SNL NEWSLETTER
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SNL consistently advocates on behalf of school libraries to the Elected Trustees, Board of Managers, elected officials, administration, library staff, and you, their community of stakeholders. Published monthly during the school year. |
JANUARY 2026Welcome, SNL members. (Join our mailing list here.) Share with your friends so they can join as well. We promised you periodic information with suggestions of action you might take. Here you go. Reach out with questions/suggestions: [email protected]  Newly Elected Board Members Sworn In On January 8, 2026, our new elected school Board members were sworn in. HISD held the event in the Overflow Room for the Board meetings, in indication of the status they give this important group of representatives of the people. Maria Benzon (D5), Felicity Pereyra (D1), Mike McDonough (D6), Myrna Guidry (D9) and Bridget Wade(D7) now have an official role to speak for us about campus libraries and all the other details of the District which are currently being so abused. Please reach out to these Elected Board members to voice your thoughts. Pat Allen (D4)and Placido Gomez (D8) are continuing Electeds who attended the swearing in. Other continuing members are Dani Hernandez (D3) and Savant Moore (D2).  “Mike Miles says the 'science of reading' justifies limiting books in HISD. Experts say no.” Lisa Falkenberg wrote in our Houston Chronicle on Nov 21, 2025 about why Miles is wrong to limit HISD students’ access to books in class and from campus libraries. "But I've come to believe that Miles is misreading the science — and that his takeover experiment in Houston risks a whole new mistake: pushing aside the very books and stories that help kids like Zoe fall in love with reading in the first place."  “…reading volume is one of the most powerful predictors of achievement.” This article by Danielle Dennis of the University of Rhode Island, “Access denied: How banning books reduces reading volume and achievement” asks “Is book banning contributing to declining literacy rates?” She says yes. “To help children succeed at reading, they need opportunities to read at high volumes.”  Don't Forget to Elaborate According to Natalie Wexler in her Jan. 4 Mind the Gap blog, “explicit instruction and retrieval practice are fundamental components of learning, but students need more than that to acquire deep knowledge.” Elaboration requires readers to apply new understandings in their own context. "Deep learning is complex—far more complex than retrieval practice—and there’s no simple universal formula. ...Elaboration simply means adding something to information you’ve absorbed. That could consist of making a connection between different texts or between a text and a student’s pre-existing knowledge or opinions. It could be answering questions like how, why, or what’s an example. (Answering those kinds of questions is sometimes called “elaborative interrogation.”)"  Sanctuary Stories In this season of ICE mayhem, immigrant children are likely experiencing much fear, especially if close family or friends have been detained or deported. I’m Your Neighbor Books is offering Sanctuary Stories & Family Safety which sends age appropriate books to families via an ally’s address. No identifying info about the family is collected.
 Our StoryBridge Listens: Democracy & the Arts Listen to a 5 minute audio about why the First Amendment matters to us all. Dorcas Hand was asked to record this clip for Our StoryBridge Listens: “Choosing Your Own Book is a First Amendment Right.” Scroll down the page – maybe listen to other clips while you are there!  The Strainer Lesson - or Why Reading Matters “Teacher, I’ve read so many books… but I’ve forgotten most of them. So what’s the point of reading?” That was the question of a curious student. The teacher didn’t answer. He just looked at him in silence. A few days later, they were sitting by a river. Out of nowhere, the old man said: “I’m thirsty. Bring me some water… but use that old strainer lying there on the ground.” The student looked confused. It was a ridiculous request. How could anyone bring water in a strainer full of holes? But he didn’t dare argue. He picked up the strainer ... READ the full story as linked in The Strainer Lesson Thanks to Classic Literature on Facebook. It is dated Sept 11, 2023 but still circulating because I just found it.  Take time to understand our HISD situation more broadly: Recommended Reading to Understand the Takeover And remember to FOLLOW and support Community Voices for Public Education (CVPE).  January brings a new year, and with it hope for many successful projects. The links in this newsletter allow us to look back at 25 for wisdom to approach in 2026. So far, our year is full of challenging news all around - locally in HISD and across the world. But this Students Need Libraries in HISD community will stand strong together and with CVPE and other pro-public education organizations to continue our resistance to the Takeover. We will bring libraries back to HISD campuses - it's just taking way longer than we hoped. 
