Houston Independent School District Turns Libraries Into Discipline Centers, Gets Rid Of Librarians At 28 Campuses

The attack on books continues, and the latest victim: Houston school libraries.

In a bizarre move for a district trying to “improve student reading levels, which lag behind state and national averages,” Houston Independent School District (HISD) is eliminating “dedicated librarians at 28 underperforming schools,” a decision that will go into effect this fall.

And this is only part of the news– the libraries in these schools are being converted into disciplinary spaces. These so-called “team centers” are “where kids with behavioral issues will be sent.” HISD is also evaluating 57 additional schools that had opted into New Education System (NES), and those “will be assessed on a case-by-case basis.”

A statement released by HISD read in part, “We understand the significance of certain programs associated with libraries and will strive to maintain those valuable offerings.”

Students who will be attending the NES schools in just a few short weeks will be returning to a place that no longer has libraries or librarians. This is a stark departure from last year, where “88 percent of campuses had a certified librarian or teacher working in the library, up from 48 percent the prior school year,” the Houston Chronicle reports.

Chair of the Texas Association of School Librarians and middle school librarian Brooke King said, “It’s disappointing to say the least that this is the plan that’s going forward, especially since HISD had been making lots of progress over the last few years,” continuing with, “It’s sad to see that being undone.”

Under this new regime of Superintendent Mike Miles, books will still be on the shelves, but students will now have to adhere to an honor system if they want to take a book home “or access them during before and after school hours.”  

Miles said, “Right now, we are going to try to raise achievement, we’re going to try to have high-quality instruction, so the focus is on those teachers who can do that…If you have to prioritize resources, then you want to get a teacher who can deliver the science of reading versus a librarian.”

Library advocates disagree with that notion, arguing instead that librarians “help build on the reading skills learned in the classroom…by offering reading programs and competitions, helping kids choose books that match their interests and reading levels, and cultivating a love for reading.”

Former HISD librarian Sherrie Curry was crushed when she heard the news. “When you start taking away access to the library, you’re taking away access to information,” Curry said. “At the end of the day, it’s just going to make the kids feel like reading is less important.”

Suzanne Lyons, a former HISD library specialist echoed Curry’s concerns, stating “Those are the schools that need it the most,” continuing “why would you decrease access to books and to reading materials when your focus is reading?”

According to Lyons, “reading scores in schools that had certified professional librarians have historically been higher than reading scores in other schools.” While Lyons doesn’t believe this is solely due to having a librarian, she does “think that the library, and the library program, is what makes a difference and that’s what makes kids excited about reading.”