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‘It is not a detention center’: Inside HISD’s ‘Team Centers,’ which took over some libraries at NES campuses (https://www.click2houston.com/news/local/2023/11/11/it-is-not-a-detention-center-inside-hisds-team-centers-which-took-over-some-libaries-at-nes-campuses/, 10 Nov 2023)
Channel 2: Please do better with your coverage of this critically important issue. Our children are depending on you! This post embeds all of the comments already posted below the Channel 2 article, placing them in a broader context. Thank you to all those who said parts of what I was thinking. Students Need Libraries in HISD (http://www.studentsneedlibrariesinhisd.org/ ) would like to push back a bit on some statements in the Channel 2 article linked above in hopes of stronger reporting towards a broader public understanding of operations in the NES and NESA schools. The premise of embedding in a specific campus is often a useful one that potentially allows deeper reporting through developed relationships with personnel on the one campus. The flip side of those deepening relationships is that the campus is prepped to always have its best foot forward for Channel 2 visits. The station is offering Miles and his NES system free lipstick! With this challenge in mind, we hope Channel 2 will plan some visits to other NES, NESA, and even campuses supposedly being “left alone” in order to compare morale and other conditions. Certainly, it is possible that Fleming is a shining example of improvements as a result of Miles systems. However, every board meeting sees 70+ community people speaking out with a different message. Considering this outcry from students, parents and teachers at Board of Managers meetings, Channel 2 should want to dig a bit deeper to challenge the rosy picture the Nov 10 Fleming interviews offer. The article is accompanied by three videos. The long one at the top includes clips from the other two. One interview of the two posted within the article speaks with the 6th grade Learning Coach who is also making it possible for students to borrow library books. She talks about how much 6th and many 7th graders love their books; she even mentions that comic books are favorites. That’s great. But how many students - exactly? How many books - exactly? What mechanism for checkout? Honor system or paper system? In a district obsessed by data, it is interesting that the Fleming book circulation is not reflected in the Library Services district-wide data; according to that data, Fleming students have checked out ONLY two ebooks and NO print books this school year. This indicates that Ms. Timms is not using the district-wide automated circulation and catalog system - she may not even be aware one exists. Maybe the computer that would have managed that circulation was removed as part of the transition to a Team Center. It is most unfortunate that normal library procedures have been pushed aside in this new world of NES – that data could ultimately support insights into the success (or not) of NES efforts. Additionally, what about assistance and training for research skills and needs? There is so much more to a library than simply allowing a few students to take home an occasional couple of books. Certified school librarians are trained professionals with classroom teaching experience ready to help students locate the right book for their needs or interests of the day, and to repeat the process for new needs or interests tomorrow. We can guess that in the NES focus on decoding skills that students will not be given time to learn how to locate useful information to support even academic topics, much less areas of personal interest. Libraries support students to discover how to love learning. The NES system in its rigidity and focus on skills over content is likely to do the opposite. Let’s look at the happy faces in this article. The teachers interviewed cannot say anything negative. The media across Houston are carrying stories of the many reassignments of teachers and administrators happening for seemingly random reasons: HISD staff members who have spoken negatively have faced retribution. All teachers have personal lives with bills to pay. Notice that parents and students interviewed gave the school lower marks. They have nothing to lose by being critical. They can afford to be honest. Watch a Board meeting to see the anguish being felt at many levels. Because we are Students Need Libraries in HISD and have been active for several years with that focus, we will set to the side questions about the actual effectiveness of the Team Center concept. Not addressing it here does not mean we think it is fine. We understand that there are three kinds of students in the space, each with different needs: classroom disruptors, in school suspensions, and fast learners. Those Learning Coaches have a huge job in the Team Centers to teach various levels in subject areas that may not be their own expertise. “It is not a detention Center” offers window dressing to mask the devastating impact of this new regime on HISD's students, with the library system as today’s lens. 98 HISD schools now have no functioning libraries - that is 39% of 250 schools compared to only 5% without any library services in 2022-23. These schools have no library staff to support students seeking either books of personal interest or books that expand classroom topics; staff to help them find and use digital materials; staff to manage and track books and other resources. Books and/or shelving have been removed or rearranged from some campuses to open the full space to the many desks required to implement the NES Team Center concept. Out of the 16 NES and NES/A middle schools, with 9766 students, only 8 print books have been checked out so far this school year through the district-wide library circulation management system. Channel 2 and its viewing public would be well served by visits to other campuses – perhaps Furr HS, Fondren MS, Oates Elementary. Perhaps a rotation of visits across the NES spectrum of schools would expand Channel 2 and public understanding? In our opinion, Channel 2 should dig further into a broader spectrum of campuses to understand and broadcast the effects of the NES system. Please do better with your coverage of this critically important issue. Our children are depending on you!