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DECEMBER 2025 Welcome, SNL members. (Join our mailing list here.) Share with your friends so they can join as well. We promised you periodic information with suggestions of action you might take. Here you go. Reach out with questions/suggestions: [email protected]  4 OUT OF 5 SNL ENDORSEMENTS WON their 2025 School Board Elections: D1 Felicity Pereyra (unopposed) ELECTED D5 Maria Benzon ELECTED D6 Mike McDonough ELECTED D7 Bridget Wade retained her seat. D9 Myrna Guidry (unopposed) ELECTED Supporters of strong public schools beyond the state takeover now have more strong voices speaking truth to power.  Culture of Reading “Eliminating school librarians is a form of book banning.” So true, and it is on full display in HISD - but not with the direct goal of banning ideas. Instead, district leadership under Mike Miles has determined that reading only needs test-length passages, that whole books and libraries are distraction to learning. And then we read new research that indicates the opposite: “Reading volume is one of the most powerful predictors of achievement.” And “...students who read for fun on a daily basis score significantly higher in reading assessments than those who rarely pick up a book.” “When reading volume declines due to restricted access, the consequences ripple across a child’s academic life.” These are powerful reasons we should continue to raise our voices. Dennis, Danielle V. 2025, . “Access Denied: How Banning Books Reduces Reading Volume and Achievement.” Rhody Today (University of Rhode Island). (Full article: International Literacy Association, Reading Today, October/November/December.  Houston Promise by Suzanne Lyons Make no mistake. HISD has been underperforming and managed in a problematic way for years. Multiple superintendents, multiple district initiatives, multiple calls for action. In its purest and most idealistic form, an overhaul through state control might have done the job - but it didn't. For years, campus administration has had unfettered power in staffing, budgeting and curriculum. In some instances (inside the Houston Arrow) things were going along well. In other areas, not so much. (Please continue reading here to see how Miles' idea of “Promise” excludes libraries.)  Your Brain on AI I recently heard a presentation by our own Len Bryan -- well, he’s not our own HISD Library Services Director any more but we do miss him. He spoke about the attention schools should be putting onto CURATING AI tools. And he was quite insistent that we NOT use the term AI - this machine manipulation of ideas absorbed from every content source it can access is NOT INTELLIGENT. He prefers to refer to it as a Large Language Model, or LLM. We hope (wish?) HISD is carefully considering which LLM tools to implement, and need to continue to ask questions about their choices. Readers of this newsletter are more concerned with how LLMs affect you directly, so I offer this blog by a friend from college: Writing and Your Brain (Melissa Ludtke, Let’s Row Together, Aug 22 2025). A writer herself, she is wondering about the impact of these LLMs on her life and our culture more broadly. She quotes from and discusses a podcast "Your Brain on ChatGPT: Accumulation of Cognitive Debt when Using an AI Assistant for Essay Writing Tasks." (WBUR Boston “On Point” Aug 11 2025). This paragraph you are reading has become a Russian doll of ideas, but it’s worth your consideration. COGNITIVE DEBT? When our students choose ChatGPT or similar as a way through the information minefield, they are cheating themselves and being cheated by the lack of direct engagement with ideas. That is “cognitive debt.” HISD students are seeing some of these issues in the quality of curriculum in the NES packets, but secondary students may be already using an LLM to help them “write better essays.” Consider please the original definition of “essay”: the French verb “essayer” means to try. Originally it meant a student would engage by pen and paper with ideas by writing about them until they understood them; it was not in the Middle Ages a 5-paragraph system to demonstrate comprehension. Please reflect on what reliance on machine intelligence is doing to thought - how it is the antithesis to current student brains actively wrestling with new ideas. Awareness and understanding of the impact LLMs are already having on students of all ages will support your own decisions about how to apply these much-touted tools in your own lives, and your students’.  Confronting the Crisis of Reading Among Children: What Can Librarians Do to Promote Literacy and Intellectual Curiosity? This ALA Intellectual Freedom Round Table webinar last night offered a HANDOUT with books of interest at the elementary level to spark curiosity and empathy. Anyone interested can view the entire hour. In Part 2, other speakers will focus on Teens. As we enter the holiday season, empathy and gratitude seem important values to feature.   As we enter the holidays, I share this from Facebook. Full and effective Literacy is an exchange of information. A reader absorbs new ideas, digests them and offers the world new understandings from the combination of ideas read and heard. How sad it is to know that many students are not talking about their reading and learning outside the classroom - and in HISD, not so much in the classroom either. It is food for thought. Thanks to Ms Shawna Jent for posting. IMAGE SOURCE: https://www.keiro.org/features/intergenerational-connections (Worth a read.)  Civics Challenge from the Sandra Day O'Connor Institute Middle and High School Students! You are invited to take part in the Civics Challenge, a free, nationwide online competition designed to spark creativity and civic knowledge. Submit either a short video (2 minutes or less) or an original song exploring one of this year’s categories found here: OConnorInstitute.org/cc Five finalists in each division—middle school (grades 6–8) and high school (grades 9–12)—will each receive a $500 cash award, totaling $5,000 in awards! DEADLINE is Feb 27 2026. Spread the word!!! While this is not strictly speaking library related, libraries have a huge role in supporting civic awareness and a knowledgeable citizenry. Encourage your students to engage in this challenge!  With Thanksgiving in a few days and December holidays just after, SNL takes this opportunity to tell you our followers how GRATEFUL we are for your ongoing support. We share a goal between us to regain school libraries on every campus in HISD. It won’t be as soon as we would like (yesterday?) or at all easy to accomplish, but together we will keep the pressure on both HISD administration and Texas Commissioner Mike Morath, not to mention our many legislators who continue to need to be educated. Thank you all for persisting with us here at Students Need Libraries in HISD.
