Published PHS librarian creates innovative space for learning
Posted on 05/15/2018
Bonnie Alexander shows off the article she co-wrote for Knowledge Quest in the makerspace she helped create at Sullivan Middle School.
By: Jade Wise
Pasadena ISD Communications
For Bonnie Alexander, a librarian at Pasadena High School and former librarian at Sullivan Middle School, the library is a place where creativity can be cultivated and the answer to any question can be found.
This mindset inspired Alexander to implement a makerspace at Sullivan Middle School last year and led to her co-writing an article about her endeavors, which was published this month in Knowledge Quest, a professional journal distributed by the American Association of School Librarians.
The article, co-written by Sheila Baker, one of Alexander’s library science professors at the University of Houston Clear Lake, is entitled: “A Major Making Undertaking: A new librarian transforms a middle school library into a makerspace aligned to high school endorsements.”
In the article, Alexander explains the process of developing her makerspace and how she aligned it with the district’s high school endorsement plans.
“The library has always been a place to come create,” said Alexander. “We’ve taken that concept to beyond just books and we created a space where students can understand careers and what opportunities are out there for them.”
Sullivan principal Kelly Cook said that Alexander’s makerspace concept fits in with the vision that she has for her students.
“One of our goals at Sullivan is to build a foundation so that students can make an educated decision on what high school endorsement they want to choose when the time comes,” said Cook. “By getting students to start thinking about it at an earlier age, it gives them a jump start on their future.”
Alexander said the program has become so successful at Sullivan and that when it was implemented, space became limited due to an overwhelming number of students interested in participating.
“The library has become the hub of the campus,” said Cook. “Not only is it centrally located in the building, but it also is a place where kids want to come explore, learn and tinker. The students are 100 percent engaged.”
To read Alexander’s full article, “A Major Making Undertaking,” click here.