Mr. House,

Welcome to HISD.  We represent a grassroots group of community members, parents, and other advocates who want to see a dynamic library in every school. We have a website (Students Need Libraries in HISD) that provides information about HISD libraries in particular and school libraries in general.  As a new Superintendent, here’s what you need to about HISD libraries:
(1)   Numbers: As of mid-July, there are only 55 certified librarians in a school district of over 280 schools. Too many schools have no library at all, but most schools have clerks or teachers assigned to manage the library. Although these individuals have been trained to circulate books, most of those assigned to the library cannot provide the instructional services (book selection, teaching research skills, etc.) required. The perception among those who might apply is that a library position in HISD is insecure. We have lost many good librarians to other school districts as a result. Five out of the ten librarians who were selected as Librarian of the Year in the past decade have left the district to work as a librarian in outlying districts. Here is the link to library staffing data in recent years: http://www.studentsneedlibrariesinhisd.org/library-staffing-overview.html

​(2) Site-based Management: Principals have the final determination as to whether the library is open or closed and whether to hire a librarian, a teacher or a clerk to staff the library. In general, many principals are not aware of the benefits of a strong library program and do not realize the librarian’s impact on student achievement for all students. When principals attend the district’s budgeting sessions, they are likely to be told they cannot afford a librarian.

(3) Board Policy: Reading the board policies, the district clearly has a commitment to providing library services to all students. The problem is that these policies are not being enforced or considered when staffing libraries or making decisions that affect students’ access to libraries.

(4)  Department of Library Services: This department is the district’s expert on staff in the management of existing libraries and the design of new libraries. For many years, HISD Library Services was part of the School Support team which was a good fit for this department as libraries provide ongoing academic support to both students and teachers. For the past ten years, Library Services has been under the Curriculum department which has not been a good fit. Currently, the department is under the purview of Elementary Curriculum, ignoring the fact that libraries serve schools PreK-12.  Under Curriculum department management, there have been numerous cutbacks in staffing and budget.
​
(5) Equity: Ultimately, the strongest argument for the restoration of the library program in HISD is equity. There are some communities in HISD which have never failed to staff their libraries. There are too many communities - whole feeder patterns - where the books on the library shelves have disappeared or the collections have been allowed to stagnate locked in time. A return to centralized budgeting for all libraries would benefit student success.

Conclusion: School libraries and certified librarians offer a strong toolkit to support improved literacy scores across the district. Investment in libraries is a long-term effort with benefits for all HISD students in test scores and graduation rates. The ESSER funds already requested by Library Services offer a huge opportunity to rebuild the campus library collections and develop plans to support increased staffing over a few years.
We look forward to seeing what your new leadership will bring to HISD. We know that your libraries in Clarksville-Montgomery were all fully staffed with certified librarians. We urge you to take this opportunity to recommit to the idea that all HISD schools have access to library programs as well. You have our support in this effort. 

Sincerely,
Dorcas Hand
Debbie Hall
Library Advocate/ volunteer
Houston, Texas
http://www.studentsneedlibrariesinhisd.org/
Eliminating school libraries and librarians deprive students of diverse and equitable opportunities to learn the essential college and career skills necessary to be successful.

​By Debbie Hall

We sent the letter below to the HISD Building Dept. today in response to our increasing awareness of problematic library designs in new and renovated HISD campuses. Everyone should speak up when they see these issues, to campus admin, parents and school board representatives.


​


​
​I am a former HISD librarian and a current advocate for HISD and particularly the district’s library program. I have seen the impact that libraries can have on the lives of our students and presently I am very concerned with the direction HISD is going in regards to designing new library spaces for students. 
 
At a time when we know that literacy rates are declining, HISD should be following best practices in school library design and being more strategic when planning library spaces for its students. From the results, I am seeing in new buildings and even in renovations, I cannot understand what the current HISD library design guidelines are or if there are any guidelines. I see spaces that restrict the types of interactions available between the student, the teacher, and the librarian. I see libraries without walls, libraries in hallways, and libraries with no identifiable space at all. I see some new schools being built without a library. The current designs may look good on paper but I seriously question how these spaces will function serving the needs of students and teachers both now and in the future.
 