Welcome, SNL members. (Join our mailing list here.) Share with your friends so they can join as well. We promised you periodic information with suggestions of action you might take. Here you go. Reach out with questions or suggestions: [email protected] OCTOBER 2025  SNL ENDORSES for the 2025 School Board Elections: D1 Felicity Pereyra (unopposed) D5 Maria Benzon D6 Mike McDonough D7 Audrey Nath D9 Myrna Guidry (unopposed) The Houston Chronicle reported that Harris County Democrats also endorsed all five "citing the “high stakes facing Houston’s schools in the wake of the state takeover.”" This election matters. We need strong voices speaking for our students.  The Librarians film showed on Sunday, October 12 to a sold out audience at the MFAH, sponsored by Houston’s Progressive Forum. From the film’s website, “Librarians emerge as first responders in the fight for democracy and our First Amendment Rights. As they well know, controlling the flow of ideas means control over communities.” Readers here and SNL followers may wonder why the film matters to us when HISD has not faced many challenges to specific titles. What we know is that "ELIMINATING SCHOOL LIBRARIANS IS A FORM OF BOOK BANNING." (Washington Library Assn tshirt) What we are experiencing is much worse than the slow drip of one title at a time, or even 100. Too many of our students in under-resourced neighborhoods are being denied access to ANY and ALL books, and any ideas not included in the NES scripted curriculum. Freedom to Read Week has just passed (October 5-11) but the fight for access to books and ideas continues all year. The film is showing at the River Oaks Theater October 17-23. Please show up in droves for an inspirational two hours. Opening (10/17) and closing (10/23) shows of the run include panel discussions with folks involved in making the film. How to help. SNL followers often ask us what actions they can take for our libraries. There is an ongoing need for speakers at HISD Board of Managers meetings, but there are other possibilities. Many of your neighbors remain unaware of the effects of the takeover, the loss of school libraries and everything else. Others don’t care because their own students aren’t directly affected. You can help change that. Keep talking to your neighbors and friends who are not yet outraged. This issue of Literary Activism is focused on censorship, but the same actions support rebuilding our HISD libraries.   Commission on the HISD Takeover There is a Commission to study the effects of the Takeover. Everyone is welcome to listen. Anyone is welcome to voice their experiences and observations. There is no recording allowed so that speakers feel safe. The group is chaired by Texas Senator Molly Cook and Texas Representative Lauren Ashley Simmons. The next meeting is Oct. 23 at Westbury United Methodist Church. Details on the website. There will also be a session for Spanish speakers. I have found both sessions so far to be powerful information for the members of the Commission, and for all of the audience. Check out the website: www.hisdtakeover.com  Relevant Graphic Novel Shaun Tan’s The Arrival, a wordless graphic novel for middle grades and older, is not new - it was originally published in 2006. There is a lovely 2025 paperback edition. Art Spiegelman, author of Maus, is quoted on the cover: “Tan’s lovingly laid out and masterfully rendered tale about the immigrant experience is a documentary magically told.” From the title page on, no words are included or needed. In these fraught times where everyone needs to remember kindness, perhaps this book will be a good resource.  
Welcome, SNL members. (Join our mailing list here.) Share with your friends so they can join as well. We promised you periodic information with suggestions of action you might take. Here you go. Reach out with questions or suggestions: [email protected] AND Notice our new LOGO above! Many thanks to Lauren Singer, formerly of Houston, for her help with the design.  FOHL Event for HISD Library Staff Friends of HISD Libraries has invited all current HISD library staff to gather on September 13th to meet each other, choose from hundreds of giveaway books, hear updates on HISD libraries from an outside perspective, enjoy light bites, and win door prizes. They’re hoping for a good turnout.  The SNL website is updated with current library numbers. Only 70 HISD libraries have assigned staff as of August 25 - that number changes often, so we can only offer a snapshot. Each SB District has a page with details for that district by campus name.  Texas Senate Bill 13 (SB 13) – Giving more rights? Or Removing Them…., AKA SB 13 for Non-Librarians SNL asked Suzanne Lyons, retired Library Services Director and long time campus librarian, to break down this controversial bill for you, our SNL followers. “SB13 was passed and signed by Governor Abbott on 6/20/25 and is effective as of 9/1/25. This legislation deals only with library materials, not instructional/textbook materials. So what does this mean to you? …” Read the blog by clicking on the linked title. IMAGE SOURCE: https://tfn.org/back-door-book-ban-sb-13/ (May 2, before implementation guidance was issued.)  Kalyn Gensic from Abilene has given us permission to share her post. I pulled it from FB so as not to also share all the comments ( and commenters’ names). As you can see, she posted it on August 31 at 4:58 am. We are sharing the post here to help our readers understand the many facets of SB13 impacts that will limit learning for K-12 students in Texas.  ACLU Fact Sheet: SB13 and SB412 These bills seek to make it harder for Texan students to access books and information that reflect their realities and prepare them for their futures.  The Freedom to Read Foundation offers this poster free, as well as 6 small downloadable posters for schools and libraries to better understand the impact of the First Amendment on our daily lives, especially in libraries. Request a poster at ftrf.org/firstamendment. Key court cases are explained on the back. SB13 (schools) and SB412 (public libraries) come dangerously close to infringing on everyone's First Amendment rights, especially our PK-12 youth.  Constitution Day Sept 17, 2025 Constitution Day commemorates the formation and signing of the U.S. Constitution by thirty-nine brave men on September 17, 1787, recognizing all who are born in the U.S. or by naturalization, have become citizens. Book recommendations: These books are already included in some HISD collections, and may also be available at Houston Public Library and Harris County Public:
 National Register to Vote Day Sept 16, 2025
BECAUSE (read next…)  School Board Elections are coming! Districts 1,5,6,7,9 SNL is sending information about the importance of school libraries to strong literacy and learning to every school board candidate as well as those seats that will not face election this year. There is an End the Takeover slate running to offer stronger voices against the Takeover than we have heard recently from the current HISD Electeds. (The remaining 4 districts will face election in 2027.) The slate is collaborating to help one another in all aspects of this important set of races. Please vote all the way down the ballot - and get out to blockwalks! Look at the SB Elections page on our website for maps of these five districts. SNL supports these candidates. District 1 - Felicity Pereyra (Unopposed) District 5 - Maria Benzon (Opposed by Robbie McDonough.) District 6 - Mike McDonough (Opposed by incumbent Kendall Baker, who supports the Takeover.) District 7 - Audrey Nath ()pposed by incumbent Bridget Wade who supports the Takeover.) District 9 - Myrna Guidry (Unopposed) Commission on the HISD Takeover If you are a parent, student or teacher who would like to speak at these hearings, or submit content privately, please sign up on the website. Comments will be welcome from anyone at every hearing, but the focus will be on Students or Teachers at the two announced thus far. They hope to offer a third hearing as well, so watch the website. They would love to hear how the lack of school libraries has impacted your students. Please share with anyone who may be interested.  As always, please share this newsletter with anyone who may be interested.
