[CALIBK12] Textbook return suggestions
Brenda Jackson
bjackson at lodiusd.net
Wed Sep 10 07:04:33 PDT 2008
Our school district is facing the same problem but it seems like only the library staff members are worried about it. We would love to hear the responses you receive to this question. One suggestion would be to google textbook collection in California and see the responses. I know that Menlo Park and Ventura have a stronger district policy. Good luck - if the politicians knew more about this problem, I think it would be addressed. Barbara
We have a walk thru about week before schools starts for students. If they haven't returned books or paid for any outstanding bills they do not get their schedules until the first day of school. That seems to work best for us.
I'm split between two high schools, and one high school doesn't give out class schedules to students unless their book fines are cleared. The other high school also doesn't let kids walk the graduation line (though they still get their diploma) if they have outstanding fines. Also students who have outstanding book fines don't get to participate in extracurricular activities like field trips.
Anna Lapid
Teacher-Librarian
Hello Brenda,
My school has 3,115 students, and as of this morning, I have 36 unreturned textbooks from 2007-2008.
Some suggestions for your committee:
1. I'm not sure how you distribute your registration materials (emergency cards and the other things that are a part of the packet), but at my school, parents have to come to school in mid-August to pick up the packet prior to our registration days. We don't give them the packet if the student owes a textbook or a library book. Without the packet, they can't turn in the start-of-year things and thus the student can't get a schedule. You would be surprised (or maybe not) how many lost textbooks are found at home and returned. We also collect quite a bit of money for the ones that are lost at this time.
2. Your school should establish an exclusion list. I have the power (I hate to use that word, but that's what it is) to exclude students from school dances if they owe a textbook or library book. The students know this because I tell them exactly that during freshman orientation. I extend this exclusion list to library privileges, such as using our computers before school, at lunch and after school.
3. When your number gets down to a manageable number (like 36), start calling students out of class and have a personal conversation with them. I always start with, "Hi, _______, what can you tell me about your Algebra 1 textbook from last year?" and go from there. I'm going to begin those conversations in the next few days.
The key to all of this is having administrative support. I am blessed to have that at my school. In fact, the relationship is so good, it's almost like a blank check. Since your district's leaders are concerned, you may have a good shot at getting that support.
I hope this information helps you with your situation! Please let me know if you have any other questions.
Jim Duke
we charge them full price and won't let them enroll again until the books are returned or paid for.
My daughter's high school required books to be in before registration or giving them a new schedule each year (they would have to come back and then take the chance of not getting the classes they really wanted!) and before they could buy tickets to the Prom and other events! This was Jurupa Valley High School in Mira Loma if you'd like to call them!
April
Rodriguez PREP MS
Brenda,
Stockton Unified does not allow students to participate in graduation if they have not returned all school materials. We have also used a collection agency in severe cases. There is a fee for this service that inhibits collecting on every missing textbook. I am wondering what we can do as a community? It seems that there could be some other consequences we could create inclusive of the local districts.
Debra Bohnett
Librarian
Chavez High
At our high school, we've found email communication the most effective.
All students and most parents read email.
When students register for enrollment in the fall (last week in August; school starts first week in Sept), they must be clear of all obligations, including textbooks and library books. If they owe something, they will not be allowed to pick up their fall class schedules. This is most effective in retrieving late textbooks and having students be accountable for what they have borrowed.
Let me know if you have further questions.
Aileen Willoughby
Teacher-Librarian
Palos Verdes High School
I'm sure you've gotten lots of great responses by now, but my first question would be how do you check books out to students? If they are on their records, and if the district has a policy on responsibility for educational materials, you should have a pretty fail-safe method of keeping tabs on books. Does your district, especially at the high school level, keep students from parties, games, sports, extracurricular activities, dances, and graduation? Once students know their fines/lost/unpaid accounts follow them through all grades, it does get easier. And, if the policy catches lots of them at 8th grade promotion, half your work is done! Of course, there is always the "I never had that", " I returned that", or "My child says. . . " But with good records and the policy clearly in the handbooks from kindergarten on, it should make a difference. If the administration and Board do not back the policy or idea of one, then it's pretty much a lost cause. Good luck.
John McVey
Library Technician
North School, YRE, K-8
Tracy, CA
Brenda,
I work with our Student Services Dept. I give them a list of students who have not returned library or textbook materials (or have fines due) and they are able to block the students account from making purchases. They are not able to purchase dance tickets, parking permits, yearbooks, etc.
