[CALIBK12] California: Low reading scores, few school librarians

[Stephen Krashen]

California: Low reading scores, few school librarians
Sent to the Los Angeles Times, December 24, 2007


The Times’ story about how Spokane parents are working
to prevent school librarians from being cut is very
relevant to California (“In parents’ book, librarian
cuts go too far,” December 23).

Studies done by Keith Lance of the Department of
Education in Colorado show that students in schools
with a credentialed librarian do better on tests of
reading.  This makes sense:  The presence of a
credentialed librarian means better collections,
better use of the library to support instruction, and
more pleasure reading, all of which translate into
superior literacy.

According to the California Department of Education,
the national average is about one school librarian for
every 900 students; California is dead last among all
states with one school librarian for every 5000
students.

This must be one of the reasons California continues
to have among the lowest reading scores in the nation.

Stephen Krashen






In parents' book, librarian cuts go too far
Families in Spokane launch what has grown into a
statewide effort to protect schools' guardians of the
shelves.
By Stuart Glascock, Los Angeles Times Staff Writer
December 23, 2007

SEATTLE -- As has happened in other states,
cash-strapped schools in Washington are dropping
librarians to save money: This year, Federal Way cut
20 librarian positions. Spokane reduced 10 librarians
to half-time. Darrington cut two librarians. A school
in Marysville eliminated its half-time librarian.

Libraries are open less, their programs minimized,
jobs combined. In many cases, part- timers with little
formal library training are replacing skilled
veterans. In rural Pomeroy, a school now employs a
combination custodian-librarian: She opens the library
after cleaning the locker rooms.

One school's parents said: Enough is enough.

Convinced that children and education suffers when
librarians disappear, a loose-knit band of Spokane
families launched what has become a statewide campaign
to bring school librarians back from the brink.

The parents blasted e-mails about an online petition
to everyone they knew. They posted fliers at coffee
shops, bookstores and public libraries. They began an
e-mail newsletter and advertised the campaign on
social networking websites. They gave presentations to
education professionals and camped out at school board
meetings.

As their expenses grew, they sold T-shirts to raise
money to fund trips to the state capital in Olympia,
where they've become fixtures at hearings on school
finances.

This month, they hand-delivered 2,500 signatures to a
state government committee examining Washington's
arcane school-funding system. "We did it to find out
if anybody cared," said Layera Brunkan, who started
the petition drive with Susan McBurney. Their
children's elementary school was affected by the cuts.

"We realized that the school libraries are
hemorrhaging, and it was far worse than we ever
imagined," said Layera Brunkan.

State legislators, accustomed to professional
lobbyists and official representatives of public
education's many special interest groups, embraced the
parents-turned-activists.

GOP state Rep. Skip Priest was buttonholed by the
Spokane parents. He sits on the Basic Education
Finance Joint Task Force, which will recommend
education funding changes to the Legislature next
year.

The district Priest represents, Federal Way, axed 20
school librarians this year.

"Librarians embody what is important for education,"
Priest said. "Lisa is reminding us all how important
it is to fund K-12 adequately at the state level."

The Spokane parents "gave people around the state an
opportunity to say, 'Yes, this is important,' " Priest
said. "That is special -- not unique, but it's
unusual, because here's a couple of concerned parents
who are doing more than writing or e-mailing. They're
expressing views clearly and forcefully and providing
a website so that others who agree can express their
views as well."

Nationally, statistics on school library staffing are
elusive, said Nicolle Steffen, director of Library
Research Service, a Denver-based agency that collects
research about libraries. However, she said
unequivocally that schools across the country struggle
with library funding.

In Colorado, educators are trying to demonstrate a
connection between student achievement and librarians
in schools. One achievement test score there notes
whether the school has a librarian, Steffen said.

"It seems pretty clear to us that librarians matter,"
she said. "Having a library with somebody in it is
important. When you have a trained librarian who works
with teachers, that's when you make a huge
difference."

The National Commission on Libraries and Information
Science urged Congress this year to support certified
school librarians under the No Child Left Behind Act.
School library media programs and student achievement
are critically linked, the commission said.

The number of school library media specialists varies
widely from state to state and district to district,
said Julie A. Walker, executive director of American
Assn. of School Librarians. School library funding
tends to track overall education funding, she said.
South Carolina and Arkansas have the highest
percentage of librarians in schools, nearly one per
school, because of statewide legislative mandates, and
California has the lowest because of the lingering
impact of Proposition 13, Walker said.

Despite budget pressures, some schools have maintained
and expanded their libraries.

At Auburn Riverside High School in a growing suburb
about 25 miles south of Seattle, Lisa Gallinatti
manages a collection of 21,000 books and runs a
computer lab with about 50 workstations.

She teaches students about the research process,
helping students determine the best sources of
information. She teaches students the difference
between a search engine and a database.

("When you search the Web, you don't always find
quality," she said. "Databases are more accurate."
Internet searches church out results based on
popularity or paid placement.)

Each day hundreds of students use the library;
teachers collaborate with her and her two assistants.

Educators call it a shining example of a school
library that works.

But Gallinatti knows that hers is an endangered
species.

"It's disheartening. Every school year, there's a new
school district that is making cuts," Gallinatti said.

To stem the loss, the parent group in Spokane hopes to
change the way schools value and pay for librarians.
In general, the group wants the education code to
designate school librarians an essential part of every
child's basic education. Local school districts, then,
would have fewer options when it came to making cuts.

Studies across 19 states tie healthy school libraries
to student performance, said Marianne Hunter, past
president of the Washington Library Assn. She credits
the "fired-up" parents for the issue's traction in the
state.

Layera Brunkan and McBurney, who started the petition
drive, both say they feel passionately about the
issue. They are active on behalf of their children --
each has two -- and as role models for them.

But more pressingly, they believe it is a unique time
to stand for a worthwhile cause -- to get school
librarians off the endangered list.