementary school that has students with tactile, auditory, and sensory needs. The collection was initially introduced during their weekly library story time and students were then able to check them out to take to their respective classrooms and homes.

Chapman Elementary partnered with the PTA and obtained a grant to purchase the books for the collection.  In addition to the partnership, Ellen advertised the special collection and received donations from various school and community members.

As part of the nomination, the OELMA Awards Committee asks the nominator to write an “elevator pitch” for the program/activity/lesson plan that includes a statement about the impact on the learning community.  Here’s the elevator pitch for the Sensory Book Collection:

We have created a “Sensory” book collection in our Chapman school library. These books are for our population who would benefit from additional sensory interaction with literature making books more accessible, enjoyable, and meaningful to them.  The books have features such as textures, sounds, and buttons to manipulate.  Our special needs population comes in once a week to spend time exploring the collection and can check out a book or two to enjoy with their families.

The Rosen Publishing Ohio School Librarian of the Month recognizes one school librarian a month who designs, develops, and implements a collaborative lesson plan and/or programming that empowers student learning. This award spotlights the importance of both the school library community and librarian and the pivotal role each plays in transforming learning throughout students’ K-12 education.

Consider nominating yourself or another OELMA Library Media Specialist to be considered for the Rosen Publishing Ohio School Librarian of the Month!  The Rosen award nomination form can be accessedunder the Professional Recognition tab. Contact Susan Yutzey (oelma.awards@gmail.com) with any questions.

Congratulations Ellen!