Librarians matter

MEA Member Librarians Concerned About Decimated Profession

When MEA member Kathy

Lester reads the latest news headlines, she sees problems where librarians should be.

From students’ low reading performance on standardized tests, to community conflicts over what books should be allowed in school, and burned-out educators talking of leaving the profession—librarians can play a vital role in helping to address big problems.

But in Michigan over the past 15years, the number of certified school librarians—also known as media specialists—has been decimated. In the latest figures, our state ranks 48th in the nation, measured by the ratio of certified librarians to students, at 1:3,110. That compares to a national average of 1:1,425.

State data from last year show more than half of school buildings in Michigan had no school library staff— certified or uncertified—and 74% of buildings had no certified media specialist employed.

For Lester, a certified school librarian at East Middle School in Plymouth-Canton, the losses represent an equity issue. A recent national study showed schools in areas with higher poverty and more minority students and English language learners have the least access to properly staffed libraries.

“If you compare what resources and what educational experiences a student with a highly-qualified school librarian is getting compared to a student in a school district without that, the differences are stark,” Lester said.

A modern school library is a bustling in-person and digital learning commons where project-based learning takes place and print and digital resources are part of a student’s routine, Lester highlighted in a recent informational flyer she produced.

A longtime advocate for the profession through numerous roles she’s played in the Michigan Association for Media in Education, Lester is taking her efforts to the national level. One year ago she won election as president-elect of the American Association of School Librarians.

Lester will serve in the volunteer role for one year, beginning in July, while continuing her full-time job in Plymouth-Canton. She takes over at a precarious time for the profession across the country.

The number of school librarians has declined nationally, according to data released last July in a study funded by the Institute of Museum and Library Services, which found from 2010 to 2019 nearly 20% of school librarian full-time equivalent (FTE) positions were eliminated.

The study found more than 4.4 million students in high-poverty districts had no librarians, and smaller and rural districts were more likely to have no librarians than larger suburban districts.

“The studies all show that students who benefit the most from school librarians are kids from high-poverty areas, and those are the areas where we’re losing the most ground,” Lester said.

Michigan was one of 10 states pointed out in the study for having “extraordinarily high” losses of school librarians over that decade at a staggering 49.5%—which took

Kathy Lester media specialist Plymouth-Canton

our state to a bottom-of-the-barrel 48th place in the national rankings of percentage change in school librarians in that decade.

The research is clear that in schools with certified librarians, students’ reading comprehension is higher and the most vulnerable students—who are least likely to have a home library of reading materials—benefit the most.

Multiple studies have demonstrated that school libraries staffed by a certified librarian have a positive effect on literacy achievement and graduation rates.

“Every student deserves to have access to an effective school library led by a certified school librarian,” Lester said.

Media specialists serve in a variety of roles that support learning, she

Carrie Betts elementary librarian Birmingham

noted. First and foremost, they provide equitable access to diverse resources and support students’ reading and learning in a multitude of ways.

“Media specialists are teachers, too, and the library is the biggest classroom in the school,” Lester said.

Librarians teach information literacy, research, and digital citizenship skills to prepare students for the 21st century world they inhabit, and most serve as technology leaders in their buildings—bringing the latest classroom technology to their buildings and helping educators learn to use it.

Back in the day, it was film strips; today it’s Google docs and Maker spaces, the 20-year veteran said: “We support classrooms at such a deep level, and that has always been a huge part of the job.”

Policymakers and even educators don’t realize how much certified school librarians do and what an important role they play in their buildings, agreed MEA member Kelly Boston, who goes by the title teacher-librarian at Harbor Lights Middle School in West Ottawa.

Media specialists teach kids how to use research databases and how to cite sources. They teach information literacy in a digital world rife with disinformation. They work alongside teachers to find additional materials and technology integration to deepen students’ learning, Boston said.

They also make purchases for the library’s holdings based on a professional selection policy that is periodically reviewed. Sometimes the importance of that gets minimized in people’s minds, she said.

“I hear the sentiment a lot that anybody can order books—what else do you do? I don’t want to minimize the importance of having a professional librarian ordering books who’s reading reviews, connecting with students and building relationships to know what genres they love and what they’re going to want to read.”

Chris Crews business and CS teacher Trenton

Introducing kids to books they love is “the best thing that can happen to me. That moment is huge because it’s how we get lifelong readers right there.”

Hand-in-hand with ordering books is defending them, she added, “and right now we’re seeing all of these

Kelly Boston teacher-librarian West Ottawa

book challenges in the news. It’s an unfortunate time to be at the end of this decimation of our profession, because a lot of school districts don’t have policies in place for how to protect their books from censorship.”

Other school districts that no longer have school librarians are reaching out to ask how to handle situations with book challenges, “and I say, ‘Gosh—I wish you had a librarian in there because that’s part of my job.’”

