Atlantic High School: A Model for Modernization

Volusia County is home to some of the most beautiful beaches in the world. The sands of Daytona welcome millions of visitors every year to events like Bike Week, the Daytona 500, and is a mainstay for spring breakers from all over the world. The schools of Volusia County School District reflect this diversity, but they share one common problem, as identified by Saralee Morrissey, Director of Planning for the district. Their Libraries are the largest and most underutilized space in their schools.

Libraries, or “Media Centers” as they are commonly referred, have held a foundational place in schools for many years. Many, however, have not kept pace with the ways the modern student searches for and consumes information. As technology and flexibility has made its way into the classroom it has seemed to bypass the library in many schools. Saralee decided that would no longer be the case in Volusia County and as a result has transformed the media center of Atlantic High School into a space that encompasses so much more than a card catalog and endless rows of books. This is their story.