This helps tremendously and cuts down on overdue materials.
Debbie Eads
Library Media Specialist
Granada High School
925-606-4800 x3523
We hold up students during registration in August if they owe anything. We got many, many fines pd. and materials returned. Unfortunately, that is kind of a bluff, because we cannot legally with hold texts due to the Williams lawsuit, as I understand it. You might have your district's attorney call the Supt. of Public Instruction. Before Williams, our attorney said that we could tell a student, here's a text to use in class, and you can come in after school and use it here to do your homework. We keep 1-2 copies of all texts in the library, so if a teacher doesn't want to stay after school with the student, they could come into the library.
Perhaps that could still apply. If not, because the law needs to be changed. It might necessitate Supt. of Schools throughout the state to push the issue.
Jane Brooks
Library Media Teacher
Cabrillo High School
2001 Santa Fe Avenue
Long Beach, CA 90810
Although it is not ideal it did work for me. Since I did work at a school under the Williams Legislation we had very few options. It came down to us denying extra-curricular activities. Of course there were always the exceptions, but I maintained a list that was our obligations hold. Students on this list were not able to attend dances or special activities. At one time, I did have a principal that held students from sports privledges. I have to say it was a lot of work, but I did get the results I needed.
Shelee Wilkerson
South Pasadena High School
formerly of John Muir High School
Collection agency-- sounds pricey, but I don't know. I think our district withholds diplomas and keeps students out of graduation ceremonies if they don't pay their book fines, whether for lost or late returns. Stolen or lost-- it's all the same. Whomever it was checked to, that person owes the money.
Good luck. It is an issue everywhere, I know.
Connie Young
Librarian
Frontier HS
When you say "Notices" do you mean "Bills"? At the beginning of the year at my school, all students & parents sign a form saying they understand they are financially responsible for the materials they check out. They are notified about CA ed code 48904 which is the liability code & states that if they do not return the books they are committing a misdemeanor. Then we bill the the family, hold diplomas and exclude from dances.
I did hear of a school district that hired bill collectors and attached their credit history, but that may be an urban myth. You might mention it though and explore the possibility.
You might try actually prosecuting someone for theft of school property. Ahh the textbook police, we can only dream.
About the only thing that we tried that actually worked was holding cums, and getting the new schools to get the books back, but then we were told that was illegal. You can still try contacting the new school on a casual basis, and usually they are pretty good about trying to get materials back where they belong.
What is your system for collecting textbooks at the end of the year? That might be a process you could streamline.
Megan Fuller
Aptos Junior High
http://www.aptosjr.pvusd.net/library/
Research is what I'm doing when I don't know what I'm doing.
-- Wernher von Braun
If you have contacted the student and notified the parent by mail and a deadline has passed, I would try calling them at work. This puts them in a spot usually and they won't want to keep getting calls at work.
Have you tried adding either of these to the bottom of the bill/notice?:
Destruction and Defacing of Library Property
California Education Code § 19910 Any person who maliciously cuts, tears, defaces, breaks, or injures any book, map, chart, picture, engraving, statue, coin, model, apparatus, or other work of literature, art, mechanics, or object of curiosity, deposited in any public library, gallery, museum, collection, fair, or exhibition, is guilty of a misdemeanor. The parent or guardian of a minor who willfully and maliciously commits any act within the scope of this section shall be liable for all damages so caused by the minor.
http://caselaw.lp.findlaw.com/cacodes/edc/19910-19911.html <http://caselaw.lp.findlaw.com/cacodes/edc/19910-19911.html>
Failure to Return Library Materials
California Education Code § 19911 Any person who willfully detains any book, newspaper, magazine, pamphlet, manuscript, or other property belonging to any public or incorporated library, reading room, museum, or other educational institution, for 30 days after notice in writing to return the article or property, given after the expiration of the time for which by the rules of the institution the article or property may be kept, is guilty of a misdemeanor. The parent or guardian of a minor who willfully and maliciously commits any act within the scope of this section shall be liable for all damages so caused by the minor.
http://caselaw.lp.findlaw.com/cacodes/edc/19910-19911.html <http://caselaw.lp.findlaw.com/cacodes/edc/19910-19911.html>
(note: I made put the phrase "guilty of a misdemeanor" above in bold font for emphasis. They don't appear that way in the original document).
