Things are hopping in Chicago. The Chicago Teachers Union is voting whether to strike. Protesters demand Rahm’s resignation for withholding the damning video of Laquan McDonald’s shooting. But the budget cuts keep coming. Why do the children who have the least get the least?
NEWS RELEASE
IMMEDIATE RELEASE CONTACT: Stephanie Gadlin
December 11, 2015 312-329-6250
Mayor’s Hand-Picked Board of Education Shutters Bronzeville’s only functioning neighborhood high school library
CHICAGO – This week, the librarian at Daniel Hale Williams (DHW) School, housed at the DuSable High School campus along with Bronzeville Scholastic Academy and the DuSable Leadership Academy, was notified that her position has closed. With the closure of the library on that campus, a resource that has been in continuous existence since the founding of this historic school, the mayor’s hand-picked Board of Education has shut down the only functioning library staffed with a fully-certified librarian in a Bronzeville neighborhood high school. The Chicago Teachers Union is outraged by this action.
“While it is not surprising that yet again, the burden of ‘broke on purpose’ budget cuts has fallen on the most segregated schools, this new disparity is alarming. CPS must restore these library programs,” said CTU Vice President Jesse Sharkey.
Over the last several years, the Chicago Public School’s dismantling of critical library programs has impacted every corner of the city, but has also led to a startling disparity where now only 7 percent (2 out of 28) of high schools with a student population over 90 percent African American has a library program staffed by a certified librarian. Across the 46 high schools with a majority African American student population, just 15 percent have librarians. In comparison, the dismal rate of librarian access across all CPS high schools is 32 percent. Such a deep disparity did not exist several years ago. In the 2012-2103 school year, 61 percent of high schools with a majority of African American students had a certified librarian on staff, compared to 69 percent across all district high schools.
The district’s refusal to stabilize their budgets with progressive revenue has led to annual cuts that have decimated our library programs, leading to librarian layoffs, librarians moving to other school districts, books of rooms without librarian staff, and in some cases, certified-librarians that have been shifted to teaching only the core English classes.
“We encourage parents, students and community members to demand that the Board restores the librarian at DHW so they can have a fully functioning library in their school,” Sharkey said. “This layoff is a taste of what is yet to come from a school district that closes schools, threatens to terminate 5,000 teachers and refuses to partner with the community to find real solutions to their budget problems.”
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The Chicago Teachers Union represents nearly 27,000 teachers and educational support personnel working in the Chicago Public Schools, and by extension, the more than 400,000 students and families they serve. The CTU is an affiliate of the American Federation of Teachers and the Illinois Federation of Teachers and is the third largest teachers local in the United States and the largest local union in Illinois. For more information please visit CTU’s website at http://www.ctunet.com.
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Diane Ravitch's blog 
Crocodile tears from the mayor on getting held accountable for his abject failure to act on police brutality before a young man paid with his life, and in the next breath he turns around and stabs the black community in the back by taking away the only fully functioning library available to their kids. Meanwhile, $55 million in TIF funds later, because NO WAY would she deign to use her own money, the already obscenely wealthy Penny Pritzker has yet another hotel going up funded in part by the taxpayers, while CPS is most assuredly broke on purpose. Add the DePaul arena and other TIF give away’s to that and the mayors sudden interest in the lives of ordinary Chicagoan’s is laid bare for what it is, cheap propaganda of the bread and circuses variety.
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Let’s remember too that during the Dyett hunger strike, Emanuel held a ribbon cutting at the opening of a $19 million addition to a school in the middle class neighborhood of Lincoln Park. He’s one nasty piece of work.
http://www.dnainfo.com/chicago/20150910/lincoln-park/tears-shouting-erupt-as-dyett-supporters-crash-lincoln-annex-opening
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A Pennsylvania study concluded the following about full time certified school librarians:
“For several student groups that tend to experience achievement gaps—economically disadvantaged, Hispanic, Black, and those with IEPs (Individualized Education Programs)—Reading and Writing results are markedly better when those students attend a school with a librarian and library support staff, according to the research. In fact, they benefit more proportionally than the general student population.”
