Staff Spotlight: Meet Hanna Conbeer – School Librarian and Media Specialist
Join us in shining a spotlight on Harry Hoag Librarian and Media Specialist Hanna Conbeer.
“The Fort Plain Central School District is proud to recognize Hanna Conbeer,” said Interim Superintendent Dr. Karen Geelan. “Hanna is an important part of our teaching team at Harry Hoag, helping our learners develop the strong English Language Arts (ELA) and literacy skills they need to be successful in and out of school, and for the world they will live and work in once they graduate. We are grateful to have Hanna in our school community.”
For Harry Hoag Library and Media Specialist Hanna Conbeer, it is a good day at school when she learns library time has sparked a love of reading in her students.
“I really enjoy being a part of the students’ learning,” said Conbeer. “I love watching kids discover a book that they love. I love when they tell me they have loved a book so much that they read it with their mom or dad, too. This is the best!”
Now in her third year with the district, Hanna Conbeer is an important part of the school team—helping our students become strong readers, writers and critical thinkers. She also works closely with the teachers—providing the books and other tools to support their classroom lessons and helping them build even the most reluctant readers’ “literacy muscles.”
“Hanna consistently engages the students in rigorous, ELA-focused lessons that go far beyond the traditional ‘read-and-check-out’ library model,” said Harry Hoag Principal Amy Batholomew. “Her commitment to their learning—and to her own growth as a professional—has a meaningful impact on the literacy learning for all of our students.”
Inspiring a love of reading – for every student
Before joining the Fort Plain teaching team, Conbeer worked as a librarian in the Springfield and Canajoharie public libraries. While this was meaningful, becoming a school librarian and media specialist has allowed her to do what she is most passionate about—work with kids and help develop their literacy skills.
“My heart has always been in working with children, but it was like pulling teeth to get the children into the public library. Here, I have a sort of ‘captive’ audience,” she said with a grin.
From lessons that help students build their skills at finding what they need to know in the library and online to one-on-one work with our students who are learning English as a new language, developing strong, curious and confident readers and media-smart citizens is the goal.
“Reading is essential. It opens doors in our minds and in our worlds. It helps us unlock our imaginations, be creative and solve problems. It helps us succeed in what we want to do,” said Conbeer. “I love that Harry Hoag is such a close-knit school and that I get to know all the kids, help inspire their learning and watch them grow.”