I add it only when I've sent a prior bill or we've made many calls and been ignored. At the bottom of the letter I put (something like):
Please be aware of the following:
and then add the pertinent Ed Code wording.
The other thing you can do is give them an early morning "Courtesy Call" before their students come to school. If you call them at 7 a.m. (or earlier???) and say nicely, "This is a courtesy call from _____Library, reminding (student) to return his ____to ____this morning. Thank you!" That gives Mom time to look for the book or get on Junior's case about it. And nobody wants a repeat of that call early in the morning, so it's likely they'll get the book in.
Hope these suggestions help.
Joanne Ladewig (A.K.A. "Library Lady")
Library Media Tech
Lawrence Elementary, GGUSD
Garden Grove, California
shatz at verizon.net <mailto:shatz at verizon.net>
The key is administrative support. I'm at a school where the students' grade reports are not mailed home, but instead a letter that says a fine exists (library, textbook, ASB, course fees etc.). The student/parent has to clear the fine for the grades to be released. (Ed code allows for this although I don't have the number in front of me.) Before grades are sent, we send an auto-dialer phone message home for students owing fines and warning parents that grades won't be sent. It takes me about 10 minutes with our software for me to check off the names and then our associate principal records the message.
We reduced our fines owed from $50-60 thousand dollars per year to less than $5000. Most of it comes back in the form of returned books which is what we really need.
LeighAnn McCready, Teacher Librarian
1285 Escuela Parkway
Milpitas, CA 95035
(408)635-2800x4143
librarymhs.blogspot.com
This may not help, but we ask teachers to give points on the students' grade for returning their textbook. It's not a lot of points, but the students don't realize that it doesn't make or break their grade.
Also, each teacher has a textbook checkout list where their student write down their name and barcode. When the books are returned to the teacher, s/he checks off the barcode on the list and returns the list to me with the textbooks. That way, we also have proof that a student turned in his/her book if there are any questions about that aspect.
Good Luck!
Helen Murdoch
Library Media Teacher
San Marcos High School
4750 Hollister Avenue
Santa Barbara, CA 93110
805-967-4581 x232
Brenda,
As I understand it, my district didn't allow high school students to receive their class schedule this year until their books and/or fines had been cleared.
It apparently worked very well.
Alan Pickering-Walters
Hayward Unified School Dist.
Hayward, CA
arpw at onlinepw.com <mailto:arpw at onlinepw.com>
Our school policy is similar-- our students much clear all book debts (textbooks and library) prior to walking in graduation ceremonies.
The hardest part is tracking the books. We still have great losses due to unexpected moves and such though. But if they ever come back the debt remains on record.
We do no use collection agencies. I believe that the cost is prohibitive. Don't most agencies ask for 50% of what they collect?
Joy Millam
District Library Coordinator / Teacher Librarian
YALSA's Quick Picks for Reluctant Readers Committee Chairperson
Valencia High School
Placentia, CA
714-996-4970 x3250
jmillam at pylusd.org
Hi Brenda,
Our high school of approx. 900 students has been struggling with this too. We had almost $28,000 in student fines at the beginning of this school year! We have no school policy on the issue of paying for materials except that graduating seniors who have outstanding fines will not receive a diploma until the fines are paid.
At the end of the last school year I called all the local high schools to see how they were faring with this problem. One school was very aggressive about it and did not let any student with a fine participate in any extracurricular activities and also called the students out of class to confront them with a demand for the missing materials. They worked closely with the teachers and updated the fine and overdue list every week, which is distributed to the coaches and the administration weekly. The library and text staff stays on top of it, but it is a huge drain on their time. That school of about 1500 students has a credentialed librarian, two library clerks and a textbook clerk. Another school sent notices and bills to the students before the end of the school year and expected all fines to be paid by the last day of school. Over the summer all new fines were calculated and the students who had materials out were called in to talk to the librarian at the beginning of the next school year. She determines if there is a hardship case and drops the fines or sends the students on to the administrator who talks to the student and hopefully gets the matter taken care of. The consequences may be losing sports and/or extracurricular privileges. That school of about 800 has a credentialed librarian and a library clerk. The other schools in the area are in the same position I am in.
My summer bills traditionally get next to no response. So I talked to our newest (fresh this year) administrator and he wants to work on this!
