School Libraries
Dear Editor: If you think one person can’t save a school library or a performing arts center or any other resource that benefits Sitka students, you’re right. That’s why a group of families gathered Thanksgiving weekend to write letters of support—50 in all—for a cornerstone of public education: school libraries. Following the example of local citizens who rallied in the past, we joined together to speak out. Our letters have been delivered to decision-makers in our community and, just as important, to lawmakers in Juneau.
Many Sitkans are not aware that the librarian position at Blatchley Middle School was eliminated at the start of the 2018-2019 school year. The library is now staffed four hours per week plus lunchtime hours (thanks to volunteers), leaving 300 students without a librarian to promote literacy, support classroom curricula, and offer a safe place for navigating the social-emotional hurdles of adolescence. In other parts of the country, libraries are evolving into hubs for technology and quality digital information. The next generation of Sitkans deserves these same advantages.
We understand that education is underfunded and administrators are doing their best in the face of deep budget cuts, but here is the bottom line: if we don’t speak out for what we value, there will be only silence left in the place of high quality schools. Actually, silence and questions: if a library can go, what’s next? Sports? Music? Art? Shop? Foreign language? If you believe Sitka students need access to any or all of these things, say so. New legislation for school funding is in the works—contact lawmakers if you want your child to read a book or eventually a voter’s pamphlet, to know the lifelong joy of making music or art, to build something with their hands, to learn teamwork, to communicate in a globalizing world.
You might think one person can’t make a difference, and you’d be right. Join Families for School Libraries to advocate for full funding of our schools, including their libraries and librarians. Email FamiliesForSchoolLibraries@gmail.com or find us on Facebook for more information. Yes, fully funded schools with libraries, music and art programs, shop classes, sports, and foreign language instruction is a lot to ask for. Is it too much? Only if we remain silent.
Beth Short-Rhoads, Kate Johnson,
Stephen Courtright,
Emily Demmert and KK Prussian,
Families for School Libraries
