Tag Archives: librarian

Funding the Future: A message from the President and CEO of Barbara Bush Houston Literacy Foundation

As part of HISD’s effort to inform the community about important financial decisions being made ahead of the Board of Education’s budget vote in June, the spotlight has been put on librarians and their significant impact on students.

Dr. Julie Baker Finck, President and CEO of Barbara Bush Houston Literacy Foundation, has shared an editorial providing insight into the benefits of improving library access in HISD under the proposed budget.

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Funding the Future: A message from Houston Public Library on the importance of librarians in schools

The latest edition of HISD’s Funding the Future newsletter aims to highlight the significant impact librarians have on school communities and why these key positions should be adequately funded through the proposed budget.

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HISD group wins Wayne Williams Library Project of the Year Award

WayneWilliamsGroup_400A group of educators from HISD, including three librarians—Jo Reed (Scroggins ES), Cheryl Hensley (MacGregor ES), and Sue Carnes (Bell ES; now retired)—was recognized recently with the Wayne Williams Library Project of the Year Award for 2015 by the Texas Library Association.

The librarians were selected for coordinating schoolwide reading campaigns at their respective campuses based on the Lunch Lady series of graphic novels by Jarrett J. Krosoczka. The project not only built on students’ enthusiasm for graphic novels, but also increased their awareness of health and nutrition through a cleverly organized partnership with HISD Nutrition Services Dietician Jennifer Lengyel that connected daily meal offerings to literature.

The project was so successful that at Scroggins, interest in graphic novels spurred the principal to quadruple the school’s collection of that type of book from 12 to 48. At MacGregor, circulation of the Lunch Lady books increased by 90 percent. And at Bell, the demand for graphic novels increased so much that emergency rations of books had to be secured.

The Wayne Williams award is designed to recognize a project that exemplifies the highest levels of achievement, professional standards, and inspiration to other libraries. Reed and her colleagues were formally honored during a special ceremony held on April 15 at the Texas Library Association’s annual conference in Austin.

Millionaire Club Spotlight: What Are You Reading This Summer?

HISD’s Millionaire Club is a literacy initiative designed to encourage students to read for pleasure during the summer months. Each week, we’ll catch up with one HISD librarian to find out what’s on his or her reading list. This week, we spoke with Cindy Dinneen, a librarian at Johnston Middle School.

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Millionaire Club Spotlight: What Are You Reading This Summer?

HISD’s Millionaire Club is a literacy initiative designed to encourage students to read for pleasure during the summer months. Each week, we’ll catch up with one HISD librarian to find out what’s on his or her reading list. This week, we spoke with Pat Johnson, a librarian at Stevenson Middle School.

So, what are you reading right now?

I’m reading all the books from the “Name That Book” contest to get clues.

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