Houston ISD schools in high-poverty areas area less likely to have a librarian, data shows

HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) — Ask a librarian, and they’ll tell you what they do is so much more than checking books in and out.

“Usually, I train my third, fourth, and fifth graders to do that on their own because I don’t have time for that,” Brandie Dowda said.

Dowda, who was an HISD librarian until the district cut her position, used to make sure Spanish books went home to Spanish-speaking parents, get kids involved in STEM projects, and give additional reading and comprehension help – just to scratch the surface. But now, according to HISD, NES schools no longer have full-time librarians – a choice Dowda believes is impacting kids for the worse.

“It’s going to keep creating disparity,” Dowda said.

The disparity Dowda is talking about is laid out on a map. Built with census data, the darker blue areas show high poverty. Using data collected from Friends of HISD Libraries, red dots mean there is no dedicated library or full-time librarian, and green means there is. The map shows that the majority of schools without a full-time librarian or dedicated library fall mostly into high-poverty areas.

Blackshear Elementary is one of those schools. Parents told ABC13 that this speaks volumes.

“We need it. The ones with no education, now no budget, we’re out here,” Blackshear Elementary parent Tommisha Moses said.

When Eyewitness News asked HISD for a list of schools without a full-time librarian or a dedicated library, it said library books are available to students, teachers are trained in their reading program, and its staffing model doesn’t allow for librarians, so it can better pay teachers.

“Funding this, it should be something that is available to everyone,” Netta Banks, a Blackshear Elementary parent, said.

With fewer library resources in low-income areas, Dowda said it’s not just the students who will feel the impacts.

“The school library, a lot of times in these high-poverty areas, serves not just the students but actually the community because a lot of families might not have access to books any other way,” Dowda said.

HISD said that eliminating libraries allows it to pay teachers more. The district also said reading scores among students have improved since the takeover and changes to libraries began.

Dowda says if we want to see low-income areas flourish and change, it starts with getting resources to kids while they’re young.

“It’s really, for me, about ending generation poverty because my mother was the first person in her family to go to college. She was from nowhere, Mississippi, and she instilled in me the same belief that she had that education is the ticket out. If you can get a good education, you can do anything you want.”

ABC13 asked HISD for a list of schools that no longer have libraries or full-time librarians. Instead, the district said that NES schools do not have a full-time librarian, but there is staff that can help students access books.

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