Our Library
Thanks for joining us Monday January 30th as we celebrated the Grand Opening of our new library.
MNPS Ribbon Cutting and photo-opp 12:30 - 1:30
Community Open House 4 pm - 6 pm
PTO Strategic planning from 6:30 - 8:30
Library Update 9-14-11
Deadline for Paver participation is September 30th. If you know businesses that would like to participate, please let us know. Everyone is pleased with construction progress and the quality of work. The library committee is raving over the construction crew. We are excited to see the progress made. Look for more updates on when we feel construction might wrap up in 2011.
Library update 5-20.
While we still have money to raise for furnishings, we have achieved our groundbreaking number. Please join us for our ceremonial groundbreaking on June 1st at 9:30 am.
We still have around $70,000 to raise for technology and furnishings. Keep it up tigers. Our community is really coming through for us. Buinesses need to get on board to be a part of this great school accomplishment. Buy a paver!
The latest LIBRARY NEWS 5-1-11
Will We Build Our Library This Summer? Read about pledge total updates and how to get a paver form.
Last fall, the Percy Priest PTO, working with the Nashville Alliance for Public Education (NAPE), launched a capital campaign to build a new Percy Priest Library and Media Center.
The campaign to transform our library into a “21st Century Classic” is well underway. Thanks to donations from the cities of Forest Hills and Oak Hill, and the support of our parents and PTO, we have raised $638,000 in pledges. We are deeply grateful for this incredible show of support.
Fundraising is at a critical juncture. While we initially planned for a two-year campaign, we now hope to begin construction in June, with an estimated completion date of Fall 2011. To break ground this summer, though, we need to raise an additional $100,000 by June 1. If we are unable to reach this goal, the project will have to wait another year, as construction must take place during the summer break.
Please help us reach this goal! Have you been meaning to make a donation but haven’t done so yet? Send in your pledge form today. Do you know others – relatives, friends, neighbors, alumni or business owners – who might be interested in supporting the library? Please forward their contact information. Are you able to share your time or talents as a volunteer? Contact one of us by email.
We are thrilled to be involved in this exciting project and feel very fortunate to be part of such a generous, supportive community. Let’s work together to ensure that our children will enjoy a new library during the 2011-12 school year.
Thank you,
Henry Trost & Jill Gonas
Library Expansion Committee Co-Chairs
DOWNLOAD our Spring Newsletter and see how we have accomplished our current pledge amounts.
Need a PAVER FORM? You can download it here. $250 will buy a brick paver. Already given $250 or more? Then please mail or turn your paver form in to PPE. Thank you.
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Continue to check on our fundraising progress right here! Remember we must have 100% pledged and 50% raised before we can break ground in June. We can do it! Especially with the help of generous donors from the Nashville community.
Thank you to WNSL sports league for presenting Ms. Williams and the Percy Priest school with a generous donation of $500 towards the library expansion.
Feb Statement: KICK OFF! Goal to Break Ground June 2011! The campaign to transform our library into a "21st Century Classic" is off to a great start!
Thanks to a generous lead donation from the City of Forest Hills and the support of many parents, we have already reached nearly two-thirds of our $900,000 goal.
Our revised construction plan is to break ground June 2011, with an estimated completion date of September 2011. Construction can begin when 100% of our fundraising goal has been pledged and a minimum of 50% collected.
To reach our goal, fundraising efforts will now focus on community involvement as we seek donations from alumni, local municipalities, foundations, and community benefactors.
Continued support from Percy Priest families is also vital to the project. Look for various fundraising opportunities that will take place over the next few months.
Our library improvements are long overdue. DONATE NOW thur NAPE!
Jan: Update: Henry Trost and our principal presented our case to the City of Forest Hills on November 17th. Our proposal asked the City to be our lead donor for the project and to contribute $300,000 over the next three years to our campaign. PPE is the only school and public building in the community, and they intently heard our case. Mayor Coke had been invited to be principal for the day at PPE, and we feel he was quite blessed to see what is truly happening with our children. On January 7th at their monthly meeting, the City agreed not only to the full amount, but informed us that they saw no reason to pledge the amount in phases, but wanted to contribute the entire amount NOW in hopes of beginning construction THIS SUMMER! We are very humbled and excited, but we know that our timetable has been reduced considerably. We look forward to many more of you joining our efforts to make the PPE 21st Century Classic!
Henry Trost and Jill Gonas, Library Expansion Committee Chairs
Read the full press release here.
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Did you know you can donate to the Nashville Alliance for Public Education right here, right now and help us raise the money needed for our proposed library expansion?
Why am I donating to the NAPE (Nashville Alliance for Public Education) instead of the Percy Priest PTO?
You may designate your funds to the PTO. But, taking on a $900K project is huge task for a small volunteer PTO. That is why we are partnering with NAPE to help direct our private resources. By holding our donations in escrow, NAPE will provide assistance from project management to accounts payable. This will help the PTO make sure 100% of all contributions are disbursed as designated by our donors. By clicking on this link you can read all about NAPE.
Our Library also has a book WISH LIST.
Your Library Expansion committee is well underway trying to plan for the fundraising effort to transform our library into a "21st century Classic" insuring we continue to expand our collection, maintain student achievement and provide a "hub" for learning. We want a library where students and teachers flow on a quest for information, technology that captures the mind, and collaboration with others. Will you help by designating your NAPE donation to the "Percy Priest Library Expansion"?