Libraries are for learning and instruction. The most obvious flaw with HISD's current school library design is that large group teaching space has been eliminated in some cases. The effect of this lack of instructional space is that the library becomes a space for only small group or one-on-one interactions. Schools with this type of floor plan cannot support the instructional mission of the library. Too many of the new HISD "libraries" are merely shelves with books in an open unsecured area, often a hallway.
 
Guidelines for library design address multiple activities. In a school library, there should be a space for large group instruction, comfortable reading areas, viewing areas, study carrels, shelves, computers, tables to write or design, maker spaces, and areas for quiet reflection/thinking. Where would a librarian introduce research skills to a large class or small group in a library without an area dedicated to instruction? If the elementary library is in a hallway, how can a story be read aloud to engage readers? What about security? The library collection is typically one of a school's most valuable assets. If there are no walls and no way to restrict access, how is the inventory of its contents kept safe for all to use? Does the fact that Lamar High School has placed library books and shelves in a hallway - without a librarian even - make that space a library? 
 
The following schools were recently built with two-story open-concept library designs: Condit, Braeburn, Kolter and Scarborough. The open-concept plan was very popular in 1965 and it was largely a failure. The idea is being resurrected. While you can find positive and negative reviews of this model, I think most librarians would find it very challenging to manage students where they can be spread over two floors. The acoustic issues, including student distraction and strain on teacher voices not to mention discipline issues when students are out of sight on a different floor, have been common complaints in many such designs.
 
I have talked to several librarians who shared their experiences serving on their building committee to plan new HISD schools. All of them expressed frustration about getting their concerns answered. Most recently I have spoken to the former librarians at HSPVA, Bellaire, and HSHP who expressed their dissatisfaction with the process. They were able to get some but not all of the changes that they felt were needed to make the spaces work for their students and staff. 
 
The schools that do not have a librarian on staff have no one speaking up for a functional library design in a new facility. This is especially problematic if the principal has no idea what a good 21st-century library should look like. The district’s office of Library Services should take part in all meetings where important decisions about the library design are made. In any large school district, the Department of Library Services is tasked with providing expertise on what school library programs should offer and how library spaces should look and function. Until recently, all HISD school library designs were a result of a collaboration between the Library Services Department, the school librarian, and the school building committee.
 
I hope that HISD will reconsider this aspect of the building program and once again return to the idea that the library is an instructional hub for the campus. Having bookshelves in the hallway is not the same as providing a library; books in the hallway without a trained librarian is a waste of money. Don’t waste taxpayer’s money, build libraries that are based on design guidelines that take into account the library's mission of connecting readers to books and information. Use the experts on your staff (certified school librarians and the Department of Library Services) to create world-class library spaces.
 
Debbie Hall
Library Advocate/ volunteer
Houston, Texas

by Dorcas Hand

HISD administration is working to decide how to spend the ARP/ESSER funds. That’s the federal American Rescue Plan Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief Fund, more than $800 million coming directly to Houston ISD. During the week of May 17-21, a survey was open to the public on how that money should be spent. It is a three-year windfall, which means the district needs to spend it in ways that have staying power. 
​
The survey, linked here in PDF, covered lots of potential topics - including Library Services. Yes, Library Services were directly listed. And SNL Speaks Out readers know that we consistently push the idea that school libraries improve student success at school, and we know that libraries do not exist on every HISD campus. How might libraries help in many areas the survey addresses? What are useful ways to invest this one time funding in HISD libraries? 

Besides libraries, the survey includes 

• Campus infrastructure that will support student health, especially in relation to transmission of illness like COVID: improve ventilation systems across the district to minimize both flu outbreaks and pandemic spikes. 
• Comprehensive mental health support. 
• General disaster preparedness (hurricane, pandemic): everything from providing meals to the needy to digital devices to supporting special needs, all with minimizing learning loss and maintaining federal and state standards in mind. 
• Wraparound services to coordinate sensitive areas to ensure every child is respectfully supported to successful academic growth. 

Now that we have survived COVID so soon after Hurricane Harvey, the district has experience to bring to disaster planning. 

Now, let’s consider areas that library services can impact positively. 

