Descriptor Term:SELECTION of INSTRUCTIONAL MATERIALS/EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES

IFA-P Procedure

CRITERIA FOR SELECTION OF EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES

The Administration believes that educational suitability is the major criterion for the selection of resources. The professional staff must use educational criteria and professional judgment rather than personal opinions, values, and beliefs in the selection of resources. Materials selected for media center or classroom use must fulfill a curricular or leisure reading need, receive Media Advisory Committee (MAC) approval, and meet the following criteria.

A. Educational resources should (criteria not ranked):

1. be selected according to the general educational goals of the school district, the goals and objectives of the individual schools and specific courses.

2. be appropriate for the age, interests, abilities, learning styles, social development, and maturity levels of the students.

3. provide information to motivate students and staff to examine their own attitudes and behavior, to comprehend their duties, responsibilities, rights, and privileges as participating citizens in our society, and to make informed judgments in their daily lives.

4. represent the diversity of religious, ethnic, political, and cultural values held in a pluralistic society.

5. illustrate the contributions made by various groups to our national heritage and to the world.

6. illustrate historical and contemporary forces in society to enable users to recognize and understand social, economic, personal, and political problems.

7. provide various points of view about issues, including those considered to be controversial.

8. represent various theories about the physical environment and the universe.

B. Media specialists and teachers should consider:

1. reputable, unbiased selection tools and arrange, when possible, for firsthand examination of resources to be purchased.

2. technical quality and physical condition appropriate to format and intended use.

3. scope, arrangement, and organization, relevance of information, special features, and overall value to the collection.

4. selection of resources for specific courses to be consistent with the educational goals for the district, the objectives of the course, and the characteristics of the students.

PROCEDURES FOR SELECTION OF EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES

The Guilford County Board of Education delegates the responsibility for coordinating the selection of instructional resources and recommendation for purchase to the Superintendent and/or his designee, the principals, the teachers and the professional media personnel in the administrative unit.

The administration is committed to receiving input from the faculty, staff, students, parents and the community in the selection of educational resources. To achieve this goal, each school shall establish a Media Advisory Committee which meets no fewer than three times a year. At the local school level, the principal, as the instructional leader, shall designate a Media Advisory Committee to include the principal or designee, media specialist (will chair the committee), teacher representatives from all program areas, as well as parent representation, and may include student representation at elementary and middle levels; and shall include student representation at the high school level. Annual training or duties and responsibilities will be provided.

A. Media specialists, Media Advisory Committee, and teachers should evaluate available resources, assess curriculum needs, consider networking arrangements, and consult reputable, professionally prepared resources for selection. Whenever possible, the actual item should be previewed or examined and judged as a whole.

B. Recommendations for purchase may be made by administrators, teachers, students, district personnel, and community persons. Decisions to purchase (following established purchasing guidelines) shall be made by the professional staff at the site.

C. Donated resources shall meet the criteria outlined in this procedure.

D. Selection is an ongoing process that includes replacement, including the removal of resources no longer appropriate and the replacement of lost and worn resources of continuing educational value.

E. Educational resources such as rental video tapes, and privately owned or borrowed resources not purchased by Guilford County Schools, shall meet the criteria outlined in this procedure.

GUIDING PRINCIPLES

A. Educational resources may include but are not limited to: textbooks, other books, supplementary reading and informational materials, periodicals, newspapers, charts, community resource people, agencies, programs, machine-readable data files and other information services, kits, maps, microforms, motion pictures, realia, slides, sound and video recordings, plays, concerts, athletic events, and written and performed music.

B. The principal of each school shall conduct an annual review of the selection policy and procedures with the school staff.

C. Access to challenged resources shall not be restricted during the review process.