HOUSTON — Houston ISD librarians who are now out of a job spoke out at a rally outside the administration building on Saturday.
The rally was led by Congressman Al Green, elected state officials, the Houston Federation of Teachers and the local NAACP chapter. Librarians, parents, and students spoke out saying book deserts are being created in HISD.
Former librarians, like Cheryl Hensley, spoke at the rally. She most recently was the librarian at Lockhart Elementary, part of a 39-year career in education.
“It’s lifelong learning, it's not just a day in and day out, everything they absorb, everything I do, I impact their life,” Hensley said.
She said it didn’t feel good once she learned her school would follow the NES model.
“My principal tried. My principal is wonderful, my library is wonderful. But she had to make this choice,” Hensley said.
She recalled one child who would come in every day with a big bag of books because they couldn’t spend their money at a bookstore.
“It just hurts my heart because this kid is coming back to school and he’s not going to have a library to go to, I’m not going to be there to nurture and feed,” Hensley said.
Congressman Al Green called on the governor and the state legislature to stop appointed superintendent Mike Miles’ decision to turn libraries into ‘team centers,’ which critics say will be used as discipline areas.
“Libraries can never be places for punishment. They are places for children to learn,” Green said.
During a media briefing on Thursday, Miles did not say how many librarian or media specialist positions at NES schools would be impacted. He claimed books won’t be removed from libraries.
Hensley’s message to Miles: Reconsider what librarians can bring to the table.
“I don’t know what brings me next, I know that I’m not giving up on this fight because I see the inequality of the haves and have-nots,” Hensley said.
On Thursday, the community plans to have a read-in at 4:00 p.m. prior to the school board meeting.