• Continue, improve and expand services to Title I students and Individuals with Disabilities, as well as Family Literacy efforts. 
• Level up Career and Technical offerings.
• Learning loss across the district, but especially in those areas hardest hit because families lacked consistent wifi access and/or adequate devices for all students in the home. Campuses that had libraries during the pandemic had an extra advantage in keeping literacy achievement moving forward. 
• Curriculum/Instructional Enhancements - Libraries are one method to enhance curriculum creatively, based on academic needs but without relying on cookie-cutter, expensive solutions from outside vendors.
• English Learner (EL) Supports - Libraries offer bilingual resources according to campus needs. Libraries also offer windows, doors, and mirrors to support students of other cultures to feel fully welcomed into the campus community.
• Special Education - Libraries support special curricula by finding and enabling access to appropriate resources.
• Interventions / Gifted and Talented (GT) - Libraries support all learners regardless of level or ability. That is their mission; they need a certified librarian and some funding to purchase appropriate resources.
• Library Services provides centralized support to all HISD libraries.

Research tells us that students learn to read better and to love learning more when they have access to a library of books that allows them to read widely, choose their own books, and expand world awareness at their own pace which is what libraries facilitate. “[H]ow are students dis-served when their schools lack certified school librarians? School librarians are credentialed teachers. In addition to fostering a habit of reading to learn, school librarians teach a cross-disciplinary curriculum…” Libraries can support after school programs and summer learning at the same time they include ed tech support as a normal element of their mission: locating, evaluating and disseminating useful digital resources for use in classrooms and independently by students. Certified librarians are also experts in training both teachers and students in the use of these resources.

CONCLUSION
HISD currently has 62 libraries staffed with certified librarians. It is unclear what budget those librarians have for library materials, but all funding is campus based. Yes, there are another 79 libraries staffed by teachers - again with uncertain budgets. There are 274 HISD schools served by Library Services but only 141 (62+79) have library services staffed by trained personnel; 48 have clerks; 43 are vacant; and 41 have no library at all [All data from the same link]. Given that school libraries could positively impact almost all the categories addressed by the HISD Survey, HISD should invest in its libraries so that more campuses have the advantage of library services. 
How might the district leverage this one time funding to phase in libraries for every student?

• Use some ESSER funding to open (establish a library space and purchase an opening resource collection) libraries on campuses without them now, while using internal funds (district, campus or even a grant) to fund the staffing. Perhaps begin with the most challenged campus populations, like the Achieve 180 schools. Or those that are challenged but not failing, where the additional support of a campus library could have dramatic effect. Opening libraries on disadvantaged campuses works toward equitable services for all HISD students.
• ESSER funds could replace library materials lost during COVID, on all campuses with libraries currently.
• ESSER funds could also support some interested teachers to get Library Certification. As the district adds libraries, there will be great need for certified librarians to staff those spaces. Remember that librarians are also certified teachers, and cost no more salary than a certified teacher.

This is a huge opportunity to offer library resources to a much higher percentage of the HISD student population. SNL hopes the new superintendent, the school board and the principals can be convinced of the wisdom of this path.

Currently a Rice group (HERC) is focused on improving outcomes and providing equitable educational opportunities for students in the Houston area and beyond. According to the HISD website: 
      “The purpose of the Equity Project, conducted in collaboration with partners at the Houston Education       
       Research Consortium (HERC), is to identify the mechanisms through which HISD and the broader Houston
       community can work to improve equity and ultimately eliminate gaps in achievement and attainment. 
       Information from these studies will help guide district decision-making to improve equity for all HISD
       students.” 
If you would like to know more about this research or would like to comment, please follow this link (https://www.houstonisd.org/equityproject)  which describes the Equity Project in more detail. One interesting feature of the website is a searchable Needs Map which reveals specific data about school communities like food insecurity, employment, and safety. We ultimately would like to see school libraries in all schools as a recommendation from this project. We keep asking why would libraries be viewed as necessary in some schools but not others. We do see the problem of a lack of library service as being more prevalent in less affluent areas of the district. 

