SOLON- “Obvious to you, amazing to others.”
It’s the title of a YouTube video by entrepreneur Derek Sivers that describes how ideas that seem so simple and, well, obvious, to one person could be mind-blowing and awe-inspiring to someone else.
It’s a quote that Solon Community School District (SCSD) Media Specialist Kathy Kaldenberg tries to remember each day. She’s used it on her blog and has posted the video to her Twitter account as a reminder to everyone about what they have to offer the world.
“I started sharing small things about what we were doing at Solon Community School District and was surprised when other people thought our ideas were interesting or unique,” Kaldenberg said. “That is why it is so powerful to share what we do.”
But what she probably doesn’t realize is how accurately that quote describes how special and valuable Kaldenberg has been to Solon for the past 12 years.
“Kathy is kind of a dreamer and a doer and go-getter,” said Matt Townsley, Director of Instruction and Technology for Solon schools. “She’s really a one-of-a-kind person.”
Kaldenberg will retire from her position as Librarian and Media Specialist at the end of this school year. It’s a loss, Townsley said, that the entire district is going to feel.
“It’s going to be very challenging to fill that role,” he said. “We would probably need to hire three or four more people to do what Kathy does.”
And what she does is everything.
Kaldenberg is more than a stereotypical idea of a librarian- one who checks out books to students and maintains the libraries. She’s been at the forefront of technology utilization since she took the position. As someone who’s naturally curious and a self-described “nerd,” she’s always been on the lookout for new ways to engage students and employ new tools to aid in their learning.
Kaldenberg said students today live “in an ocean of digital access” and it is the responsibility of educators to make sure they are able to use it in the best and most ethical ways.
One of her first projects involved Lakeview Elementary students using first generation iPods to record mini-reviews of some of their favorite stories. Kaldenberg uploaded the book talks onto the school’s online database so other students could listen.
Since then, she’s helped Solon students Skype with classrooms around the country for National Read Aloud Day, connected fourth graders with a former employee of the Library of Congress for a lesson on civil rights, and had community members of all ages participate in Hour of Code, an event that encourages anyone to learn computer science.
That’s just the tip of the iceberg.
She’s collaborated with teachers at the elementary, middle school and high school to bring new tools to their classrooms. One of her favorites is a project using the work of Kenn Nesbitt, a poet and the creator of the website, poetry4kids.com.
She and students wrote Nesbitt to obtain permission to use his work- a lesson in copyright laws- and once the kids had selected their poems, they chose music from a royalty-free database and pictures from iCLIPART for Schools. Finally, they mashed their readings of the poems, the music and the images together in GarageBand to create a multimedia experience.
The recordings then became available for all students to experience.
Over half of what she does, Kaldenberg said, is posted on social media. She regularly updates her blog, Making Connections, with links and ideas she finds interesting and uses Pinterest as a portfolio of the work she, teachers and students have done. She also uses Twitter to post photos and updates on what’s going on around the district.
But technology is really only one facet of Kaldenberg’s job. She is, after all, a librarian, so books and literature are at the center of everything she does.
Early in her tenure, she heard about the event Drop Everything and Read (D.E.A.R.), a day when families can come and simply read together.
Kaldenberg worked with the district to bring D.E.A.R. to Lakeview Elementary. Each year, the event attracts over 100 students and their parents.
She’s also collaborated with high school science teacher Dawn Posekany to create a community book reading, where students and a local book club will read the same book. The group then meets at the public library, and the students facilitate a discussion about the book and its relevant subject matter.
“Kathy has been our district’s secret weapon,” Posekany said. “Her leadership has turned learning and collaborating into an anytime, anywhere possibility for staff and students.”
Like Posekany, Kaldenberg became many teachers’ go-to person for ideas and inspiration.
“Kathy’s accessibility and willingness to jump into unknown territory were welcoming,” Posekany said.
All of this relates to what Kaldenberg calls “the theme” to her time here at Solon: connecting. She calls herself a connector, someone who brings ideas and people together.
Kathy is quick to point out that all that connecting would not be possible without the support of the staff from all of the schools, especially from her three fellow media specialists at each of the schools; Paula Day at Lakeview, Shari Butterfield at Solon Middle School and Heather Pentico at Solon High School.
“If I see things that people are interested in, I’m going to tell them about it. I’m going to say ‘this is HOW it connects to what you’re doing,” Kaldenberg said. “I really saw that as what I did well.”