Denise von Minden has been a librarian at Flagstaff Academy for seven years. She goes above and beyond for her students, earning her the Highly Effective Schools Through Libraries, or HESTL, designation.
Flagstaff Academy is the only charter school in Colorado to receive the HESTL designation.
The HESTL designation is awarded to librarians and libraries across the state that build library systems that “help students and staff thrive in school and beyond,” according to the Colorado Department of Education’s website.
In order for a library or librarian to receive the designation, they must earn five credentials, each with its own application.
- Vision & Planning: Develops effective plans for the library program including an annual review of school focus goals, library data, and collaborative input from the school community.
- Instructional Specialist: Designs and implements lessons and assessments that meaningfully integrate 21st Century Learning Standards, Colorado Academic Standards, and digital literacy skills through direct instruction and collaboration with content teachers.
- Leadership: Promotes collaboration and creative problem solving, and influences staff and students to embrace a growth mindset by demonstrating lifelong learning in practice.
- Library Environment: Establishes a safe, inclusive, and respectful learning environment for a diverse population of students. The school library space is open, warm, and welcoming; it is flexibly designed to meet a wide variety of needs as well as to foster learning and curiosity.
- Library Management: Librarian believes that print, multimedia, and electronic materials are core ingredients for building a foundation for literacy, reading pleasure, and research skills.
Currently, 16 libraries in Colorado hold the distinction. There are over 1,900 schools in the state.
“Denise operates the library much like a bookstore; taking the pulse of what the students want and need on a regular basis,” said Katie Gustafson, Flagstaff Academy executive principal in a news release. “She also takes into account the needs of our core curriculum and teacher requests and orders ebooks that can be used across classrooms digitally. She has built a large collection of character education books that coincide with our Positive Behavior and Supports work, and is continually working to build a library that represents the diverse population that we have here at Flagstaff.”
In addition to building a collaborative and educational library system, von Minden hosts a book club for fifth through seventh graders, assists teacher in building their own classroom libraries and speaks at local literacy conferences.
“We do anything that we can to keep students interested in the library,” said von Minden. “That interest directly translates to our students being better readers and life-long learners. Curation of our collection is a huge part of what I do to make sure we have books that reflect the diversity of our community. We also want to make sure that our students see themselves reflected in the books that we have on hand.”