The following content is what we shared in March with the HERC/HISD project leadership regarding equity:
      Members of SNL have long been concerned about the growing inequity in Houston schools. There are most
      definitely haves and have-nots and areas of poverty where needed resources are lacking. Your[HERC]
      wraparound services assessment clearly speaks to those needs. We speak specifically to the need for library
      services in all HISD schools and work to broaden awareness of the importance of libraries in schools. Significant
      research has proven over the years that libraries impact student achievement. You may wish to refer to these two
      articles from 2018 as more recent examples:

•  Lance, Keith Curry, and Debra E. Kachel. "Why School Librarians Matter: What Years of Research Tell Us." Phi Delta Kappan, Apr. 2018.
• Massachusetts Board of Library Commissioners. The Massachusetts School Library Study: Equity and Access for Students in the Commonwealth: Report of Findings and Recommendations of the Special Commission on School Library Services in Massachusetts. By Carol A. Gordon and Robin Cicchetti, Mar. 2018.

     
      We work with other school library advocacy groups in the US and in other countries. Many members of our
      group in Houston have worked in HISD schools as volunteers or teachers or librarians. Many of us have had
      children in Houston schools and thus have first-hand experience with libraries across the district. We advocate
      for school libraries because we believe that all students need access to a library to learn and grow.
      We have seen in the last 70 years the rise and fall of school libraries in HISD. In the 1950s, the first district library        supervisor, Elenora Alexander, created a plan for providing a school library on all campuses. At that time only
      secondary schools offered a library for their students. By the late 1960s, her goal was reached with almost all
      campuses offering library services. All libraries were staffed and had a centralized budget to provide needed
      library materials for most of these years. This was the norm for over 25 years until the state instituted the site-
      based decision-making policy in 1992. HISD had no local policy to protect students' rights to access to a school
      library, therefore principals and SBDM committees were freed to use the money that had supported staffing
      and library books in other ways. At the same time, schools across the state began to see less financial support
      from the state legislatures. The STAAR test instituted in 2007 added to the financial deficits of schools as
      schools used limited resources to pay tutors and provide test prep materials for this high-stakes test. All the
      above has contributed to the loss of library services across the district.
   
     Every fall, we look at the district library directory to see if we have lost or gained library staffing in HISD
     schools. While the decline in school libraries across HISD has been happening for much longer, we have been
     monitoring in detail a steady decline in services for the past three years.  Our Library Staffing Overview web
     page provides the data.
    
     We see disturbing trends in HISD. Less than 50% of high schools provide access to libraries. The number of
     libraries listed as vacancies or No Library increases each year. The number of libraries staffed
     by certified librarians is shrinking. Teachers and clerks are placed in charge of libraries on many campuses. Small
     charter/magnet schools are often created without a library. New schools are being built without a library,
     sometimes replacing a school that formerly had a library. We see schools that have closed their libraries and
     allowed the books to gather dust while other schools have repurposed the library space and dispersed the
     books, moved them to classrooms, or disposed of them. HISD has lost sight of the importance of school
     libraries. Neighboring school districts like Alief, Fort Bend, Aldine, and Katy have continued to provide library
     services to their students. Why is HISD unable to maintain access to the resources a library provides when other
     neighboring school districts continue to ensure access? Doing away with libraries is the antithesis of a college-
     bound culture and impacts students in areas without bookstores and access to broad-band networks more
     severely than more affluent populations.

     We believe in a library open for students' use is essential to their success.  This is where students follow their
     own learning plan and begin the process of learning to do research and use various technologies. This is where
     students can dream, explore, and learn about the world. And, as the Pennsylvania Study and numerous other
     studies have illustrated, students with access to school libraries have stronger test scores. The Pennsylvania
     study specifically addresses the benefits of school libraries to students who are Economically Disadvantaged,
     Black, Hispanic, and have IEPs (i.e., students with disabilities). The study findings demonstrate that these
     students benefit proportionally more than students generally when their schools have full-time librarians.  We
     know that you are collecting data in order to create more opportunities for the children of our city and we
     applaud that effort. Perhaps we can help you. We hope you are considering libraries as part of the solution
     when looking at equity and opportunity. It is one of the keys to unlock the equity issue.

It remains important that the HISD community speaks out about the need for equitable school libraries across the district, and especially to raise the issue in the superintendent search process and as the new superintendent begins to work with HISD schools. Our HISD principals need to learn that money spent for libraries and librarians is a cost-effective support of literacy efforts for all students and classrooms.

by Dorcas Hand
I updated the SNL website this week with some new resources.

A new page entitled: "Jan. 6 2021 in Washington DC: Protest or Insurrection? Talking to students about politics, civic engagement, and uncertainty." I will update this as I find more excellent resources.