I actually started last year by sending a notice to each student the week before school was out, listing all the school materials we expected back before the end of school and telling them there would be a bill over the summer for anything not turned in. Over the summer I calculated and mailed all the bills. I was authorized to stiffen the cover letter to inform the parents the students 'may', (that's all they let me have), loose school privileges if the materials weren't returned or paid for before school started. For the first time this year the school conducted registration in the library so I had a 'station' for parents to pay bills or return books. (That was effective!) I then generated a name list of students with fines for the administrator to give to the coaches. The coaches did not let the athletes with fines practice! The administrator I am working with is willing to start next with all students who have fines over $100, he will suspend their dance privileges. So far that is what we have done and the result is that in the last 2 weeks since school started we have reduced the outstanding bills by about $8,000. (I was lucky to get $1000 before this year.) The clear main difference in the schools that tackle and manage this situation is administrative support. Although I have brought our situation to the admin before, there has never been support. Our Superintendent insists that it is illegal to withhold grades and transcripts for students who have fines- I think that may be true for inter-district transfers but I'm not sure if that holds for intra-district transfers. We are looking at ways to work with the counselors to tighten up intra and inter-district transfers with outstanding fines. This year we want to establish a school policy that we can use to get more teeth into our collection efforts.
I would love to get any information you receive on what works for other schools. Thank you for the question.
D. Sampson
Fortuna High School
Brenda:
I think everyone is having similar problems. Our district is forming a committee as well. We're doing similar things: sending home notices, using our Teleparent system to call home, calling in the kid, delaying registration, payment contracts, etc.
We ARE automated for textbook circulation. Don't let someone try to convince you that it is the solution to lost textbooks. The bottom line is that the losses aren't significant enough to pay someone full time with benefits, which is what you need to run a good textbook accountability system.
I think the same thing goes for a collection agency. It probably costs more to pay the agency than you will actually get in return.
Most of our losses are from students who drop out, never to be heard from again, so even though we have a very accurate accounting of who has lost the books, we only get about 1% of the lost books paid for. We do have a pretty high return rate with automation -- about 94%. 5% remain lost - unpaid forever, until a textbook cycle becomes obsolete, then we delete those from the system, so we aren't carrying those records forever. No sense in trying to collect for a book we don't even use anymore.
I heard a rumor that Los Alamitos district was asking parents to pay $200 for textbooks. I don't know if it was a deposit or non-refundable. I think that requiring some kind of deposit would be a good incentive for parents who are moving to return the books.
Share your answers. We could all use some help!
Heather Gruenthal, Teacher Librarian Western High School Orangeview Junior High School Anaheim Union High School District
Brenda, our school district does not release transcripts to graduates until all fines are paid. With a union catalog (Destiny), now all charges from K-12 accumulate for the high school to collect.
At middle school, we do our best to get exiting 8th graders to clear their records. They cannot get their 9th-12th grade textbooks during early registration if their library account is not clear. Of course, the library provides them when school starts because of the Williams Act.
Susan Sheldon
Teacher Librarian
Bernardo Heights Middle School
Mesa Verde Middle School
Poway Unified
susansheldon at cox.net <mailto:susansheldon at cox.net>
Brenda - This is a huge problem in our district. We have 23 middle/high schools. Do you withhold privileges? Unfortunately, some administrators are soft on this. We have been working to get everyone on board. We do the letters, calls, etc... But not being able to go to the dance or Disneyland or walking the graduation ceremony...this is middle school...really gets the books back and money paid. In some high schools it means participating in sports! Just this summer, someone in finance mentioned a collection agency that isn't really one, but acts in the same way...don't know what that means, but I think a collection agency is a great idea. My tech and I love when the parent comes in with bluetooth in ear, manicured nails, styled/colored hair (you get the idea) and they pound their fists on the counter claiming they don't have the money to pay for a $77 book! AAARRRGGG!!!! Good luck, Colleen Chula Vista Middle School
Dear Calibers:
Thank you so much for your wonderful suggestions. Since many of us can not receive attachments through the list serve. I have copies and pasted your replies below.
Gratefully,
Brenda Jackson
McNair High School
Our school district is facing the same problem but it seems like only the library staff members are worried about it. We would love to hear the responses you receive to this question. One suggestion would be to google textbook collection in California and see the responses. I know that Menlo Park and Ventura have a stronger district policy. Good luck - if the politicians knew more about this problem, I think it would be addressed. Barbara
We have a walk thru about week before schools starts for students. If they haven't returned books or paid for any outstanding bills they do not get their schedules until the first day of school. That seems to work best for us.
