Monaco Elementary is an elementary school with a population of more than 500 students. Eighty-five percent are minorities. It is located at 7631 Monaco Street in Commerce City, Colorado.
“There is evidence that almost everything from phonemic awareness, to phonics, to comprehension, is developed through independent reading and writing.“ Richard Allington, 2009, Reading Professor at the University of Tennessee
Partners in Literacy designs libraries to be places of discovery.
Original Set up of the Monaco’s Library, May 2013: Unfortunately, the Monaco library was not. Out of date books had not been purged-maybe since the library was opened in the 60’s. Shelving was adhoc. The room was cave-like.
Before photos: Computers for standardized testing and math exercises took center stage with the book shelves shoved to the sides and the corners of the room.
There was barely any space or light between the nonfiction shelves.
Rearranged Monaco’s Library with categories & grade levels, July 2013
We purged out-of -date books, loosely leveled all books into three levels, created enticing categories, opened up the book shelves to the light, and created innovative signage that allows students to navigate on their own.
For details and before and after photos of the library please link to:MES Lib slide show
For Teacher “What I’m Reading” Sign. Please use: Teacher Book Sign for Monaco