A new page of LatinX resources for students.

Two booklists:

• The Black Caucus of the American Library Association (BCALA) 2020 Best of the Best Booklist offers 50 titles for PK-4th grade; 25 titles for Middle School; 25 titles for High school; 25 Adult Books for High School.
• MISelf in Books is an annual list of diverse books for Michigan learners. The list was selected by a committee of certified school librarians who are members of Michigan Association for Media in Education (MAME). These recommendations are based on books that they see learners reading and enjoying in their libraries. The books are all published in the last two years and written by #ownvoice authors and will include books for all grade levels: PreK-1, 2-3, 4-5, 6-8, and 9-12.

 
I also note some Twitter threads that focus on diverse authorship (#ownvoice(s), #ownvoicesbooks, #hereweeread) and more nuanced explorations of literacy (#disrupttexts). Some work in Instagram as well. #DisruptTexts is also a website.

Two new video resources:

• Freedom Reads: Anti-Bias Book Talk Series. SocialJustice.org. “Freedom Reads: Anti-Bias Book Talk is part anti-bias training, part book review. Each short segment explores anti-bias books for home and the classroom with the goal to strengthen parents’ and teachers’ anti-bias, anti-racism lens and their ability to critically analyze children’s media.”
  
• StorylineOnline. “The SAG-AFTRA Foundation’s Daytime Emmy®-nominated and award-winning children’s literacy website, Storyline Online®, streams videos featuring celebrated actors reading children’s books alongside creatively produced illustrations. Readers include Oprah Winfrey, Chris Pine, Kristen Bell, Rita Moreno, Viola Davis, Jaime Camil, Kevin Costner, Lily Tomlin, Sarah Silverman, Betty White, Wanda Sykes and dozens more.” [Screen Actors Guild - American Federation of Television and Radio Artists]  Young Children; Elementary
  

And one curriculum resource for high school:
Teach the Black Freedom Struggle Campaign. Zinn Education Project. “The Teach the Black Freedom Struggle campaign of the Zinn Education Project (coordinated by Rethinking Schools and Teaching for Change) supports teachers with free lessons for teaching about racism and anti-racist struggles, distribution to school districts of the book Teaching for Black Lives, teacher study groups, a podcast, online classes for teachers, and more.” 
​
And here are a few books for adults and teachers about recognizing our biases and finding ways to engage with the world with more awareness of the challenges of stereotypes and biases.

• Aguilar, Leslie C. Ouch! That Stereotype Hurts... Communicating Respectfully in a Diverse World, 1st Edition. Walk The Talk, 2006. If you want to be a more effective communicator in today’s diverse workplace, this book is for you. If your organization wants to ensure that employees avoid biased, stereotypical and demeaning communication at work, you will find the guidance you need in this book.
• Banaji and Greenwald. Hidden Blindspot. Delecorte, 2013. “…explore[s] the hidden biases we all carry from a lifetime of exposure to cultural attitudes about age, gender, race, ethnicity, religion, social class, sexuality, disability status, and nationality. “Blindspot” is the authors’ metaphor for the portion of the mind that houses hidden biases. Writing with simplicity and verve, Banaji and Greenwald question the extent to which our perceptions of social groups—without our awareness or conscious control—shape our likes and dislikes and our judgments about people’s character, abilities, and potential.”
• Hollie, Sharroky. Culturally and Linguistically Responsive Teaching and Learning – Classroom Practices for Student Success, Grades K-12 (1st Edition). Shell Education, 2011. Culturally and Linguistically Responsive Teaching and Learning uses research, best practices and evidence-based teaching strategies to provide practical activities and information to support the modern-day teacher. Beginning with background knowledge and loaded with tons of teacher-ready tools to use right away, this book can ignite growth in your teaching and classroom management. (The Center for Culturally Responsive Teaching and Learning)
• Kay, Matthew R. Not Light, but Fire: How to Lead Meaningful Race Conversations in the Classroom. Stenhouse, 2018. “Inspired by Frederick Douglass's abolitionist call to action, “it is not light that is needed, but fire” Matthew Kay has spent his career learning how to lead students through the most difficult race conversations. Kay not only makes the case that high school classrooms are one of the best places to have those conversations, but he also offers a method for getting them right,…”
• Love, Bettina. We Want to Do More Than Survive. Penguin RandomHouse, 2019. “…persuasively argues that educators must teach students about racial violence, oppression, and how to make sustainable change in their communities through radical civic initiatives and movements.”
• Muhammad, Gholdy. Cultivating Genius: An Equity Framework for Culturally and Historically Responsive Literacy. Scholastic, 2020. “…presents a four-layered equity framework—one that is grounded in history… The equity framework will help educators teach and lead toward the following learning goals or pursuits: Identity Development; Skill Development; Intellectual Development; Criticality.
• Sensoy and DiAngelo. Is Everyone Really Equal? An Introduction to Key Concepts in Social Justice Education, Second Edition. Teachers College Press, 2017. “…addresses the most common stumbling blocks to understanding social justice. This comprehensive resource includes new features such as a chapter on intersectionality and classism; discussion of contemporary activism (Black Lives Matter, Occupy, and Idle No More); material on White Settler societies and colonialism; pedagogical supports related to “common social patterns” and “vocabulary to practice using”; and extensive updates throughout.” High school and older.
• Teaching Tolerance. Reading Diversity Toolkit. Offers Teacher Guides for a few books for various levels in K-12, as well as a free downloadable PDF guide to selecting appropriate diverse texts.

