Libraries at 28 campuses to be converted into grim 'team centres'

27 July 2023 , 22:14

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The decision to remove librarian positions has sparked controversy and concern among educators and community members, who believe it may negatively impact students' reading performance (Image: Getty Images)

Libraries at 28 schools are set to lose their librarians and be converted into grim "team centres" for students with behavioural issues.

The move, which is part of Superintendent Mike Miles' reform program, the New Education System (NES) has sparked controversy and concern among educators and community members.

The Houston Independent School District (HISD's plan is to convert the library spaces into "Team centres," intended for students to work individually or in groups during the school day.

Students with behavioral issues will be placed in the Team centres and will have the opportunity to join their classes virtually, Click2Houston reported.

Houston Independent School District (HISD) is implementing a reform program called the New Education System (NES) (Getty Images/iStockphoto)

Retired Teacher Lisa Robinson said: "It was such a joy to help them find the perfect book. My heart is just broken for these children that are in the NES schools that are losing their librarians."

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Under the NES program, a total of 85 schools have joined, and of those, 28 campuses will be affected by the elimination of librarian positions.

The district has stated that the librarians at these schools will have the opportunity to "transition to other roles" within the district.

Janice Newsum, a former HISD Librarian and Manager of Library Services, said that eliminating librarian positions could have a negative impact on students' reading performance.

She said: "When students engage in reading as an activity of choice, they are not only building that reading muscle, but they are also developing their vocabulary they are understanding a bit about the world that exists outside their block radius.

“Our less fortunate students are the ones that suffer the most; primarily because many of them live in situations that are reading desserts. They don’t have access to the reading materials. They don’t have a choice in the reading materials that they are given to read,”

Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner has spoken out against the move, deeming it unacceptable to close libraries in underserved communities while keeping them open in other schools. He said: "You don’t close libraries in some of the schools in your most underserved communities, and you’re keeping libraries open in other schools."

Lucy Williamson