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This letter went today to all candidates for open School Board seats, as well as to all sitting Board members and to the sitting Board of Managers. The candidates are: Savant Moore (unopposed, D2); Dani Hernandez (D3); Fe Bencosme (D3); Pat Allen (D4); Meg Seff (D4); Placido Gomez (unopposed, D8). Dear HISD School Board Candidates, Students Need Libraries in HISD is organized for the purpose of raising awareness among HISD leadership, parents, and community about the importance of strong school libraries. We want all students to be successful in life. Reading is an important factor in their success. We know that presently the district leadership has lost sight of that understanding by closing libraries in some schools, but we believe that the Board of Managers and the elected board can provide the needed correction to develop proficient readers district-wide, a correction that should include campus libraries district-wide. HISD has many fine library programs and top-notch library professionals across the district. Research tells us that schools staffed by certified school librarians are better able to raise literacy rates and standardized test scores. “…[T]he benefits associated with good library programs are strongest for the most vulnerable and at-risk learners, including students of color, low-income students, and students with disabilities.” (Lance, Keith Curry and Debra Kachel. “Why School Librarians Matter: What Years of Research Tell Us.” Phi Delta Kappan, 26 Mar 2018.) Additionally, “A 2022 study by Rutgers University found 1st-year college students who had prior high school research experience, especially those from schools with certified librarians, felt more confident in their academic research skills.” (Philadelphia students navigate school without access to school libraries. Pennsylvania Capital Star, 24 Oct 2023). SNL is led by Debbie Hall, a retired HISD librarian; Dorcas Hand, another retired school librarian from Houston but not HISD; and Lisa Robinson, a former HISD teacher turned library staffer and now retired. We represent a grass-roots organization of HISD school library supporters from across the district. Our membership includes active duty librarians, parents, community activists, retired librarians, and others who support school libraries. We have seen the impact that strong resources and programs organized by trained professionals can have on students hungry to learn, both in and beyond the classroom. We are working toward the goal that all students in all HISD schools will benefit from an active, engaging library program which will allow them access to resources they need to grow as readers and learners. Our SNL website is packed with information for you as Board candidates and members, as well as for all advocates for and stakeholders in HISD school libraries. Today, we offer you current and retrospective data about library staffing in your Board district. We know how hard you will work for students in our district, and want to help you have accurate information about ways to help them even more. Thank you for all you hope to do as an HISD Board Trustee. The graph below offers you an overview of current staffing compared to last year and to 2019. We note that in 2022, library staffing and libraries were reactivated in most campuses that had been without. Most of the 2022 staffing were certified librarians or teachers. This year, under Mike Miles, most of that progress has been lost - especially in low-income neighborhoods of color, areas where students are least likely to have ready access to a convenient public library or other book sources, areas likely to be considered “book deserts.” Given that raising literacy skills and scores is a top priority of the district, this loss of access to a variety of age-appropriate books to support student interests and academic needs is heartbreaking and counterproductive. We also remain concerned about the $1.4 million in ESSER funds invested in these reactivated library programs, funds that are now unaccounted for on too many campuses.  The numeric data that supports this graph can be found by scrolling down on the Houston Independent School District School Board page. If you are interested in the details for each elected Board district, please click on the appropriate district on that same page. You may also want to “Choose Your Own Adventure - you can Discover 10 Ways Effective School Librarians Support HISD Students.” Read one or several, in any order. Short reads, every one.
We look forward to meeting you, to answering any further questions you may have, and to building a relationship that will serve the students of HISD well after you join the elected Board in January to support the Board of Managers in deeper understandings of the role libraries could play in improving student STAAR scores. We welcome you to advocate with us whether you are elected or not. Respectfully, Dorcas Hand Debbie Hall |