 I hope you find these suggestions useful in your classrooms and lives.

by Dorcas Hand

This post completes my effort (5 previous blogs since July 30) to expand your understanding of the AASL School Librarian Role in Pandemic Learning Conditions. I began several weeks ago, well before the start of school - and here we are in a school year that relies on Distance Learning. HISD campuses with librarians (only about 25% of schools) are able to take advantage of all the knowledge, training and skills those librarians bring to all five core areas that should be included in a campus librarian’s job description. Campuses that have chosen to reassign their librarians to classrooms are only using their skill as teachers. Teachers are definitely essential, but librarians using all their skills impact more than the 20-30 students in their classroom at one time whether virtually or in person; they impact all the students and teachers on their campus.​

​Librarians often reach beyond campus boundaries for additional options in support of student enthusiasm and academic success. The public library is one resource, and encouraging students to have a public library card is a great way to expand a campus collection. Libraries are themselves an ecosystem where the school student is also a patron of the public library, and may also reach to the community college or local university for more advanced resources, even a genealogy library in support of a tricky high school history topic.

During Distance Learning, librarians are key to ensuring that students and families are aware of how to access the district and TexQuest subscriptions to digital tools and resources. Librarians are also charged with ensuring that all students are trained in cybersafety and security methods that are appropriate to their age and access needs. With students at home under parental supervision, this cybersafety awareness is even more important than when students are accessing academic assignments and supporting resources under the benefit of campus firewalls and secure protocols. Cybersafety training also addresses cyberbullying and other potential peer threats that everyone must guard against.

Campuses without librarians miss out on so much. And too often, the campuses without librarians include students most in need of the literacy and learning supports that a campus library offers families without books in the home, among other commonly cited home advantages of educational success.

Questions of the Week

• Ask your principals to describe - or share photos/screen shares - of a display or two the librarian has offered students.
• Ask your principals to share one program idea they recommend to another campus at the same level.
• Browse the online library catalogs for your campuses to see the available ebooks and e-audiobooks. This is what campuses without a library, library catalog or librarian are missing.
• Ask Library Services how they are adapting the Name That Book program, a district-wide effort that many schools at all levels join each year. How does it support campus and district literacy goals?

Previous SNL Houston Speaks Out posts expanding on the AASL infographic, School Librarian role in Pandemic Learning Conditions: 

• The Role of the School Librarian in Pandemic Learning Conditions (overview)
• Dear School Board - your Librarians Are Teachers (Teachers)
• Dear School Board - School Librarians Are Teachers, Part 2 (Instructional Partners)
• School Librarians Are Leaders - and Magnifiers (Leaders)
• Information is Our specialty - We Are School Librarians (Program Administrators)

by Dorcas Hand

In the first four posts, we’ve learned in a little depth that school librarians are Instructional Partners, Teachers and Leaders. To do any of those things they need the best information for each job - and their training beyond their teacher credentials has given them the perfect skill set. We’re still starting from the AASL School Librarian Role in Pandemic Learning Conditions. ​