Libraries led by certified professionals have processes in place to handle book challenges. Sometimes it simply involves talking with a parent who hasn’t read the material in question, but other times a full review is required and follows a reconsideration policy, Boston said.

A formal review typically requires the objecting community member to read the book and submit objections in writing, followed by formation of a review committee that reads the material and makes a decision which can’t be revisited for a certain number of years.

“If schools don’t have a librarian and don’t have a board policy for this, someone might just say, ‘I’m just going

What is a certified school librarian, and what do they do?

School librarians, also called library media specialists in Michigan, are teachers who hold a Michigan Teaching certificate with the Library Media endorsement. They typically have a Masters in Library and Information Science and are uniquely qualified to carry out five roles: ◼ Teacher—delivers instruction on reading, accessing resources, information/media literacy, digital citizenship, and technology tools. ◼ Literacy and Reading

Expert—has training in youth and young adult literature and collection development to select and promote materials in multiple formats to support learning, personal growth and enjoyment. ◼ Information Specialist— selects, curates, promotes and uses physical, digital and virtual collections of resources ethically and equitably to support the needs of the diverse learning community. ◼ Program Administrator— plans, develops, implements and evaluates the school library programs, resources, and services in support of their schools’ mission according to the ethics and principles of library science, education, management, and administration. ◼ Leader—leads a strong reading culture within their school and advocates for students’ access to diverse resources and positive learning environments. Provides professional development for teachers and integrated resources and services to all students and the school community.

Some schools in Michigan lost their libraries along with the librarians who ran them.

to delete this from the collection to be done with it.’ Then there’s also self-censorship that can occur in the absence of policies,” Boston said.

“I’m very concerned about it, because we serve all of the students in the school. Much of these book challenges seem to be targeting the LGBT community, and just statistically we know we have LGBT students in every school who deserve to see themselves represented in books.”

MEA member Carrie Betts, a certified school librarian at West Maple Elementary School in Birmingham, also is concerned about the vulnerability of districts without trained and certified librarians to lead book selection and review processes.

“Children need books to explore the world around them in an environment that is safe, where they can learn empathy, develop critical thinking skills, and build their own sense of understanding,” she said.

The job of a public school is to provide every single student a full education, and students without libraries or librarians are not getting a fair shake, Betts said.

“The disparity and inequity is my greatest concern. I’ll just use one example—that a student in a school without a certified librarian does not have the same opportunity to learn when they are studying the life cycle of a frog.”

That student does not have a librarian to guide him or her toward a rich supply of current information and resources selected for their high-quality. Librarians also monitor teachers’ curriculum pacing guides and suggest materials for classroom teachers to use to extend and deepen students’ learning.

“I’m always looking for those resources to really engage students, that are easily accessible to teachers, that I can email to them and save the six hours they would have to spend searching for it on their own, which is time they don’t have,” said Betts, who began her career as a high school science teacher.

Trenton High School teacher Chris Crews can attest to the value

Michigan School Library Staffing

(as of Dec. 2020) ■ Buildings with certified Media Specialist at least one full-time equivalent (51%) ■ Additional buildings with certified Media

Specialist at any FTE (23%) ■ Additional buildings with uncertified Library Staff at any FTE (18%) ■ Buildings with NO Library Staff (8%)

Source: Michigan Center for Educational Performance and Information

that librarians bring to the work of classroom teachers.

Without the work of certified media specialist Melissa Lambert—a fellow MEA member who offers a wide array of services to students through the Media Center—there would be no LitFest or Blind Date with a Book or Maker Lunches at the school, he said.

“She works hard to make the media center a welcoming space where students want to come and grow,” said Crews, who teaches business and Advanced Placement Computer Science.

In addition, Lambert supports teachers by coming into classrooms to deliver instruction on how to find resources, recommend curriculum-based readings, and teach students about media literacy. She stays current with teaching pedagogy to recommend technology that benefits students, Crews said.

Most importantly, he added, Lambert is often the biggest advocate in the district for media selection and offerings at a time when forces are afoot across the country attempting to limit what young people are allowed to read.

“Media specialists often act as the lone advocate for students in regard to media selection. Without them, kids who look different or are perceived as different would not be able to read books about kids just like themselves. Melissa has the courage to fight for those kids every day.”

Replenishing school libraries

MEA member Kathy Lester is looking for ways to rebuild funding for school libraries to boost Michigan schoolchildren’s reading skills and enjoyment— especially given the need for literacy recovery in the pandemic’s wake. Some strategies she is advocating: ◼ Local unions should advocate for school library funding when considering good uses for federal money from the American Rescue Plan. ◼ The state should create grant programs to hire school librarians similar to a program designed to increase the number of mental health professionals in schools. ◼ Grants of $10 per student could fund library resources. ◼ Other grants could be used for districts to help teachers earn a Library Media

Endorsement. ◼ The state should create a state-level school library coordinator to help districts meet quality benchmarks.