“Nearly twice as many high school students who have access to a full-time, certified librarian scored Advanced on the PSSA Writing test as those students without access to a full-time, certified librarian, according to the report.”
http://www.slj.com/2012/10/research/slj-summit-2012-full-time-school-librarians-boost-student-test-scores-in-reading-writing-says-pa-report/#_
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I have an idea that most people have no idea what librarians do, including the CBOE.
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I have an idea that you’re right.
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They think we sit around all day eating Bon Bons and reading magazines.
Ellen T Klock
MLS in Library Science
School Librarian for thirty one years
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People really do not know what we do. On the elementary level we teach regular weekly classes (for me well over 20) along with all handling all of the administrative library duties. I work ten to twelve hour days frequently and while I’ve been known to scarf down a bonbon, there are no more magazines in my library due to budget cuts.
“They think we sit around all day eating Bon Bons and reading magazines.”
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Funny that they should do this after Obama made into law that there should be more funding for school libraries and librarians!
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ESSA does NOT say there should be more funding for school libraries & librarians! ALA & AASL claimed this new law was a big victory for school libraries but a dedicated member of the BATs School Librarians & Friends went over the new law and only found a half dozen references to school libraries & librarians (primarily in a long list of specialists who could be involved with literacy instruction) and no specific dedicated funding.
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Ironically, the American Library Association (founded in 1886) has its headquarters in Chicago. In addition, the University of Chicago is noted for its Library Science program (yes, librarians are professionals who need a masters degree in their field and some even go on to get their PhDs.)
I always wonder why officials lament that students’ reading levels are lacking and then justify closing libraries (both school and public) so that these same children don’t have access to a decent selection of books or a professional who can guide them in their choices.
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The U of C’s GLS was closed and phased out in 1989, regrettably.
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I’m sorry to hear that. I considered going there for graduate school, but my boyfriend was attending UB so I stayed in Buffalo. We got married after graduation and are still here, although my brother lives there and U have visited many times.
There aren’t too many library programs, so Chicago’s is a true loss. Of course, if they keep closing libraries they won’t need too many librarians, will they? It will be like with teachers – fly by training on the road to another career after a brief stint in a public school.
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“I always wonder why officials lament that students’ reading levels are lacking and then justify closing libraries (both school and public) so that these same children don’t have access to a decent selection of books or a professional who can guide them in their choices.”
Same comment a librarian friend of mine who can’t find a job as a school librarian made.
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I am the librarian in question. My students staged a “read in” to protest the loss of their librarian and library (cut after next week). The CTU’s facts are correct and I am the last librarian in a historic African American school in CPS.
http://www.dnainfo.com/chicago/20151211/bronzeville/hundreds-of-dusable-hs-students-stage-sit-in-protest-library-closure
There is a petition at the end of this article – also the “read in” was witnessed and reported by the Chicago Sun Times.
http://chicago.suntimes.com/news-chicago/7/71/1174223/students-launch-read-dusable-high-protest-losing-librarian
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Good luck to you. The CBOE’s actions are incredibly shortsighted. You are so much more than “just a librarian” as indicated by your students and the other responsibilities you shoulder. It is is sad that they don’t see the value of “just librarians.” We are all reduced to job titles and data points.
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I signed the petition. You must be so proud of your students! I wish more young people and parents stood up for librarians and other educators who are being cut for “financial reasons.” I hope it helps but I’m not too optimistic. My own experience has taught me that while they may keep the library open (through volunteers and low paid assistants) most administrators see no value in staffing it with a school librarian. I’m so sorry – for you and your students.
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This is a class war on everyone not in the 1% and entirely predictable when Reagan convinced the middle class that they should join the war on the poor.
The rich have an inflated view of their self worth brought on a by a childhood of attention to their self concept. Are there any among the self -styled makers and creators who are self-made?
The former middle class congratulated themselves on their own ndustriousness, godliness, and frugality. But were ignorant of history, economics, and politics. Now their declining numbers are the payback for their optimism about financial advancement and identification with the richest among us.
