Portfolio
Professional Work & Instructional Leadership
This portfolio reflects my work as a Library Media Specialist at Alvin Brooks Middle School. It highlights how I design library programs that support inquiry, literacy, collaboration, and student agency within a flexible, future-ready learning environment.
The pages below include instructional planning, systems I have built, and examples of learning in progress. Together, they show how the library supports classroom instruction, responds to student needs, and grows through collaboration with teachers, students, and the school community.
Building a Library from the Ground Up
When I arrived at Alvin Brooks Middle School, the library program was in its earliest stages. The physical space existed, but the systems, structures, and instructional vision needed to support students and teachers were still emerging. I began by focusing on access, organization, and intentional design, building systems that made the library usable, welcoming, and responsive to learning needs.
Over time, the library evolved into an instructional hub that supports inquiry, literacy, and hands-on learning. This included developing a genre-organized collection to encourage choice reading, creating flexible spaces that support both collaboration and quiet learning, and designing makerspace and inquiry experiences that align with classroom instruction.
As the program grew, I worked closely with teachers to integrate library instruction into content areas, respond to curriculum needs, and support student skill development. Systems for scheduling, materials use, student leadership, and program sustainability were intentionally designed so the library could serve a wide range of learners consistently and effectively.
This work reflects an approach to library program development that is grounded in instructional purpose, student access, and thoughtful systems. The practices represented here are designed to be transferable to new school communities while remaining responsive to local needs and school culture.