Bargainers Report Contract Successes

MEA member Joe Ligaj has a blunt message for school administrators and state-level policymakers concerned about educator shortages: If you pay them, they will come.

“This is just basic economics— Econ 101,” the president of the Lincoln Park Education Association (LPEA) said. “There’s a labor shortage, and the way to address that is through the contract: higher wages, benefits and working conditions.” operates an autism program servicing 15 school districts with 25 classrooms, and despite being in a high shortage area the program is fully staffed with certified educators—including Ligaj, who has been teaching there since 2003.

“Remarkable, right?” Ligaj said. “If you look at programs similar to ours, they have long-term subs in those ASD (Autism Spectrum Disorder) rooms because that’s one of the hardest special education

certifications to fill. We have 100% certified staff, and that’s because of the contract.”

A few factors played a role in the LPEA’s bargaining success, Ligaj said. First, every educator but one in the bargaining unit is a dues-paying member—349 out of 350—and all agreed during building-by-building union meetings they would do whatever was necessary to achieve contract goals.

“This is basic economics.”

Ligaj says the LPEA bargaining team last year finalized the best contract in the state. The new topstep maximum for a teacher with a master’s degree in the district reaches $107,200 in year three of the contract, and “I haven’t heard of anyone having a higher master’s max than 107,” he said.

Five years ago, a newly elected LPEA executive board went about goal-setting by asking what could be done to most benefit students in the high-poverty district in metro Detroit’s Downriver region.

“We saw the writing on the wall back then of the shortages and everything we were headed for, and we concluded the best thing we could do is to have a goal of getting the best contract in the state of Michigan. We wanted to fill our classrooms with the best talent.”

By at least one measure, the strategy has worked. The district

“Having everybody on board creates a sense of solidarity and a sense of family, really, that we all lean on each other. We’ve been through tough times together, and we’ve been able to withstand everything and stand together in unity.”

The LPEA got district leaders to reopen a five-year contract two years in for salary and benefits reconsideration. In addition, the LPEA got the district’s other unions on board—a support staff unit represented by AFSCME and the mid-level administrator’s union.

“We negotiated this contract with all three unions on board working together as one collective force,” he said.

Other highlights of the deal include a two-step jump for everyone, increases in dental and vision coverage, and a 40% boost in Schedule B payments. Altogether the mid-contract reopener resulted in the best contract in Lincoln Park since 1982, Ligaj said.

Once an at-risk youth who was mentored to graduation and success by a teacher at an alternative high school, Ligaj said building the strength of his members and union has been rewarding. “Other than my wife and my kids, it’s the proudest thing in my life to represent them.”

As we head into bargaining season, many MEA units that inked deals last year have reported improvements in the wake of an historic state education budget for this year and nearly $6 billion in federal COVID-relief funding for Michigan schools to spend over the next five years.

The shift is a welcome change from years following a $1.8 billion business tax cut enacted under Gov. Rick Snyder in 2011, which forced devastating cost-cutting in schools and moved the state toward crippling educator shortages now seen across nearly every education job category in the state.

Support staff units are bargaining wages and benefits improvements. In Ontonagon, the Education Support Professionals (ESP) union negotiated pay for an increased number of snow days and sick leave payout on retirement, in addition to significant boosts to hourly wages and ancillary benefits.

In Charlevoix-Emmett ISD, bus drivers got a two-year contract extension with wage improvements to four years covered by the contract of 15-2-2-2%, with minimum pay guarantees, added holidays, and greater flexibility in use of personal days.

Hourly school employees have been seeing multi-year increases in many cases, said MEA Bargaining Consultant Craig Culver, whose job is to support bargainers at the table with information and resources.

“Beyond competitive wages, one way we’re seeing to attract and retain our support staff has been to expand eligibility for insurance—by including family members and reducing the number of part-time employees who fall under the threshold of working hour requirements for elibility,” Culver said.

In Calumet, a unit that includes custodians, maintenance workers, and paraeducators won a 17.5% wage increase on schedule and significant increases to benefits, said MEA UniServ Director Hans Wienke, who works with the group.

“A local business started increasing their employment,” Wienke said. “It became clear the district had to increase pay to be competitive, and my group also wanted a bump in their insurance coverage.”

In some places, bargainers are addressing educator shortages by seeking hiring and retention bonuses to be paid with one-time federal money—often in addition to on-schedule increases.

A support staff unit in Southgate representing employees of a center-based school for emotionally impaired students bargained steps, plus a bonus and 4% increases on schedule (additional 1% at step 5) in year one, 2% in year two (additional 1% at step 5) and longevity raises added to top steps.