Welcome, SNL members. (Join our mailing list here.) Share with your friends so they can join as well. We promised you periodic information with suggestions of action you might take. Here you go. Reach out with questions/suggestions: [email protected]
Students Need Libraries supported Friends of HISD Libraries and Houston Association of School Librarians (HASL, the organization for HISD Library staff) to celebrate all HISD Library staff with a focus on the Library Program of the Year Finalists and Winner. All current librarians and media specialists in HISD schools were invited, as well as friends and elected officials. Library Program of the Year (LPOY) winner Roslene West of Cornelius Elementary brought a large group of colleagues, friends and family including Board of Managers member Rolando Martinez, whose son attends Cornelius. She received a plaque, a lovely engraved glass recognition. a small trophy that lights up, and a huge basket of goodies to celebrate her work. LPOY Finalists Kersten Hunt (Oak Forest ES), Gretchen Silva (Condit ES), and Barbie Miller (Barbara Bush ES) were recognized with clever trophies that light up and gift cards to recognize their achievement. All four winners are certified school librarians, further illustrating that librarian certification contributes to strong library programs.  Debbie Hall recognized winners of Elenora Alexander stipends to support professional growth:
IMAGE SOURCE: https://www.ebay.com/itm/277003892012  Mary Chance recognized this year’s retirees from HISD Libraries, including
 Kaitlyn Carpenter, a previous winner of LPOY, talked about the benefits of TLA membership. The conference will be in Houston next April, and we hope to see lots of HISD attendees and presentations. Representatives from HISD attended. City Council Mario Castillo sent a staffer with a commendation for FOHL. Our state representatives and senators are busy in Austin, but Chrisina Morales and Gene Wu sent staff. Elected HISD Trustee Placido Gomez came. City Council Mario Castillo sent a staffer with a commendation for FOHL.  LPOY Winner Roslene West is a certified school librarian at Cornelius Elementary who has led a strong library program for many years thanks to her passion for the whole library and every student. During her interview as part of the selection process, Roslene stated that, “The library is the heart of the school from which everything else flows.” Her portfolio told us that [she] “believe[s] a good library program is constantly changing to meet the needs of its patrons.” Part of building a strong library program that supports student learning is collaboration with teachers; Ms West keeps aware of what students are studying in the classroom and confers with teachers whenever possible to let them know library resources that might support classroom units. Roslene has focused on professional development in order to stay current to offer her students the best she can. This led her to the NCTE Black Caucus model for her African-American Read-In day that featured members of the community coming to read aloud to classes books by and about African American lives and culture. Readers included city council members and parents among others; some chose their own favorite books, and some asked Ms. West to select something new to inspire listeners. She also hosted a similar Hispanic Read-In day. Both efforts have been happening at Cornelius for about 10 years and will continue. She also holds a Student Legacy collection of books written by former students. These books were written in collaboration with Write Brain Books, and published in hardback to stay on the library shelves for future students to enjoy. The library Legacy collection remains popular, but does depend on funding that is no longer consistently available. Another way she inspires students to read widely is her Read Around the Library program which encourages them to explore new genres to expand their awareness of new books of interest. This year, Ms. West led the students in an infographic project. Students researched a person of interest and designed a digital poster to share what they learned. This engagement with technology relied on research skills to learn about their chosen subjects, and on online access to Canva and Adobe tools to show their knowledge to others.  Our LPOY Winner and the three Finalists are ALL Certified School Librarians. It turns out there is something to the certification process that shows in the work of a career!  LPOY Finalist Kersten Hunt is a certified school librarian at Oak Forest Elementary. When asked what she would like to tell the Board of Managers about school libraries, she replied that they need to be more aware of the data that supports fully staffed and fully funded libraries for all K-12 students. The data illustrates that students who grow through schools with effective library programs have stronger test scores and are more successful in higher education settings. The Oak Forest library has for several years featured a free-range library bunny who loved the students and being petted by them. He recently enjoyed a retirement party as he aged out of so much activity. Kersten recently genrefied the collection, which means that books are sorted by genre to help students find their favorites more quickly. It also facilitates participation in the Read Around the Library program which encourages students to read in 1-2 specific new genres each month, and turn their list in at the month’s end for recognition. Parents contact her often asking for recommendations to help their children have more variety in their reading material. This challenge was a group effort to meet the needs of the community, in a way the kids found fun and engaging. In her efforts to offer a technology component in support of library skills and the schoolwide focus on writing, she led some coding projects that involved 3D printing as well as Bee-Bots and Kubo robots; after the coding was completed, students wrote a creative story about their robot or product. Ms Hunt has definitely created the “comfortable, welcoming environment where all Oak Forest Elementary community members can enjoy literature, learn through reading, and engage with technology” that her library philosophy specifies.  