Check it out: School libraries add resources
Thousands of new volumes now fill once-depleted shelves at 3 facilities
The magic of books has returned to Jack Yates High School.
The school’s once-depleted library shelves are filled with novels, nonfiction, games and gadgets. Students gather to answer questions about books they’ve read as part of a campus quiz show they invented.
It’s enough to bring tears to the eyes of Houston school Trustee Jolanda Jones.
“Libraries are what kept me sane when I was little,” Jones said at the Yates media center rededication last week, her voice cracking with emotion. “I couldn’t afford to travel and I couldn’t go any place. And I just want for kids to appreciate books like I appreciate books.”
Thousands of new volumes and learning resources were unveiled Wednesday at three southside schools in some of Houston’s poorest neighborhoods, following an uproar from parents last fall about woefully inadequate library collections at Yates, as well as Attucks and Cullen middle schools.
The rededications are the beginning of an initiative to rebuild libraries across the Houston Independent School District that were closed or abandoned, many without librarians.
At Cullen, rows of the library’s dark wood shelves stood bare. Libraries at Attucks and Yates were left with few resources.
HISD officials now concede that efforts to cut costs and use “classroom librar-
ies” to increase literacy left many schools without proper resources.
“We made a mistake; we forgot some of our schools,” said Grenita Lathan, who was promoted to chief academic officer in September under new Superintendent Richard Carranza.
“We had many schools that did not have existing libraries or the libraries were shuttered due to budgetary reasons,” Lathan said, “so we’ve made an investment not only into these three schools … because we’re going to start looking at some of those other schools where the libraries are closed or they don’t have librarians.”
During the rededications last week at the three campuses in her district, Jones recounted the financial struggles of her childhood and how she spent hours as a young girl in the basement of Texas Southern University’s library while her mother was in college. The District IV trustee said she traveled to far-away lands through books.
Today’s students can now access tales of adventure and also expand their skills with science, technology, engineering and math — known as STEM — in library “maker spaces” with circuitry sets and other learning devices. The Yates media center now provides color and 3D printers.
But gaps remain. About 32 schools still do not have libraries, according to HISD. The district has 243 “functioning libraries,” and 80 schools have certified librarians. Retirees hired
At Cullen and Attucks, formerly retired certified librarians have been hired to work part-time.
“Principals and campus leaders make many difficult decisions on a daily basis and many factors are considered before making those decisions,” an HISD statement said. “Financial challenges have unfortunately entered into the equation requiring the difficult choice between classroom teachers and support staff.”
The smell of the Cullen library and the sharp edges of the books convey the newness of that collection. Volumes ranging from biographies to comics about black leaders in STEM were donated by the NAACP Houston Chapter and Follett School Solutions, an educational resources vendor.
Cullen Librarian Janice Shaw said she’d like more science and math books — and additional shelves for “growth.”
At Yates, Jones credited Carranza for responding to her outcry about barren school media center shelves.
“This district has not been equitable in how it gives out resources,” said Jones, who was elected in 2015. “It never occurred to me as a trustee to ask: ‘Do you have a library?’ — because everybody is supposed to have a library.” Reward program set
Both Jones and Lathan credit activist Gerry Monroe for pressing the district to make library upgrades.
“Strategically, we worked together to try and make sure that these libraries were outfitted in a manner that would be sufficient to educating our children,” said Monroe, who is executive director of the United Urban Alumni Association and a member of the One Houston, One Hood initiative. “No school should be without a school library. They also got a lot of new technology.”
Students can benefit in other ways, as well. Jones announced that she would reward the Yates student who reads the most books in the new collection with $500. Monroe and three other community leaders stepped up to match her commitment — collectively providing financial incentives to the five students who engage most extensively with their enhanced library. The trustee also offered monetary awards of $250 each to the top readers at Attucks and Cullen.
Yates senior Juan Tumax, one of several dozen students who attended the rededication on his campus, said he had been using the school’s online resources because there weren’t a lot of offerings in the library.
“Every time I would come in here, you could see almost empty book shelves,” the 17-year-old said. “Now that there’s more books, there’s a high probability that more people would want to come here.” ‘Looks filled with life’
Arianna Jenkins, 16, said her favorite books are in the Harry Potter series. She plans to read the entire fiction section.
“You could barely find any of the real books you wanted — like the really nice ones,” the junior said. “But now we have all of these and it’s just really overwhelming. The library used to look so empty — it used to look so barren — but now it looks filled with life.”
Velda Hunter, the certified librarian at Yates, said she’d like to have more print periodicals, though students have access to magazines and other similar materials online.
“When students pick up a book, they’re more likely to read in depth than they are when they read online,” said Janice Newsum, HISD’s manager of library services since December. “We support reading in all formats. We want to encourage students who struggle with reading to read print books so that we can work more deeply with their comprehension.”
Yates Principal Kenneth Davis emphasized the importance of having books “that you can actually touch and feel” in the age of digital resources.
“Whenyouhave apower outage … and you can’t get that iPhone or that iPad to work, the books still work,” he said. “Books aren’t part of our past — they’re actually part of our future.”