I'm split between two high schools, and one high school doesn't give out class schedules to students unless their book fines are cleared. The other high school also doesn't let kids walk the graduation line (though they still get their diploma) if they have outstanding fines. Also students who have outstanding book fines don't get to participate in extracurricular activities like field trips.
Anna Lapid
Teacher-Librarian
Hello Brenda,
My school has 3,115 students, and as of this morning, I have 36 unreturned textbooks from 2007-2008.
Some suggestions for your committee:
1. I'm not sure how you distribute your registration materials (emergency cards and the other things that are a part of the packet), but at my school, parents have to come to school in mid-August to pick up the packet prior to our registration days. We don't give them the packet if the student owes a textbook or a library book. Without the packet, they can't turn in the start-of-year things and thus the student can't get a schedule. You would be surprised (or maybe not) how many lost textbooks are found at home and returned. We also collect quite a bit of money for the ones that are lost at this time.
2. Your school should establish an exclusion list. I have the power (I hate to use that word, but that's what it is) to exclude students from school dances if they owe a textbook or library book. The students know this because I tell them exactly that during freshman orientation. I extend this exclusion list to library privileges, such as using our computers before school, at lunch and after school.
3. When your number gets down to a manageable number (like 36), start calling students out of class and have a personal conversation with them. I always start with, "Hi, _______, what can you tell me about your Algebra 1 textbook from last year?" and go from there. I'm going to begin those conversations in the next few days.
The key to all of this is having administrative support. I am blessed to have that at my school. In fact, the relationship is so good, it's almost like a blank check. Since your district's leaders are concerned, you may have a good shot at getting that support.
I hope this information helps you with your situation! Please let me know if you have any other questions.
Jim Duke
we charge them full price and won't let them enroll again until the books are returned or paid for.
My daughter's high school required books to be in before registration or giving them a new schedule each year (they would have to come back and then take the chance of not getting the classes they really wanted!) and before they could buy tickets to the Prom and other events! This was Jurupa Valley High School in Mira Loma if you'd like to call them!
April
Rodriguez PREP MS
Brenda,
Stockton Unified does not allow students to participate in graduation if they have not returned all school materials. We have also used a collection agency in severe cases. There is a fee for this service that inhibits collecting on every missing textbook. I am wondering what we can do as a community? It seems that there could be some other consequences we could create inclusive of the local districts.
Debra Bohnett
Librarian
Chavez High
At our high school, we've found email communication the most effective.
All students and most parents read email.
When students register for enrollment in the fall (last week in August; school starts first week in Sept), they must be clear of all obligations, including textbooks and library books. If they owe something, they will not be allowed to pick up their fall class schedules. This is most effective in retrieving late textbooks and having students be accountable for what they have borrowed.
Let me know if you have further questions.
Aileen Willoughby
Teacher-Librarian
Palos Verdes High School
I'm sure you've gotten lots of great responses by now, but my first question would be how do you check books out to students? If they are on their records, and if the district has a policy on responsibility for educational materials, you should have a pretty fail-safe method of keeping tabs on books. Does your district, especially at the high school level, keep students from parties, games, sports, extracurricular activities, dances, and graduation? Once students know their fines/lost/unpaid accounts follow them through all grades, it does get easier. And, if the policy catches lots of them at 8th grade promotion, half your work is done! Of course, there is always the "I never had that", " I returned that", or "My child says. . . " But with good records and the policy clearly in the handbooks from kindergarten on, it should make a difference. If the administration and Board do not back the policy or idea of one, then it's pretty much a lost cause. Good luck.
John McVey
Library Technician
North School, YRE, K-8
Tracy, CA
Brenda,
I work with our Student Services Dept. I give them a list of students who have not returned library or textbook materials (or have fines due) and they are able to block the students account from making purchases. They are not able to purchase dance tickets, parking permits, yearbooks, etc.
This helps tremendously and cuts down on overdue materials.
Debbie Eads
Library Media Specialist
Granada High School
925-606-4800 x3523
We hold up students during registration in August if they owe anything. We got many, many fines pd. and materials returned. Unfortunately, that is kind of a bluff, because we cannot legally with hold texts due to the Williams lawsuit, as I understand it. You might have your district's attorney call the Supt. of Public Instruction. Before Williams, our attorney said that we could tell a student, here's a text to use in class, and you can come in after school and use it here to do your homework. We keep 1-2 copies of all texts in the library, so if a teacher doesn't want to stay after school with the student, they could come into the library.
