Back to School: Rye Neck

This coming school year, Rye Neck Middle/High School students will be seeing a new face in the library, albeit a familiar one.

By Janice Llanes Fabry

This coming school year, Rye Neck Middle/High School students will be seeing a new face in the library, albeit a familiar one. Linda Costelloe, the elementary school librarian who introduced them to the boundless world of books at Daniel Warren, will be writing the next chapter in the district’s evolving media center as the new Middle/High School Library Media Specialist.

“This is a fabulous opportunity to support the teachers and students in information fluency,” said Costelloe, who has worked in the district since 2003. “My goal is to help teach the students to manage the vast amount of information they face in day-to-day life and how to synthesize it. It’s all about creativity, new ideas, and sharing those ideas.”

Indeed, Costelloe plans to provide resources and create programs that address the needs of both faculty and students by incorporating their input. She also looks forward to collaborating with longtime Library Clerk Shailaja Vangala, whom she says has a “great handle” on the learning community.

Embracing her role as global information provider and educator in an ever-expanding technological age, Costelloe believes it’s imperative to leverage all the devices students have access to in order to be more productive.

“It’s an interesting time. One can read books on any device, and pick up where you left off on a phone,” said Costelloe, who has a Master’s in Library and Information Science. “Technology has changed everything and it’s my job to help kids find how it can enhance their studies and research. It’s not all about Facebook and Instagram.”

In addition, the Media Specialist will be teaching a sixth grade Library Tech class that helps students navigate the Internet responsibly. She believes one of the more challenging aspects of her new job will be mastering all the changes the Common Core has brought to the playing field. Having spent the summer researching successful middle/high school programs, come September she intends to focus on curriculum for grades 6 through 12.

In the meantime, Costelloe is eager to put her finger on the pulse of all the students she had taught back when they were kindergarteners, first, and second graders. “It will be my greatest joy seeing how the kids have matured. It’s a good feeling,” she said.