Bartow County School System Learning Hubs: A Transformation into Modern Media Center Spaces

With those initiatives in place, Camp said the next logical step was to review feedback from community partners and local businesses, and then conduct in-house STEM walks to obtain state certification. At that point, it was clear that the schools needed to allocate more physical space on campus to hold these types of meetings and other STEM-related events and instruction.

Camp formed a committee that included a board member, a few principals, some instructional leaders and media specialists. “We visited some existing STEM labs, did our homework and then took our ideas back to our district leaders,” she said. The core idea involved transitioning our media centers to increase circulation, expand STEM learning and give community members a place to go when they were on campus.

“This is something we just weren’t set up for,” she said. “We have older buildings with bookcases coming away from the walls. Students and teachers weren’t interested in spending much time there. It made sense to transition our aging libraries into more of an extension of the classroom and use it for STEM outreach with our community partners.”

Camp developed the parameters for several areas that would be transformed into required learning space that incorporates STEM. For example, each renovated media center would include maker space, research space, collaboration center, presentation area, a drone and robotics.

“We wanted to create a very functional space that would also help increase circulation,” said Camp, who worked with MiEN to select an assortment of furniture and fixtures for all 19 media centers. She also worked with PowerUpEDU, which offers solutions and coaching that help schools make the best technology choices.

Both companies held in-person, onsite meetings with Camp, the committee and all of the district’s media specialists. If an onsite meeting wasn’t doable, those interactions happened virtually or via email/phone. “Having these partners alongside us, being transparent and providing a high level of support really added to the success of this project,” said Camp.

For its new media centers, Bartow County School System picked a selection of furniture that included tiered seating, comfortable chairs, tables for group work, and a lot of power stations. “The kids overwhelmingly love the big, collaborative tiered seating,” said Camp. “They all go in there and sit on the poofs.”

Students also love being able to plug in their laptops, use the printer, work in groups and conduct research in a very professional-yet-comfortable environment. “They know their environments and they have their ownership and buy-in,” said Camp, who holds a monthly STEM Ambassador Group meeting in the space.

“The media center is our collaboration area and where I can present to my groups,” said Camp. “They really have ownership of the space and know that this is where they come to conduct research, do their 3D printing and myriad other STEM-related projects.”

The centers were also equipped with computer research stations, each of which includes five desktops, a 3D printer and a traditional printer. The district also installed several large presentation boards that can be used by teachers, students (for small group learning) and community partners.

“We also have a robotics and maker space, which include all of the instructional technology that’s needed to use LEGO robotics and VEX robotics,” said Camp. “Students and program mentors can come in and be productive in a space that’s dedicated to these types of STEM activities.”