Washington Schools Need Teacher Librarians
The State of Washington School Libraries
Research shows kids are more successful when they have access to strong school library programs run by a qualified Teacher Librarian. So how does Washington stack up?
According to a published study on LibSLIDE.org, Washington is:
32nd in the nation for the number of Teacher Librarians per school
34th for the number of Teacher Librarians per student.
This map of Washington reveals school districts staffed by Teacher Librarians vs. districts without qualified Teacher Librarians. The discrepancy in the level of school library staffing across Washington state is vast and inequitable.
Click here to download a brochure summarizing the need for Teacher Librarians in Washington state.
Click the map to go to Washington's state profile on LibSlide.org. Scroll down to the map and hover over your local districts to see if your schools have certificated Teacher Librarians.
Though Washington's current law 28A.320.240 includes funding for strong school library programs staffed with Teacher Librarians, individual school districts may implement these programs "as the board deems necessary"- a troublesome loophole in the law that guts the intended purpose. This has created library deserts across our state. Because of this, the students who need school libraries and Teacher Librarians the most have the least access to them.
Let's get Washington OUT of the RED!
SLIDE-Geographic-data-2021-v003.pdf