By Brandon Nguyen
Fountain Valley High School’s (FVHS) school library is a central hub for students. You’ll find students in the morning congregating there before classes start. Printing last-minute assignments during the break. Playing board games during lunch. And chatting and waiting for their parents after school. However, most of the time you’ll find students working independently using it to get homework done and spend time with friends. To improve the school library, FVHS should concentrate resources in the library where it’ll be most accessible to students.
1. Allow advertisement of school events
Many students only check their school email on occasion, missing out on important school-related information. Some are in classrooms where they cannot hear the school announcements. The library can allow the Associated Student Body (ASB) and administration to place posters in a spot where students passing by can easily get caught up to date on important school-related information. This is especially important for advertising meetings clubs need to attend or events going on around campus.
In the 2022 ASB election, only a mere 25% of students voted which is a poor turnout if we want the best representation. If students are uninformed or uninterested in their representatives, it may mean they are missing out on a whole host of important information. Students need to be caught up on where to find mental health services, when are the next sports games and now, information about homecoming. Much of the information in the weekly Baron Broadcast News videos can be reiterated in the school library to encourage student participation. This means advertising Titan TST, rules around campus and more which better helps connect our campus.
2. Keep the library for students and open for longer hours
Many times before or after school, the school library is closed off for administrative or teacher meetings. This is easily noticeable when there is a crowd of students sitting on the benches or grass outside the library. Students need a place to work when classrooms are not available and the school library should be reserved for that. There are computers, desks, WiFi, staplers, printers and more that students can use. Administrative or teacher meetings in the library end up displacing students who need an area to work and are impractical when they have access to any empty classroom or other building in the school. Students rely solely on one area and when that access is cut off, they have nowhere left and are stuck unable to do work or a comfortable area to stay in.
Furthermore, the library should be open for longer hours. It closes exactly at 3:45 pm which is only 16 minutes after sixth period on the regular bell schedule. To best accommodate students and their parents’ different work times, library hours should be extended to 5 p.m. This is a reasonable time where the students of parents who work later can use school as a haven to do work. This not only supports underprivileged students but allows the school to be a place of shelter and support, rather than a place to study.
3. Extend Tutoring Services
FVHS’s Homework-N-Help which takes place in the library is returning on October 10 which is great news for students who need additional tutoring. These are usually FVHS teachers which makes it an excellent resource to get personalized help from teachers who understand the curriculum. However, the subjects are limited to English and Math and are only from 3:40 to 4:40 p.m. To make tutoring more effective, FVHS should allow student tutors who can help in a wider range of subjects. This can extend to biology, chemistry, and even support with language courses. Student tutors can be offered volunteer hours for their time and the library is utilized as a resource where students can get in-person tutoring which is more effective than the measly online tutoring resource, tutor.com.
By utilizing students as tutors, everyone benefits and it goes beyond the academic aspect as well. This would establish a mentor-mentee relationship that can help younger students assimilate to the school and connect our campus even further. Mentors can serve as good role models for mentees and information beyond academics such as the best courses to take, what sports to play, and what the best clubs further enrich the Baron experience.
A Problem on Our Hands
We have a problem on our hands. The school library is used only one-dimensionally by students, either used as a hang-out spot, an area to do homework, or to check out a few books and then leave. This congregated area has so much more potential if we tap into the ability of students and campus staff to advertise and provide additional academic resources to students. As a Title 1 School, FVHS must give all possible support to underprivileged students and cultivate a sense of community. Though the provisions above remained limited due to practicality, one step at a time can lead to unlimited possibilities for our school library.