Bargaining team member Sarah Smith, a program assistant at Beacon Day Treatment Center, said the goal was to attract new employees but also to reward the people there now and encourage them to stay. The students’ behavior is challenging, and pay must keep pace with demands.

“I’ve been here for nine years and I’ve established relationships with staff and students, so I understand the students’ behavior is not directed at me,” Smith said. “You care for them and you’re there to help them, kind of like a parent.”

This was the second contract she helped to shape, which she always wanted to do because her father was a union welder, “and we were always talking about how important it was for people to be treated fairly.”

Similar arguments secured hiring bonuses for newcomers and “commit to work” payments for returning staff at Gwinn Area Community Schools, a rural district in the UP’s Marquette County, where experienced educators were being poached by higher-paying neighboring districts in recent years.

Because openings are so hard to fill, the district wanted to give new hires a bonus for signing on, but head bargainer Jessica Gustitis asked, “What are you going to do for us—the ones who’ve gotten this far?”

The team negotiated retention pay. For three years, teachers in Gwinn will receive $1,000 at the start of the year, another at the semester break, and a third at the end of the school year. “That’s $9,000 in our pockets that we haven’t ever had before, so it’s awesome,” Gustitis said.

Since 2011, “We kept getting reduced wages or we wouldn’t get anywhere in a contract negotiation,” she added. “We’re never going to recoup our losses from what happened from 2011 to 2020, but this was a start.”

On top of one-time money, the team negotiated a 2.25% on-schedule increase; additional steps for everyone except new hires, to address losses from the previous decade; and increases in dental, vision, and long-term disability.

For Smith—a 21-year veteran of the district—the new contract would mean an additional $20,000 in pay over three years. Teaching is always hard, but the past two years have been exceptionally difficult and the needs going forward will be great. “With this, people feel more appreciated,” she said. Joe Ligaj

In Allen Park, the bargaining team won a very good contract for which the groundwork was laid in recent years with members of the local union working to pass a bond measure and elect school board candidates who value public education, says local president and bargaining team leader Joel Burkey.

“With those two things, people saw that when the union gets behind something we can make it happen,” Burkey said. “Our membership is well above 95%, which is hugely important in all of this.”

One part of the new contract he’s most proud of is the added steps for members based on their date of hire and number of years stuck in a step freeze instead of advancing on schedule since 2011. In addition, the master’s maximum is close on the heels of nearby Lincoln Park at $99,000.

“I know in one case, there was a teacher who—because of these improvements—chose to stay,” Burkey said. “He was being poached by a district that was going to put him at the top of their salary schedule, which would’ve given him a $25,000 raise.

“He was on the phone with me, and he said, ‘What do you think?’ I said, ‘Well, I think we’re going to get this contract done. And while you may enjoy getting to the top quicker there, it won’t be long before we’ll be ahead of you.’ He decided to stay as a result of that.”

However, even the strong contract wasn’t enough to prevent some earlier-than-planned retirements this year, and that loss of veterans’ wisdom and perspective is lamentable for Burkey, a 31-year U.S. history and government teacher.

What he laments is the fact his entire career has been spent inside the stifling bubble of cynical “market-based” reforms and spending declines, which introduced competition and “performance” incentives in a public service arena such as education—and proved to be an utterly destructive failure.

“I think it’s safe to say that 30 years into this experiment, all it’s done is divide the resources, create a bunch of high-stakes testing that doesn’t really assess student learning, and create a teacher evaluation system that has driven a lot of people out of the profession,” he concluded.

Negotiating a great contract is Burkey’s way of fighting back. “We all know the best thing you can do to improve instruction and strengthen your district is to hire and retain strong teachers. This competitive salary schedule will help us do that.”

MEA Resources Aid Bargainers

MEA provides a wide range of resources to support bargainers at the negotiation table, from financial reports and analyses to strategic advice and information on changes to laws governing the process.

Bargaining teams anticipating upcoming talks can schedule professional negotiation tune-ups, offered by MEA’s Statewide Bargaining Consultant Craig Culver and Labor Economist Tanner Delpier, on innovative ways to spend federal COVID-relief dollars and other current hot topics.

The recommendations and advice are developed through MEA’s Statewide Bargaining Strategy and Implementation Team (SBSIT)—made up of MEA staff from across the state—and the Long-Range Bargaining Committee, comprised of members from the MEA Board of Directors.

“We keep a pulse on an ongoing basis of new emerging issues and strategies,” Culver said. “Some of what we produce is prototype language that can be bargained to address issues, and the other main thing we produce are advisories and information on how bargainers should approach these issues.”

Detailed financial reports produced by Culver and Delpier show bargaining teams how much money a district has to spend, how the district has spent revenues over time, and how much a specific proposal will cost the district—down to the penny.

“We held a recent tune-up in Houghton and Marquette, and the turnout was huge,” Culver said. “There is a lot to talk about.”