LPOY Finalist Barbie Miller, certified school librarian at Barbara Bush Elementary, sees the library as essential to literacy and life-long learning. “Libraries provide readers with the freedom of choice, an immersion into other worlds, and a gateway to information.” Ms Miller leads Genre Book Clubs after school. Students choose their own title, meet weekly for 6 weeks to discuss their book with others reading the same genre, and finish with a project about their book. The 6 week duration allows more students to participate during the year - and the clubs are always full. This year would have been the school’s namesake Barbara Bush’s 100th birthday. The library challenged classes to read 100 books each as a fun way to celebrate the Literacy Champion. The library also celebrates Go Texan Day, the Book Character Parade, and themed reading challenges.  LPOY Finalist Gretchen Silva, certified school librarian at Condit Elementary, loves the outdoors. Her library is closely identified with the school garden, where the students often go. Ms Silva also loves chickens, and oversees the incubator every spring. There is a chicken coop near the garden, where students love to assist. Ms Silva chooses books that explain chickens and other parts of the world; read aloud time might happen in the garden where the observation is simultaneous to the story. Condit is also a Leader in Me school, which means there are jobs the students apply for: Garden Gnomes, Chicken Care, and many others. The Condit Library is a Learning Commons, and exists without walls at the center of the school. Students cross through the Library throughout the day, and stop for a minute to hear part of a story being read to a class or investigate if the chicks have hatched yet. The 3D printer is always of interest, too. The Library includes a Makerspace as well. The 3D printer is only one element of this STEAM focus; Bee-Bots, Kubo robots, legos and even art supplies are others. As you see, these four exemplary and certified HISD librarians demonstrate what a strong school library can be as well as why EVERY HISD student should have these same opportunities. SNL is glad there is again some leadership from HISD Central Office to support the libraries that do serve our students. We hope those numbers will expand as district leadership is reminded how much impact library access can have, especially for students who have no books of their own at home.
 
Welcome, SNL members. (Join our mailing list here.) Share with your friends so they can join as well. We promised you periodic information with suggestions of action you might take. Here you go. Reach out with questions/suggestions: [email protected] GOOD NEWS! Texas Letters About Literature 2025 – TWO HISD winners in the Grades 4-6 Level. Congratulations to Elinor of Pin Oak Middle School wrote about Wonder by R.J. Palacio to win second place; Finn of Hogg Middle School wrote about Dav Pilkey’s Dog Man series. Read their letters at the link to Texas Letters About Literature. Neither of those schools is NES. Both have library programs. Both students wrote about challenges that they and their families face. What an opportunity! It’s an opportunity that should be available to every HISD student – reading widely in order to be emotionally impacted by literature.  Also congratulations ***Kaitlyn Carpenter, librarian at Bellaire High School will graduate in May with a second MLIS, this one in Libraries Leadership and Transforming Communities from the University of Rhode Island. ***Congratulations go out to HISD librarians who are completing their MLS degrees this spring. Jennifer Moore, librarian at Travis Elementary, and Leslie Hokanson, at Parker Elementary have just passed their Texas school librarian certification exam and will graduate in May with an MLIS from UNT. ***And Friends of HISD Libraries has just funded awards of $250 to HISD media specialists who are in library school currently or who will attend the TLA conference in early April. This spring the recipients of the awards are Evelyn Mendez (Halpin ECC), Jennifer Moore (Travis ES), and Leslie Hokanson (Parker ES). FOHL likes to recognize professional development in all its forms.  HISD welcomes Erin Joshua to the Central Library Services Department Finally of HISD’s 270 campuses, 84 (77 K-12 plus 7 ECC campuses) librarians and media specialists working in open HISD libraries have someone to call in the Central office who can support them with information. SNL has met with Erin and her supervisor John Amenson and plans to continue to work with them whenever possible to rebuild or restore HISD libraries in any way we can. GOOD TO KNOW! Why does SNL keep focusing on campus libraries for HISD? This infographic is to help you remember all the reasons it remains important that our K-12 students learn to love reading. IMAGE SOURCE Information Privilege “5 premium online research tools all Philly students can use for free.” The Conversation 10 Feb 2025.  Information Privilege is another important consideration. In HISD, the most challenged students need access to diverse and trustworthy digital resources as much as the most privileged yet these less-advantaged students are the ones least able to get that access. This infographic illustrates what “information privilege” means. It is important at every K-12 age but is especially crucial as our high school students prepare for jobs and/or higher education. My friend Joyce Valenza, author of this article, may be working with the Philadelphia schools but these ideas apply equally here in Houston – except Philly has begun (as of January 2025) to rebuild its school library program across the district. HISD schools may have access to district-approved digital resources but many campuses don’t know how to access them or even why they matter because there is no one on campus to teach them how or why. SOR (Science of Reading) is NOT ENOUGH  Scarborough’s Reading Rope may date from 2001 but the ideas remain resonant today as indicated by the 2022 date on this article. SOR focuses pretty exclusively on phonological awareness, decoding, and sight recognition – which are important. But without