Cincinnati Schools Losing Librarians
In the name of school reform, several Cincinnati schools have gotten rid of their librarians. More may be on the way out.
Staff -- School Library Journal, 11/1/1999
In the last two years, 14 of Cincinnati's elementary schools have eliminated their libraries. As usual, money is tight. But compounding the problem is site-based management, which gives individual schools a bigger say in how to spend their funds. Cincinnati began phasing in site-based management two years ago as part of a sweeping effort to turn around its failing schools. In exchange for greater freedom from central-office control, individual schools are held accountable for student achievement, measured largely by state proficiency tests. The only thing schools must have are teachers, says Kathleen Ware, assistant superintendent. "At the professional level, any other staff is support to the teaching staff," Ware says, and teachers, as part of each school's "instructional leadership team" should decide what type of support staff they need.