Attention to UNITED WAY DONORS giving to the PPE Library and Media Center Expansion through NAPE:
Many thanks to those of you who have designated their United Way pledges to go specifically to our new library through our Nashville Alliance for Public Education account (NAPE). We need to make sure that our list is current and up to date, so please email Jill Gonas and let her know your intentions. EVEN IF you have already filled out a form for your designation to either Jill or Henry Trost, please alert us again through email. This request applies to teachers, too. We want to be diligent in making sure these requests are honored and counted toward our pledge goal.
We need Library Volunteers
Please remember, if you are looking to volunteer at PPE, the library is a great place to work. Feel free to come in any time and help shelve books.
Student Search Link
Your jump off point to the Percy Priest Metro Website Online Library Search where you can search our library by author's name, title or subject.
ABOUT OUR LIBRARY Ms. Jordon runs our library and is our Information and Media Specialist. All students have access to the library and are encouraged to check out books daily. In addition to Metro library funds, our PTO provides generous additional funds each year to the library. The library houses over 10,000 books, with a book/student ratio of 20:1. As a Library Power Grant recipient, our library has state-of-the-art research equipment, including encyclopedias on CD-ROM and a variety of laser disc applications. Other equipment includes VCRs, overhead projectors, and a laser projector for use with videos and computers. Percy Priest library is wired to provide video conferencing and school-wide broadcast. All grades are involved in research-based instruction in the library, thereby promoting traditional and electronic information gathering. The library is operated by one library media specialist, who collaboratively teaches library and research skills with classroom teachers, and numerous parent volunteers.
Proposed Library Expansion Drawing.
FAQ
Why do we need a new library?
If all the collection was in the library, books would be lying on top of each other.
The current library was built in 1956 and designed to accommodate 200 students. We now have over 500.
No instructional place for computers. Our only computer lab is a mobile laptop cart. And computer access in the library is limited to designated instructional or research time. Wires hang off the back of computers next to stacks where children browse books.
Story time space, study space, browsing space, computer space, check out space all in the same room. Because the library is used as a multi use space, check out times must be closed or limited.
Since adopting and upgrading the current Accelerated Reader program, library usage has quadrupled.
We cannot grow our collection anymore. The collection has to hold a child’s curiosity in order to foster reading and currently that ability is in jeopardy.
The Hillsboro Cluster is moving to become an IB (International Baccalaureate) Cluster. At this time Percy Priest is the only school not pursuing IB status. If the IB is to ever consider coming to PPE we currently could not qualify based on the size of our library. We could not hold the amount of volumes needed to qualify as an IB school.
Why doesn't Metro fund this?
Because PPE is not up for modernization until 2016 and we are not a Title I school (For an entire school to qualify for Title 1 funds, at least 40% of students must enroll in the free and reduced lunch program. We currently have under 20%) so we are left out of all government funding and related grants to upgrade our substandard library at this time.
We feel the time is now to act on this fundraising endeavor so Percy Priest can continue to offer quality education to its students. This is especially important since more and more students from the zone are attending. Our commitment to quality education is now relying more and more on private funding. (Read more on Private Funding Initiatives: Nashville Alliance for Public Education, Alignment Nashville and One Nashville.) And the PTO will continue to lead the charge to find that monetary support and keep our quality high. And although we are slated for building improvements in 2016, this date continues to be pushed back with no commitment from Metro.
How much?
Project estimated at $865,000 which includes furnishings.
Is this really what Percy Priest Needs Most?
In the fall of 2008, our PTO Strategic Planning Committee asked our parents for their greatest concern, and 90% cited facility improvements, particularly the library.
Mike Ireland was so gracious to help us through the architectural hurdles and drew up some wonderful schematic plans of which we are very proud. With over 500 students, our current library is less than half the size recommended by MNPS. We encourage anyone with a passion or skill set for this project to join us. Contact Henry Trost or Jill Gonas with your interest or questions.
A 2003 study, "How School Librarians Help Kids Achieve Standards-the Second Colorado Study," found that student scores on standardized tests are ten to eighteen percent higher at schools with outstanding library media programs and staff http://www.cgrove417.org/cghs/ssp.html.
According to research published by Scholastic Library Publishing, the preface notes,http://www2.scholastic.com/content/collateral_resources/pdf/s/slw3_2008.pdf: "A substantial body of research since 1990 clearly demonstrates the importance of school libraries to students' education. Whether student achievement is measured by standardized reading achievement tests or by global assessments of learning, research shows that a well-stocked library staffed by a certified library media specialist has a positive impact on student achievement, regardless of the socio-economic or educational levels of the community."
Sound Bites in Favor of a New Library
What Makes a Strong Library?
"A strong library makes it hard to decide which books to check out today, rather than being hard to find one to check out!"
"A strong library has a fixed computer lab for every student in the classroom to sit at their own computer work station in order to work on class projects and have access to the amazing amount of research on the internet."
"We need a library that is inviting and actually encourages our kids to want to pick out a book, take a comfortable seat and enjoy reading in the library."
"A strong library fulfills two dichotomous needs of any good community: It's a place for all members to come together and share in learning, teaching and problem-solving, as well as a place to both access information about and broadcast to worlds outside of the community."
"It looks like the anchor of the school, the non-negotiable center around which every student experiences PPE, and around which all else becomes possible. It looks like hope for Nashville's kids, hope for our school community, hope for public education."
Updated 3-1-11
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