background knowledge, vocabulary and reasoning skills, decoding is only minimally effective. All students need access to a wide range of reading opportunities all year long: class novels, library visits to self-select books, read-aloud sessions in the classroom and at home. “Scarborough’s Reading Rope.” Landmark Outreach 14 Oct 2022. ALL HANDS ON DECK! Every voice speaking out. All of you - our allies - must understand that with less support for education at all levels, Texas will need to step up and increase funding. These moves at the national levels affect public schools, school libraries, public libraries, state universities and colleges. The venture into vouchers is truly harmful as it takes funds from public schools. It is a double whammy. And with a governor hell-bent on vouchers with a legislature that has persistently minimized money for schools it’s really a TRIPLE whammy. IMAGE: https://slideplayer.com/slide/10792046/ (slide 12)  Raise Your Hand Texas is keeping up with important info about the fight for public education in Texas both funding and vouchers. Please write to your state legislators.  What Happens to K-12 if the federal Department of Education Shuts Down? (Newsweek 20 March 2025) You have probably already noted this but reminding you again how important it remains to speak up. Contact you state and federal elected representatives at every opportunity.
 And the nonprofit Every Library is offering info and links to fight FOR our libraries and against the defunding the Institute of Library and Museum Services (IMLS) and the Library Services and Technology Act (LSTA). School libraries are included in both these funding sources and have counted on this money since LSTA began in 1995. The .gov links are live now (3/23/25) but who knows when they may go down. :( Here is a link to the Wayback Machine Archive which saves a exact copy of the pages as of today: https://web.archive.org/web/20250321160345/https://www.imls.gov/ and https://web.archive.org/web/20250323205717/http://web.archive.org/screenshot/https://www.imls.gov/find-funding/funding-opportunities/grants-to-states/purpose-and-priorities-of-lsta  And always, Houston’s own Community Voices in Public Education. Keep abreast of the latest HISD developments. Welcome, SNL members. (Join our mailing list here.) Share with your friends so they can join as well. We promised you periodic information with suggestions of action you might take. Here you go. Reach out with questions/suggestions: [email protected] At the beginning of February, Friends of HISD Libraries (FOHL) and SNL hosted a Library Celebration for HISD library staff, featuring 1000+ new or like-new giveaway books, lunch, raffle prizes, and information-sharing. Libraries represented ranged from early childhood centers to high schools, and everyone went home with bags or boxes of books and new ideas gleaned from great conversations with colleagues. (We donated the leftover books to the Heights Neighborhood Library’s annual book sale.) We plan to host more such events for library staff; please keep an eye on your email inbox! 
Shearn Elementary Media Specialist LeAnne Raimond loves her job! That much is clear - read this interview. These photos show the friendly space she has created.
 Finders Keepers! Hogg Middle School Librarian Mary Chance offered her variation of a game called “Read It Forward.” In the original, a few students would get free books to take home and read, with the idea that they would share them with another student when they finished reading the book. Great – except the books somehow didn’t always go to the next student. So her variant is “Finders Keepers”. She wraps the same few free books in caution tape to hide around the campus with the instruction that the finder gets to keep the book. The kids are loving the treasure hunt and come running to report that they found this title or that. There are so many ways to get kids excited about reading! We just wish HISD would employ more of them.  How to Critically Read a Press Release from the Federal Government (Kelly Jensen in Book Riot, Feb. 6, 2025) Finally, in this overwhelming time of frequent Federal Executive Orders and Press Releases, here is a piece to help you see how to read and understand what they do and do not say. While the overload may currently be federal, the same tools apply to state and local information. First, remember the “5 Ws and 1 H”: Who, What, Where, When, Why, How.” But then there is TOADSRIG: Tone, Organization, Author’s message, Diction, Syntax, Rhetorical purpose, Imagery, Genre. I leave it to you to read the details – it is important to see through the ongoing flood of “government speak.” Book Riot is a great blog to follow.  Texas SB 13 On Thursday, Feb 27, the TX Senate K-16 Education Committee will hold a committee meeting and public hearing in Austin on a number of proposed senate bills, including Senate Bill 13, a censorship bill which would give “advisory councils” complete oversight over school library catalogs and selection, and expands the categories of books that can be banned (among other terrible things). The Texas Freedom to Read Project (TXFTRP) is coordinating a robust response. Please email your senators and the Senate Education Committee members. THIS VOLUNTEER FORM connects you to TXFTRP, a grassroots group fighting censorship in the schools - and offers links to every member of the Senate Education Committee. We all need to pay attention to this and more in hopes school libraries can still offer students robust access to information.  Students Need Read Alouds – HISD/NES Think Otherwise! These two articles from reputable education sources remind us all how much reading aloud matters. Yes, phonics and decoding skills are important but if our students don’t have broader knowledge on which to hang their budding comprehension skills, they will not do well beyond drill and kill test prep situations. HISD students across HISD but specifically in NES schools are being denied opportunities to access that broader knowledge by borrowing a variety of library books or reading a few class novels during a school year, joining a literature circle with a few classmates to discuss a novel of interest. Or hearing books read aloud, a way to expand student vocabulary. “What Nobody is Saying About the NAEP Reading Scores: They’re not just about phonics” (Natalie Wexler, Minding the Gap blog, Feb 2, 2025. “Jump Into Reading: An Initiative Supporting Children Learning to Read” by Katie Eckert and Lori Frumkin (Children and Libraries, the Journal of ALSC, Winter 2024) [This article is paywalled, but I am happy to share my personal access. Just request by emailing [email protected] .] Your ACTION ITEMS:
