Librarians staffed below state recommended levels in some south suburban schools

As districts make staffing decisions for the upcoming school year, advocates are bringing attention to declining numbers of school librarians in districts including Orland Park 135 and Homer 33C, despite these professionals’ roles in fostering literacy and technology skills.

The Illinois State Board of Education recommends a ratio of one certified librarian for every 450 students at elementary and middle schools and one librarian aide per 300 students. However, the Association of Illinois School Library Educators says some south suburban schools are failing to comply with these guidelines, costing students important learning opportunities.

“I think there are whole swaths of the state, especially in rural areas, where it’s just completely library deserts … There’s the haves and the have nots,” said association President Janine Asmus, the librarian at West Leyden High School in Northlake

State recommendations for school library staffing levels are not enforceable mandates because schools do not receive state funding for hiring and retaining librarians. But a downward trend of school library staffing is evident nationwide, with the total number of positions decreasing 20% between 1999 and 2016, according to the School Library Journal.

“It’s unfortunate that school librarians have to advocate for themselves because the math teacher isn’t doing that or the science teacher, but yet I have to do that,” Asmus said.

Last month, the association sent letters to district superintendents around the state that were reported to employ fewer than one full-time certified librarian per school, including Orland Park Elementary 135 and Homer Elementary 33C, to encourage full staffing. They stated school librarians help students attain stronger reading comprehension, overall standardized test scores and media literacy.

Homer 33C, a district of six elementary and middle schools and about 3,500 students, employs only one certified librarian. Orland Park 135, a district of 10 elementary and middle schools and about 5,000 students, has eight.

At Orland, the issue recently came to a head when parents caught wind of a plan to further stretch library resources by extending media center class time from 30 to 45 minutes per week for kindergarten through second grade students to match the time provided at other district elementary schools. A group of parents even started a petition to speak out against the change, receiving more than 500 electronic signatures ahead of June 10 School Board meeting.

The Orland board said the proposed schedule change would leave librarians with an average of two to four hours each week to provide services outside of class time. Kristin Hawksworth, a Century Junior High School library volunteer and parent, said these tasks often include shelving books, planning special events, helping teachers with class projects and preparing for lessons, which require more time and energy than the time allotted.

“When you treat librarians as if their singular responsibility is that of specialist teacher, you will cause our libraries and library services to to deteriorate,” Hawksworth told to the board.

“If we are deciding that we no longer want the schools to have healthy, dynamic libraries and for the librarians to be only teachers, then we need to say that part out loud,” she said. “But if we want all our buildings to support reading and literacy … then we need to fully support staff that with at least one full time librarian in each school.”

After hearing similar messages from other school community members and advocates, board members moved to hire another librarian  this summer. Association Advocacy Director Gail Meyer, who attended the meeting and works as a librarian at Thornton Fractional South High School in Lansing, said she appreciates the decision to add another librarian but believes two schools will still suffer due to having to share services.

“So I am curious now which schools get shortchanged, and what the demographics and average economic income is on those schools,” Meyer said.

Federal data indicates districts serving students of color are typically the hardest hit by school librarian shortages. A 2018 Education Week report said districts that had not eliminated a librarian position over 13 years were 75% white, while the 20 districts that lost the most librarians had on average 78% students of color.

District 135 Board President Linda Peckham-Dodge mentioned school staffing inequities during discussion over whether to add one or two more librarians, calling the state’s unfunded recommendations unfair.

“We are lucky where we are that we can do some of this — there are school districts that can’t, and I feel for them, I really do,” Peckham-Dodge said.

Nine miles west, Homer District 33C has a single certified librarian with five library assistants, which they call media center professionals.

“We’ve had the media center professionals for probably two decades, that’s just how we’ve always staffed our libraries, and they’re very dedicated,” Superintendent Craig Schoppe said. “I don’t disagree that … they’re not providing the same level of education as a certified librarian. I certainly understand the value of going to school for that and everything, but these are wonderful employees that have been doing that, some of them for many years.”

The state guidelines say that out of the 10 areas of expertise provided by certified librarians, who have to get their state teacher certification along with a special Librarian Information Specialist endorsement, some librarian assistants could manage collection development and management.

“Well, it is a recommendation; it’s not a mandate,” Schoppe said. This year, the district is also cutting the number of elementary school 20-minute library classes to add art classes to the curriculum.

Other south suburban schools failing to meet state guidelines include Huntley Elementary District 158 and Frankfort Elementary District 157C, which each lack a single certified librarian for their two schools, according to the association. Reaching Across Illinois Library System also offers an online dashboard showing the number of certified librarians at reported schools.

ostevens@chicagotribune.com