HOUSTON — The former Houston ISD head of services is calling newly appointed Superintendent Mike Miles' plan to repurpose libraries into "team centers" at some schools "soul-crushing."
"The library can be so many things, it's more than just a reciprocal of books," Kallie Benes said. “It can be a place, where they can explore their interests or find new interests and it can be a place where above all reading is fun and exciting."
Miles intends to repurpose the libraries of at least 28 New Education System (NES) schools into so-called team centers, which he described as a "hub of differentiated instruction." Some will be used as discipline centers.
These team centers will not have a dedicated librarian. He said students who require additional support can "catch up" and have greater access to teachers and learning coaches.
Benes now serves as the CEO of a nonprofit called First3Years which aims to help Texans ages 3 and younger grow up in a healthy environment. She said attacks on libraries undercut the work of preparing children with a foundation to explore and learn.
"Most of the librarians are less concerned about their own employment and more concerned about the lack of access that their students will now have," she said.
Lisa Robinson, a former HISD librarian and English teacher, said students will miss out from not having a dedicated librarian.
"We are basically expendable in his vision of education when to me, we are a critical component of a well-rounded education," she said.
Some HISD parents say they're worried about the impact the changes will have. Savant Moore, who has two 8th-grade children at McReynolds Middle School, an NES school, said this doesn't address the root problem for many students.
"Now you want to remove the child from the classroom to the library, pushing them further and further away," Moore said. "So I have issues with it."
HISD did not immediately provide up-to-date numbers on how many librarians on staff are being relocated, citing the need for data processing.
"This isn't a business model that's black and white," Benes said. "This is our children's lives and we need to give them an environment that is comforting and supportive, as well as successful educationally."
There are high standards for becoming a librarian in Texas. The state requires a teaching certificate and master's degree.
Miles said it will be up to schools' principals and teachers how they manage books in the library. He said in his previous system, kids were able to take books off the shelves and were trusted to put them back.
The changes will apply to the originally designated NES schools. The remaining 57 schools that opted into the program will be evaluated on a case-by-case basis.