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There has been a school librarian genocide in our country and no one has noticed or cared. In Indiana school librarians are being quietly replaced by low paid “paraprofessionals.” I was a school librarian for 23 years in a wealthy WHITE suburb of Indianapolis when I first lost my job 6 years ago. This school district cut back to one certified librarian for the entire district and staffed the rest of it’s schools with assistants. I recently saw an ad for a “Media Center Director” for one of it’s elementary schools. While the ad requested applicants with degrees in education or library sciences the job only paid $12 and hour. The sad thing is, here in Indiana there are school librarians who are probably desperate enough to apply!
I currently work in another wealthy WHITE suburb where I teach Research/Keyboarding classes 5 periods a day and run the middle school library the remaining 2 periods. I do have an assistant but she is frequently pulled to cover classes when we run out of substitutes. She has an MLS, but was forced to take this job for $12 per hour because she can’t find a school librarian position in Central Indiana. Our elementary school libraries are each run by one paraprofessional with no paid assistant. This paraprofessional does everything a certified school librarian is suppose to do, including teaching information literacy and developing a quality library collection and program for about $12-$14 bucks an hour.
Rich or poor, black or white – it all boils down to $$$
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$$$ and having no value for the PROFESSION
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Ah yes, I remember back in my paraprofessional days how they got around the fact that paraprofessionals were not supposed to teach classes. They added these cute little words,”under the supervision of a certified teacher.” Well, I was certified but not a teacher. I taught remedial math “under the supervision of a certified teacher.” For awhile I gave her my lesson plans. She was taking a course and asked if we minded giving her our plans for her class. Otherwise, she asked me what grades the kids should get. Of course, we had no job protection and were not members of the union. I have noticed that since the tech people have gained such a foothold that school districts seem to be looking for media specialists rather than librarians.
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Media Specialist (really School Library Media Specialist) is the same as School Librarian (the new preferred term).
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My first job after I received my certification as a School Library Media Specialist was as a Library Assistant at a Junior High under the surveillance of the High School Librarian (who I never met). I only stayed a year because I wanted a professional position, not a job as a para professional.
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Wait a minute, flos. You were a School Library Media Specialist under a School Librarian? So are the two jobs the same or different?
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While School Library Media Specialist and School Librariwn are the same thing, I was hired as a Library Aide so the district could save money, even though I was the acting School Library Media Specialist. They got around the requirement by putting my position as under the SLMS at the high school even though we had no interaction whatsoever.
It was a way to get experience and my foot in the door, but in retrospect it was not a wise decision as it degraded both myself and the profession (but I was only 22 and didn’t know any better).
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I know a lot of teachers who began as parapros when they couldn’t find jobs straight out of school. It is a reality in many professions these days. You didn’t demean the profession by taking the job. Because teachers recognize that they always have more to learn it can be hard to sell yourself with confidence and not apologize for jobs you took in the past. You got in a library and got to play around with it. That is a fantastic learning experience even if you were never recognized for it. You ran a library. This situation is where we could all use a little entrepreneurial “hutzpah.” Teachers need to learn how to sell themselves. (If you think you hear a little self reflection, you are right!)
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While School Library Media Specialist and School Librarian are the same thing, I was hired as a Library Aide so the district could save money, even though I was the acting School Library Media Specialist. They got around the requirement by putting my position as under the SLMS at the high school even though we had no interaction whatsoever.
It was a way to get experience and my foot in the door, but in retrospect it was not a wise decision as it degraded both myself and the profession (but I was only 22 and didn’t know any better).
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Okay, you threw me because you called your high school supervisor a librarian. Everybody going into getting a degree in library science who wants to be a school librarian is now a school library media specialist. We still have librarians at my public library. With the advance of technology, I suppose the feeling was that the terminology did not reflect the reality. I’m not sure why since libraries have always tried to include current sources of media whether it be audio tapes or mp3 players. It is interesting that with all the more advanced iterations, books are still a constant. I know some are declaring the end of print media, but I have never had to buy a new copy of a book because my media player could no longer “read” it. I hope they are wrong. While I spend far too much time on my computer, I can interact with books in ways that computers do not provide. The experience is much different. While I appreciate that librarians are keeping up with the latest trends in their profession, I see no good reason for a new job title. Can you tell I’m old?
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As the daughter of a librarian, I was raised on the virtues of libraries. My former school closed its library this year. It had a decent collection in a pleasant room. A lot of children no longer know what a library is.
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