Write your legislators about SB 13 ASAP, and other bills as they arise during the session. Join the Texas Freedom to Read Project Mailing list. Understand Government Speak in press releases, etc. Read the articles on Reading Aloud Keep following Community Voices for Public Education Share this newsletter Welcome, SNL members. (Join our mailing list here.) Share with your friends so they can join as well. We promised you periodic information with suggestions of action you might take. Here you go. Reach out with questions/suggestions: [email protected] EDITORIAL: SNL continues to work to restore active, fully staffed and fully funded school libraries across HISD. Every student on every campus deserves access to the variety of reading opportunities a library provides, and so many of our students have no way to access public library resources. This issue focuses both on the RIGHTS students have to libraries, and the reasons they NEED that access. We also include at the end tips anyone can use to fight censorship.  Declaration for the Right to School Libraries - 2016, East Early College HS HISD has had a strong and vibrant library program in almost all schools across the district since the 1950's with support from strong library leaders. Under the TEA appointed superintendent, HISD libraries have lost their library leadership at the district level and experienced closed libraries in all of the NES campuses. The current administration is so focused on test scores that students across the district are not being encouraged (or even allowed!) to read entire books in libraries or in classrooms, or to become independent learners. Just 8 years ago - 2016, 3 years before the state takeover effort began, students at East Early College High School made THIS VIDEO: “We declare and affirm our right to quality school libraries.” The Declaration to which they refer is linked in its entirety in the title of this section. It spells out the power of school libraries to encourage lifelong learning and strong citizenship skills. HISD has forgotten what these students knew - SNL is working every day to remind them. Let’s all resolve in 2025 to stand with these students, and those still in HISD schools, to remind HISD how much school libraries matter. These kids are now beyond college age and working in our city or the wider world using the literacy skills their school library supported, but their cousins, neighbors and children are still in HISD trying to learn in difficult conditions.  Can school librarians make a difference in literacy rates? This Dec 26, 2024 headline in El Defensor Chieftain (Socorro NM) caught my eye. The first two paragraphs include these two sentences: “Last month, the New Mexico Public Education Department (PED) released its Vistas scores for the 2023-2024 academic year. The results showed that 39% of students in the state are proficient or above in reading, with the Magdalena and Socorro districts at 30% and 36%, respectively.” And “When I reviewed their [Magdalena] NM Vista scores, I wasn’t surprised to find that the school with a librarian had a 60% proficiency in reading and was the highest score in the district.” This data illustrates CORRELATION between a librarian and higher reading scores rather than proving that the librarian’s work caused the improvement. This correlation has remained consistent for thirty years - the SECOND Colorado study is dated 2000 (School Libraries Impact Studies), and many other states have replicated these results in the years since. Even Texas has supporting data from 2001 (Texas School Libraries: Standards, Resources, Services, and Students' Performance). SNL is dedicated to continuing to raise awareness of how much school libraries matter to student success and literacy skills.  Teens Choosing to Read: Fostering Social, Emotional, and Intellectual Growth Through Books I just discovered this review of a title by Gay Ivey and Peter Johnston offers data in support of sustained silent reading. “This accessible book offers an engaging account of a 4-year study of adolescents who went from reluctant to enthusiastic readers. These youth reported that reading not only helped them manage their stress, but also helped them negotiate happier, more meaningful lives. This amazing transformation occurred when their teachers simply allowed them to select their own books, invited them to read with no strings attached, and provided time for them to do so. These students, nearly all of whom reported a previously negative relationship with reading, began to read voraciously inside and outside of school; performed better on state tests; and transformed their personal, relational, emotional, and moral lives in the process.” Isn’t this what we want for our HISD students, and not just the high schoolers.  SEAT (Students Engaged in Advancing Texas) has just published a Student Bill of Rights. We offer it here so that more families and students will know it exists and use it when they can. Libraries are mentioned in #2 and #6. Please share this forward. Authors Against Book Bans offers this flyer which stresses many benefits that accrue to READERS. Those benefits don’t just come from banned books. They come from ALL books. HISD students NEED LIBRARIES to access a wide variety of books that support their personal interests.   56 Small Tasks to Be Proactive Against Book Censorship in 2025
