GRANT REPORT - MAMMOTH HIGH SCHOOL LIBRARY
The library at Mammoth High School serves the entire school population with a variety of literature, art supplies and activities for students to be involved in during their downtime. It also houses online classes and is a refuge for some students to hang out in when they are waiting for school sports to start, is a place to do their homework, and to socialize in a healthy environment.
The librarian, Dana Ellis, serves the MHS student population in a variety of ways and is always seeking how to make the library a better place. She personally engages with the students, strives to meet their needs, makes the library a safe space for learning or chilling and highlights book choices with unique and creative displays. With all that she is involved in, Dana still took the time to meet with us and share with us the vast improvements since MHS library received a $10,000 grant from MMCF.
What did you get from the grant and how did it serve your student population?
I gratefully received $10,000 from MMCF. My plan was to buy new, long lasting hardback books, in both Spanish and English. I also needed to purchase book repair and protection supplies as well as basic art supplies for student use throughout the school year for projects and athletic awards and posters. After I received the grant I soon realized I also needed more games to lure students off of their devices when their work was complete.
Mission accomplished. After receiving the grant I let students know that their library had money to buy new books so send in your wish lists. Students came to me with book suggestions, in both Spanish and English, and I was able to buy them. As soon as I let students know their books came in they checked them out and often told their friends who then also checked them out. I even had one of our top seniors who had never checked a book out from the library, think Covid years, ask for a specific Manga series. I purchased the series and they read all 22 volumes. Many students without a 6th period hang out in the library waiting for the bus or their team practices to start and instead of doodling on their phones, they engage each other face to face playing board games. I asked what games they wanted and was able to buy several thanks to the generosity of the MMCF grant. For some reason students LOVE Monopoly, now we have 3 different versions.
How did this grant improve the lives of the students in regards to having new literature available?
As I mentioned above, one student read the entire Manga series they requested. Since I had seen the Anime, we had a great conversation about the brilliance of the series and what we thought could be improved.
A very quiet student requested a quite hard to find book that I eventually found used for an expensive but reasonable price. I had several conversations with the student about the book and how it came to be on their radar. When the used book arrived it had been signed by the author who had also written a brief explanation of the book. Oh how this student's eyes lit up when I excitedly showed this to them! We both totally nerded out on this unexpected connection to the author. These serendipitous moments do not happen if I am penny pinching to stretch meager book buying dollars.
How does buying a book a student wants improve their lives? First of all it validates their choice and supports exploring new or favored genres or authors. It also reinforces risk taking in putting themselves out there by asking for something and then actually getting it. Some of the students who requested books said they could not buy them themselves, this is why libraries exist, reading equity. One of the Spanish requests I was able to get turned out to be quite a difficult book to read, the student did not finish it but we still conversed about the validity of trying. But most of all I was able to provide a variety of reading choices, in both Spanish and English, and choice gives students a sense of agency, adventure, and risk.
Were the students more able to engage in their studies and recreational reading?
MHS Library not only houses books but also students each period who are working on college classes as well as online classes via Edgenuity. I have to admit that only a handful of students pull out a book and read when they have down time, but several of those students read the books they requested MHS Library buy. Mostly students play cards or board games when they have down time. That being said, more students found books they wanted to read for book reports in 9th and 10th English since I received the grant. I had to do less “convincing" a student to read a book I had in the collection since they were able to find the book they wanted.
How did this grant improve the lives of the students and their educational experience?
Having a well funded space to eddy out in during the school day enhances every student's educational experience. School is tough these days so a place where you can decompress quietly with friends, a book, or off your device with a board game is crucial as a brain break. Also, knowing you can do a last minute poster report or project in a well supplied space eases student stress and supports group work when students all sit at a table sharing supplies and ideas. Having a space to quietly engage in a variety of activities is something many students do not have at home and is what MHS Library is able to provide in spades once again thanks to the MMCF Grant.
How did the supplies purchased with the grant improve the lives of the students both academically and in extracurricular activities?
The grant allowed me to have poster making supplies on hand for students to access. Underclass athletes make big goodbye posters for the seniors on their teams at the end of a sports season. This year I was able to offer not only poster boards but a variety of splendid markers to make and decorate the posters. Before, one or two students made the posters, this year students were excited by the new supplies and more team members were involved in the poster process. The variety of supplies allowed students of different artistic abilities to shine.
The end of the school year saw more teachers assigning poster projects that my newly purchased poster supplies supported beautifully. Using art supplies to create academic posters of science data taught students about composition and the value of creating a visually pleasing presentation to make their piece stand out amongst all the others.
I was also able to repair some of my best loved and out of print books to keep them in circulation.
Is there anything that you would like to convey to the donors of MMCF that we can include in our article?
What I really wish the donors to know is that their donation to MMCF is more valuable and impacts more young people than I can possibly convey. When a school library is visibly and generously supported by such an esteemed organization as MMCF it lends credence and value to that library, to what it has to offer, and to all who use it. MMCF donors, through the MMCF Grant, have funded a safe space for students at MHS to spend time in academic, artistic, imaginative, and collaborative pursuits as a balance to the rigorous intellectual studies taking place in the classroom.
THANK YOU SO VERY MUCH FOR HONORING THE MHS LIBRARY WITH THE MMCF GRANT
Feel confident that every cent was and will be spent for the benefit of the entire student body at Mammoth High School.
Thank you Dana for your dedication to the students of the Eastern Sierra and thank you MMCF donors for generously donating so that the lives of our youth can broaden and develop.