Perhaps that could still apply. If not, because the law needs to be changed. It might necessitate Supt. of Schools throughout the state to push the issue.
Jane Brooks
Library Media Teacher
Cabrillo High School
2001 Santa Fe Avenue
Long Beach, CA 90810
Although it is not ideal it did work for me. Since I did work at a school under the Williams Legislation we had very few options. It came down to us denying extra-curricular activities. Of course there were always the exceptions, but I maintained a list that was our obligations hold. Students on this list were not able to attend dances or special activities. At one time, I did have a principal that held students from sports privledges. I have to say it was a lot of work, but I did get the results I needed.
Shelee Wilkerson
South Pasadena High School
formerly of John Muir High School
Collection agency-- sounds pricey, but I don't know. I think our district withholds diplomas and keeps students out of graduation ceremonies if they don't pay their book fines, whether for lost or late returns. Stolen or lost-- it's all the same. Whomever it was checked to, that person owes the money.
Good luck. It is an issue everywhere, I know.
Connie Young
Librarian
Frontier HS
When you say "Notices" do you mean "Bills"? At the beginning of the year at my school, all students & parents sign a form saying they understand they are financially responsible for the materials they check out. They are notified about CA ed code 48904 which is the liability code & states that if they do not return the books they are committing a misdemeanor. Then we bill the the family, hold diplomas and exclude from dances.
I did hear of a school district that hired bill collectors and attached their credit history, but that may be an urban myth. You might mention it though and explore the possibility.
You might try actually prosecuting someone for theft of school property. Ahh the textbook police, we can only dream.
About the only thing that we tried that actually worked was holding cums, and getting the new schools to get the books back, but then we were told that was illegal. You can still try contacting the new school on a casual basis, and usually they are pretty good about trying to get materials back where they belong.
What is your system for collecting textbooks at the end of the year? That might be a process you could streamline.
Megan Fuller
Aptos Junior High
http://www.aptosjr.pvusd.net/library/
Research is what I'm doing when I don't know what I'm doing.
-- Wernher von Braun
If you have contacted the student and notified the parent by mail and a deadline has passed, I would try calling them at work. This puts them in a spot usually and they won't want to keep getting calls at work.
Have you tried adding either of these to the bottom of the bill/notice?:
Destruction and Defacing of Library Property
California Education Code § 19910 Any person who maliciously cuts, tears, defaces, breaks, or injures any book, map, chart, picture, engraving, statue, coin, model, apparatus, or other work of literature, art, mechanics, or object of curiosity, deposited in any public library, gallery, museum, collection, fair, or exhibition, is guilty of a misdemeanor. The parent or guardian of a minor who willfully and maliciously commits any act within the scope of this section shall be liable for all damages so caused by the minor.
http://caselaw.lp.findlaw.com/cacodes/edc/19910-19911.html <http://caselaw.lp.findlaw.com/cacodes/edc/19910-19911.html>
Failure to Return Library Materials
California Education Code § 19911 Any person who willfully detains any book, newspaper, magazine, pamphlet, manuscript, or other property belonging to any public or incorporated library, reading room, museum, or other educational institution, for 30 days after notice in writing to return the article or property, given after the expiration of the time for which by the rules of the institution the article or property may be kept, is guilty of a misdemeanor. The parent or guardian of a minor who willfully and maliciously commits any act within the scope of this section shall be liable for all damages so caused by the minor.
http://caselaw.lp.findlaw.com/cacodes/edc/19910-19911.html <http://caselaw.lp.findlaw.com/cacodes/edc/19910-19911.html>
(note: I made put the phrase "guilty of a misdemeanor" above in bold font for emphasis. They don't appear that way in the original document).
I add it only when I've sent a prior bill or we've made many calls and been ignored. At the bottom of the letter I put (something like):
Please be aware of the following:
and then add the pertinent Ed Code wording.
The other thing you can do is give them an early morning "Courtesy Call" before their students come to school. If you call them at 7 a.m. (or earlier???) and say nicely, "This is a courtesy call from _____Library, reminding (student) to return his ____to ____this morning. Thank you!" That gives Mom time to look for the book or get on Junior's case about it. And nobody wants a repeat of that call early in the morning, so it's likely they'll get the book in.
