Education

===Having taught for four years prior to returning to school to earn my Masters in School Library Media, I feel I am a qualified candidate as a school librarian. Below is a snippet of my educational background and why I decided to further my education to become a school librarian.===

===I completed my undergraduate degree in elementary education from Penn State in 2005. My senior year I participated in a year-long internship in a 1st grade classroom where I worked in collaboration with my mentor teacher in designing instruction, setting educational goals for students, and planning and implementing lessons. During this time I also completed an in-depth inquiry project related to how students learn. I presented my findings from this research project at a conference at the end of the year.===

===I worked part-time teaching remedial reading and math while also substituting the year after I graduated. The following years were spent at a private Christian school in eastern Pennsylvania where I taught grade 3 for two years as well as grades 5-8 math and science for one year. The school had no trained librarian, and though the resources and technology tools grew while I was there, they were still largely limited. I felt that we were doing a disservice to students by not teaching them the research and technology skills needed to be successful and contributing citizens in the 21st century. Also, I knew that if I wanted to improve my teaching in these areas and learn how to work with other teachers to education them in these areas, I needed to return to school and further my education.===

===For these reasons, I attended the University of Pittsburgh's College of Information Science and graduated a Masters in Library and Information Science with a certificate in School Library Media in 2010. I did my practicum in a middle school library under the tutelage of an extremely knowledgeable mentor. As a result of my program, I learned how to collaborate effectively with classroom teachers, locate and purchase new library resources, incorporate technology skills and tools into instruction, and plan lessons built around 21st Century skills, and academic and information literacy standards.===

===Because of my teaching experience, education, and passion for helping students to learn, I feel I am qualified candidate to work in a school library. Thank you for taking the time to browse the information I have posted here.===