Library Media Center

Dr. Clara Bannister, PhD                        Library Media Specialist

Dr. Bannister is a native of Richmond, Virginia and she has been in the field of education for thirty-one years. She obtained her Bachelor’s degree at Virginia Commonwealth University.  She taught Spanish for eleven years.  Later, she received a Master’s in English-Writing and Rhetoric, two endorsements, one in Library Media and the other in English as a Second Language (ESL). In 2009, she achieved her greatest accomplishment by earning a Doctorate of Philosophy in Education with a specialization in Instructional Design for Online Learning from Capella University.  In her dissertation study, Dr. Bannister examined the main characteristics of successful virtual high school programs.  Currently, Dr. Bannister is the library media specialist at Franklin Military Academy.

Franklin Military Academy Library Database

FMA Online Resources Webmix Symbaloo Page

        Richmond Public Library's Young Adult Virginia Author Winner: Lamar Giles Comes to

Franklin Military Academy

Major Special Loney, an FMA teacher, draws the winning ticket at the Richmond Public Library's YAVA event that allowed Author Lamar Giles to come to Franklin for an author visit.  Mr. Giles reached out to Dr. Bannister, the library media specialist, to schedule a book talk with FMA cadets.  All classes were invited to attend. A brief presentation was created and shared with the audience before the conversation began. While students sat in the audience, Mr. Giles and Dr. Bannister had a brief question-and-answer session on stage in the auditorium. 

Mr. Giles gave a biography of his life, discussed his writing process, and talked about his latest books. Students found it fascinating that Lamar Giles has written and published for DC Comics, Star Wars, and National Geographic. Author Giles was very professional yet laid back in his approach. After his conversation with Dr. Bannister, microphones were passed around to students for a question-and-answer session. Lamar Giles was most gracious in allowing the students to ask any questions they had.  The FMA cadets enjoyed this, and Mr. Giles exhaustively answered every question. 

To conclude, Mr. Giles gave the library media center copies of two of his latest books, Ruin Road and The Getaway, which is expected to be a television show. 

The Big 6 Research Collection

Big 6 Destiny Research Collection  

This Destiny Collection was created to assist students and teachers with understanding the Big 6 Research Process. In addition, there are resources on note-taking, brainstorming, outlining, tech tools for writing, and rubrics for evaluating student work.