Mary A Singer

Name: Mary A Singer

Title: High School Librarian

Organization: Peabody High School

Area of Employment: education

How I heard about Universal Service: Pennsylvania: personal e-mail message

My experience in this area:

I am a high school librarian in an urban high school. Prior to my work at Peabody, I worked in both an elementary and middle school libraries in the Pittsburgh School District. I therefore am familiar with urban libraries in k-12 settings. In addition to my educational library experience, I also work as a full time part-time librarian for Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh. I believe I have an unique blend of both the educational and public libraries. As an educator, I have had to scramble to find moneys for technology for my high school students. I know what our urban students lack and believe I can contribute that information to the group.

What I hope to learn:

I want to learn how to apply for the new Universal Service Subsidies. Peabody High School has just launched a new 9th grade program focused on "Career Pathways" for the urban learner. We want to prepare our students to meet the world of work or higher learning. To accomplish this we need computer equipment and expertise. We need programs and software that will aloow our students to advance and learn as rapidly as they can. I need ideas for using Link-to-Learn funds to accomplish this goal. I also need to learn how to involve other professionals in our building.

Additional comments:

I believe this is a good opportunity for Peabody High School to gain information and exposure that we need to advance our program. After all, the test for Link-to-Learn is your customers -- the students of Pennsylvania and Pittsburgh.