• NMS Library Mission

    The Tuscaloosa City Schools mission is "to create and support a culture of high expectations for each and every student to achieve personal, academic and career excellence" (Tuscaloosa City Schools, 2022, Understanding our purpose section, para. 1). As part of TCS, Northridge Middle school's mission focuses on a "commitment to academics, community, and service" (Northridge Middle School, 2022, Learn more about Northridge Middle School section, para. 1). 

    In order to further these missions, the Northridge Middle School library aims to provide a welcoming and safe atmosphere in which all learners are empowered to develop a lifelong love of reading, to seek answers to questions that matter to them, and to feel connected to both their school and local communities.

     

    NMS Library History & Program Objectives

    During the architectural design process, Northridge Middle School founding librarian Stephanie Hickman fought tirelessly for the library to be placed at the center of the building, to be the heart of the school. The heart is a muscle that works for the good of the entire body, so to continue the work that Mrs. Hickman started, the library must be a space that serves every student, every teacher, every content area.

    A construction crew on site until December made for an unusual Year 1, and COVID-19 disrupted school operations in many ways during Years 2, 3, and 4. Now in Year 5, we are nearing business as usual and have set forth the following objectives:

    • To provide a diverse print and digital collection that offers NMS students access to what Dr. Rudine Sims-Bishop refers to as mirrors, windows, and sliding glass doors (1990, p. ix). 

    • To collaborate with all content areas in order to ensure that the library is a space for all kinds of learning

    • To remove school-community barriers by connecting students and faculty members with local experts and organizations that can further learning endeavors

     

    Northridge Middle School. (2022). School profile: Learn more about Northridge Middle School. https://www.tuscaloosacityschools.com/Page/584 

    Sims-Bishop, R. (1990). Mirrors, windows, and sliding glass doors. Perspectives, 1 (3), ix–xi.

    Tuscaloosa City Schools. (2022). District profile: Understanding our purpose. https://www.tuscaloosacityschools.com/Page/195