Hope these suggestions help.
Joanne Ladewig (A.K.A. "Library Lady")
Library Media Tech
Lawrence Elementary, GGUSD
Garden Grove, California
shatz at verizon.net <mailto:shatz at verizon.net>
The key is administrative support. I'm at a school where the students' grade reports are not mailed home, but instead a letter that says a fine exists (library, textbook, ASB, course fees etc.). The student/parent has to clear the fine for the grades to be released. (Ed code allows for this although I don't have the number in front of me.) Before grades are sent, we send an auto-dialer phone message home for students owing fines and warning parents that grades won't be sent. It takes me about 10 minutes with our software for me to check off the names and then our associate principal records the message.
We reduced our fines owed from $50-60 thousand dollars per year to less than $5000. Most of it comes back in the form of returned books which is what we really need.
LeighAnn McCready, Teacher Librarian
1285 Escuela Parkway
Milpitas, CA 95035
(408)635-2800x4143
librarymhs.blogspot.com
This may not help, but we ask teachers to give points on the students' grade for returning their textbook. It's not a lot of points, but the students don't realize that it doesn't make or break their grade.
Also, each teacher has a textbook checkout list where their student write down their name and barcode. When the books are returned to the teacher, s/he checks off the barcode on the list and returns the list to me with the textbooks. That way, we also have proof that a student turned in his/her book if there are any questions about that aspect.
Good Luck!
Helen Murdoch
Library Media Teacher
San Marcos High School
4750 Hollister Avenue
Santa Barbara, CA 93110
805-967-4581 x232
Brenda,
As I understand it, my district didn't allow high school students to receive their class schedule this year until their books and/or fines had been cleared.
It apparently worked very well.
Alan Pickering-Walters
Hayward Unified School Dist.
Hayward, CA
arpw at onlinepw.com <mailto:arpw at onlinepw.com>
Our school policy is similar-- our students much clear all book debts (textbooks and library) prior to walking in graduation ceremonies.
The hardest part is tracking the books. We still have great losses due to unexpected moves and such though. But if they ever come back the debt remains on record.
We do no use collection agencies. I believe that the cost is prohibitive. Don't most agencies ask for 50% of what they collect?
Joy Millam
District Library Coordinator / Teacher Librarian
YALSA's Quick Picks for Reluctant Readers Committee Chairperson
Valencia High School
Placentia, CA
714-996-4970 x3250
jmillam at pylusd.org <mailto:jmillam at pylusd.org>
Hi Brenda,
Our high school of approx. 900 students has been struggling with this too. We had almost $28,000 in student fines at the beginning of this school year! We have no school policy on the issue of paying for materials except that graduating seniors who have outstanding fines will not receive a diploma until the fines are paid.
At the end of the last school year I called all the local high schools to see how they were faring with this problem. One school was very aggressive about it and did not let any student with a fine participate in any extracurricular activities and also called the students out of class to confront them with a demand for the missing materials. They worked closely with the teachers and updated the fine and overdue list every week, which is distributed to the coaches and the administration weekly. The library and text staff stays on top of it, but it is a huge drain on their time. That school of about 1500 students has a credentialed librarian, two library clerks and a textbook clerk. Another school sent notices and bills to the students before the end of the school year and expected all fines to be paid by the last day of school. Over the summer all new fines were calculated and the students who had materials out were called in to talk to the librarian at the beginning of the next school year. She determines if there is a hardship case and drops the fines or sends the students on to the administrator who talks to the student and hopefully gets the matter taken care of. The consequences may be losing sports and/or extracurricular privileges. That school of about 800 has a credentialed librarian and a library clerk. The other schools in the area are in the same position I am in.
My summer bills traditionally get next to no response. So I talked to our newest (fresh this year) administrator and he wants to work on this!
