Local opinion: TUSD must prioritize librarians, literacy

The 15th Tucson Festival of Books (TFOB) was held on the University of Arizona campus on March 9th and 10th. Over 300 authors and illustrators, many volunteers and financial sponsors, and thousands of participants made this year’s Festival another literacy and literature success for our community.

The TFOB is a stellar example of what author-researcher Frank Smith called the “literacy club.” According to Smith, the “most significant people in every learner’s life are teachers: the formal teachers of the classroom, the informal (and less frequently acknowledged) teachers in the world outside school, and the teachers (scarcely ever recognized) who are the authors of the books we read.”

Connecting with authors and illustrators and finding like-minded fellow readers offers young people an invitation into the literacy club. This year sixty-five authors and illustrators who create literature expressly for children and teens shared their work. They represent diverse communities including various ethnicities, races, gender orientations, cultures, heritage languages, and perspectives. Every young person who attended the festival could find their lived or hoped-for experiences on the pages of these “teachers.”

Some Tucson-area youth may have attended this year’s Festival on their own, but most children and teens are reliant on their families, caregivers, and neighbors to bring them. But what about the other Tucson-area youth who were not able to attend? What literacy club invitations are being offered to all our K-12 youth the other 364 days this leap year?

The Worlds of Words: Center for Global Literacies and Literatures housed on the U of A campus plans and organizes TFOB presentations for children and youth, including bringing authors and illustrators into Tucson-area schools the week before and the week after the Festival. Throughout the year, the Center provides a library, book and art exhibits, and programs open to the public, individuals, and school groups.

The Pima County Public Library (PCPL) is also involved in planning and promoting the TFOB. PCPL offers year-round programming for all ages, including programs for school-age children and book clubs for teens. PCPL, Literacy Connects, and other organizations provide tutoring.

But there are missing “teachers” in most Tucson-area public, parochial, and private schools — certified school librarians. Certified as classroom teachers first, professional school librarians collect books and other resources to meet teachers’ and students’ curricular needs and independent reading selections. Librarians collaborate with classroom teachers to use resources to teach required state standards and excite learners to become readers.

At this year’s festival, many children’s and teen books authors pointed out the critical role school librarians play in connecting youth with books—books that invite them into the literacy club. Research shows students who attend districts that invest in school libraries score higher in reading achievement tests.

Staffing is a budget issue. Budget priorities may not align with a district’s mission statement, values, or research. Some Tucson-area K-12 students have equitable access to fully staffed and funded school libraries. Tanque Verde Unified School District has never given up its commitment to full-time professional school librarians in all of their schools. Last fall voters in Sunnyside USD reinstated all of the district’s school librarian positions to full time.

Unfortunately, Tucson USD, our largest school district, has failed to provide equitable access. A few TUSD schools have certified school librarians; most don’t. The cuts to librarian positions started twenty years ago. Generations of TUSD students, educators, administrators, and families have little or no understanding of the critical missing component in their students’ education.

Arizona is 49th in the nation in K-12 funding. Education funding is currently under discussion in Phoenix. Let’s hold the Legislature and our school boards accountable for providing literacy club invitations to all of our students 180 school days a year. Let’s ask them to explain why they fail to support school librarians and libraries.