A group of speakers attended the December HISD Board of Managers meeting to rant against several books they found in school library catalogs online. Listen to the recording of the meeting if you need details. This community has a responsibility to stand for the Freedom to Read. Students of all ages deserve the opportunity to read challenging ideas, and all parents retain the right to supervise which titles they read. As mentioned above in this newsletters, students are better prepared for the world and life challenges when they have read widely throughout their education and beyond. Book Riot offered this article (linked in the title) that includes a Google checklist including 56 small actions anyone can take to support student First Amendment Rights. Pick and choose what is right for you – but speak up. Book censors believe that students are harmed by reading a book that is "unsuitable". SNL believes that more harm comes from not being allowed to read, not being encouraged to explore how to follow your dreams, interests, and passions. Welcome, SNL members. (Join our mailing list here.) Share with your friends so they can join as well! We promised you periodic information with suggestions of action you might take. Here you go! Download this printable PDF version. Reach out with questions/suggestions: [email protected]
 Calling all parents! It's time to start advocating for next year's staffing of your child's school library. If you are at a non-NES campus, it is the principal who officially makes the decision to staff the library, subject to budgetary limitations. So start speaking to your principal NOW about this important decision. Even if your campus is NES, HISD leadership needs to know that parents want their libraries back! Remember the best staffing choice is a full-time certified librarian who not only checks books in and out to students, but also plans lessons, collaborates with faculty, and works with students on finding that "just right" book. Librarians also plan special events and programming that help develop lifelong readers. Enlist your fellow parents to advocate for this critically important position. The more voices your principal hears, and the earlier in the process he/she hears them, the more likely you are to be successful. Visit our website to find resources you can share with your principals and fellow parents. -Lisa Robinson  Contact your Elected (and Appointed) Gov't Officials Beyond speaking on your own campus, community voices for HISD must continue to speak out in every possible venue. We need to convince legislators to end the takeover. We must object to the many changes in HISD leadership and curriculum that go against successful established educational practices. With that in mind, we offer you this web reference to contact info for HISD Appointed Board of Managers; HISD Elected Board of Trustees; Texas House of Representatives, local and Comm. on Public Education; Texas Senate, local and Committee on Education; State Board of Education, local; TEA Conservators; and Press and Media contacts. Please join us in writing emails and letters and speaking out to end the state takeover and return libraries to all HISD campuses.  What do TEA Conservators do, anyway? With the news that the TEA Conservator for HISD Doris Delaney is retiring on Dec. 13 after over 8 years, first as conservator for Kashmere High School and, since the June 2022 state takeover, for all of HISD, we wonder what her job has been and who will come next; the new name will be announced in January. According to the TEA website, “Like a monitor, a conservator will provide support and coaching to staff, recommend improvement actions, and provide progress updates to the agency. The conservator has the additional authority to direct, approve, or disapprove an action of the board of trustees, superintendent, and/or campus principals. Conservators are expected to help implement and sustain improvements within two years of placement.” In addition to the conservator overseeing the takeover, we also have 2 Special Education conservators with the responsibility to oversee HISD’s efforts to improve its SPED services for students. All the conservators will be in place until HISD meets three exit criteria: compliance with state and federal special education laws, no campuses earning failing accountability ratings and improved school board governance. Seals and Shocklee produce monthly reports outlining HISD’s progress meeting the first criterion and other goals related to special education compliance, while Delaney’s reports focus on HISD’s progress in meeting its goals related to the remaining two criteria. In her Oct. 5 report, Delaney wrote that HISD and the school board were “on track” in meeting nearly all of their goals and progress measures, which include meeting focus for the visions and goals outlined in Lone Star Governance, a state-developed model for trustees to improve student outcomes.  Finding the JOY of Literacy during the Winter Holidays Researcher and author Dr. Brené Brown reminds us, “Joy, collected over time, fuels resilience.” Even as there is no joy in too many HISD classrooms, offer your own students the joys of literacy by including read aloud time. We offer a short list of seasonal books to share with your family.  video link: https://drive.google.com/file/d/12f05bVI0AkvLiMTODU5OJFaBRPVQhFnc/view?usp=sharing This WE LOVE OUR LIBRARIES video is a heartfelt thank you to the librarians and library services department that worked so hard in 2023-24 to support all HISD students. Thanks to Jessi Heiner for compiling the video for us. With the advent of NES under Mike Miles, Students Need Libraries continues to fight for the return of libraries for all those students. Libraries support literacy in all its forms. Limiting students to only test length passages only teaches them to possibly do well on STAAR tests. LIBRARIES help them to better understand their world in order to become the leaders of coming generations. Raise your voices with ours - we will succeed, but it will take time and persistence from every one of us.
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AuthorThis newsletter is primarily authored by Dorcas Hand, with support from others active in SNL. If you have an idea to share, please contact our email below. Dorcas is a retired school librarian who remains active in advocacy for HISD libraries and more. SNL supports increased access to school libraries across all HISD students and campuses. Archives
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