I actually started last year by sending a notice to each student the week before school was out, listing all the school materials we expected back before the end of school and telling them there would be a bill over the summer for anything not turned in. Over the summer I calculated and mailed all the bills. I was authorized to stiffen the cover letter to inform the parents the students 'may', (that's all they let me have), loose school privileges if the materials weren't returned or paid for before school started. For the first time this year the school conducted registration in the library so I had a 'station' for parents to pay bills or return books. (That was effective!) I then generated a name list of students with fines for the administrator to give to the coaches. The coaches did not let the athletes with fines practice! The administrator I am working with is willing to start next with all students who have fines over $100, he will suspend their dance privileges. So far that is what we have done and the result is that in the last 2 weeks since school started we have reduced the outstanding bills by about $8,000. (I was lucky to get $1000 before this year.) The clear main difference in the schools that tackle and manage this situation is administrative support. Although I have brought our situation to the admin before, there has never been support. Our Superintendent insists that it is illegal to withhold grades and transcripts for students who have fines- I think that may be true for inter-district transfers but I'm not sure if that holds for intra-district transfers. We are looking at ways to work with the counselors to tighten up intra and inter-district transfers with outstanding fines. This year we want to establish a school policy that we can use to get more teeth into our collection efforts.
I would love to get any information you receive on what works for other schools. Thank you for the question.
D. Sampson
Fortuna High School
Brenda:
I think everyone is having similar problems. Our district is forming a committee as well. We're doing similar things: sending home notices, using our Teleparent system to call home, calling in the kid, delaying registration, payment contracts, etc.
We ARE automated for textbook circulation. Don't let someone try to convince you that it is the solution to lost textbooks. The bottom line is that the losses aren't significant enough to pay someone full time with benefits, which is what you need to run a good textbook accountability system.
I think the same thing goes for a collection agency. It probably costs more to pay the agency than you will actually get in return.
Most of our losses are from students who drop out, never to be heard from again, so even though we have a very accurate accounting of who has lost the books, we only get about 1% of the lost books paid for. We do have a pretty high return rate with automation -- about 94%. 5% remain lost - unpaid forever, until a textbook cycle becomes obsolete, then we delete those from the system, so we aren't carrying those records forever. No sense in trying to collect for a book we don't even use anymore.
I heard a rumor that Los Alamitos district was asking parents to pay $200 for textbooks. I don't know if it was a deposit or non-refundable. I think that requiring some kind of deposit would be a good incentive for parents who are moving to return the books.
Share your answers. We could all use some help!
Heather Gruenthal, Teacher Librarian Western High School Orangeview Junior High School Anaheim Union High School District
Brenda, our school district does not release transcripts to graduates until all fines are paid. With a union catalog (Destiny), now all charges from K-12 accumulate for the high school to collect.
At middle school, we do our best to get exiting 8th graders to clear their records. They cannot get their 9th-12th grade textbooks during early registration if their library account is not clear. Of course, the library provides them when school starts because of the Williams Act.
Susan Sheldon
Teacher Librarian
Bernardo Heights Middle School
Mesa Verde Middle School
Poway Unified
susansheldon at cox.net <mailto:susansheldon at cox.net>
Brenda - This is a huge problem in our district. We have 23 middle/high schools. Do you withhold privileges? Unfortunately, some administrators are soft on this. We have been working to get everyone on board. We do the letters, calls, etc... But not being able to go to the dance or Disneyland or walking the graduation ceremony...this is middle school...really gets the books back and money paid. In some high schools it means participating in sports! Just this summer, someone in finance mentioned a collection agency that isn't really one, but acts in the same way...don't know what that means, but I think a collection agency is a great idea. My tech and I love when the parent comes in with bluetooth in ear, manicured nails, styled/colored hair (you get the idea) and they pound their fists on the counter claiming they don't have the money to pay for a $77 book! AAARRRGGG!!!! Good luck, Colleen Chula Vista Middle School
When I substituted at Aliso Niguel H.S. In Capistrano Unified S.D., they did not allow students to walk during graduation until they had taken care of their library/textbook debts. If they found the books later, they received a refund. However, all debts had to be taken care prior to graduation in order to receive their cap/gown and to walk. This did not help the situation where students moved with textbooks, but it did help with a very fair share of the texts that belonged to regular students attending the high school.
Pam Carrie
Chapman Hills Elementary
Orange Unified S.D.
When I substituted at Aliso Niguel H.S. In Capistrano Unified S.D., they did not allow students to walk during graduation until they had taken care of their library/textbook debts. If they found the books later, they received a refund. However, all debts had to be taken care prior to graduation in order to receive their cap/gown and to walk. This did not help the situation where students moved with textbooks, but it did help with a very fair share of the texts that belonged to regular students attending the high school.
Pam Carrie
Chapman Hills Elementary
Orange Unified S.D
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: http://lists.sjsu.edu/pipermail/calibk12/attachments/20080910/4b50c56e/attachment-0001.html
More information about the CALIBK12
mailing list