Parents of students at Lansing schools raised concerns at the district’s school board meeting Thursday about a proposal to remove some of the district’s librarians. School officials are planning to reduce the number of full-time certified librarians for K-through-8 schools from four to two and add 34 school aides 'to support literacy instruction and library usage.'
“By keeping two certified librarians to oversee the K-through-8 collection they will also be able to provide thorough professional development to the 34 instructional assistants we are asking for,” said Sarah Odneal, the district’s Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Director.
For the 2023-2024 school year, the Lansing School District employed four full-time certified librarians to support students at K-through-8 schools and three certified librarians for high schoolers, one for each school. This upcoming school year, the district plans to have two certified librarians for K-through-8 schools and keep the same number of certified librarians at the high schools.
“This past year, students had access to library for only one semester, and they went to the library one to two times per week, the other semester, our libraries remained in the dark,” said Odneal.
The district’s proposal would make all aides full-time roles and place two assistants for every k-through-eight school in order to increase literacy rates and expand access to library services for all students and for parents. According to a 2021-2022 school year annual report from the Lansing School District, 58% of enrolled students are not reading at appropriate reading level.
“This new model, students would access the library before and after school or during lunch additionally it opens up opportunity to invite our parents and community in to help us with check in checkout and shelving,” Odneal said.
About twenty parents and educators critiqued the plan during the Lansing School Board District meeting Thursday saying instructional aides are not as qualified as certified librarians.
“So you basically have rooms with books, that teachers are probably going to go and help themselves to things but that's not a library,” said Cheryl Vrand, long-time former educator at Lansing Public Schools.
Gaëlle Cassin-Ross has two children who attend Post Oak Academy. She said hiring aides to help with literacy while removing library positions is a disinvestment in kids’ education.
“We should have people who have the right qualification to help,” she said. “Helping with literacy is not being a librarian…those are two different jobs, and we cannot substitute one for the other.”
Cassin-Ross says she was alarmed to learn during the board meeting that the district employed such few certified librarians – even before the proposed cuts to the positions.
“I did not realize how much of a problem it was at a district level,” she said.
Lansing School District officials tout having the most certified librarians of all schools in Ingham County.
For years the number of certified librarians at Michigan schools have been declining. Today Michigan is among the top five states with the highest percentage of schools without librarians. More than 90% of public schools in the state operate without anyone in that position. Currently there are 567 full time librarians employed for the state’s 2,959 schools, according to federal data
Certified librarians hold a master’s degree in library science or library information science. Although the Michigan Department of Education encourages schools to employ certified librarians for school library programming, it does not mandate it. Schools may assign paraprofessionals or library aides to fulfill some librarian duties.
The Lansing Public School District’s Board of Education is expected to vote on the proposal later this year.
