2018 School Spending Survey Report
New Era of Possibility in Philly Schools with Jean Darnell as Library Lead and an IMLS Grant
The School District of Philadelphia hired former Texas librarian Jean Darnell as its new director of library science and earned an IMLS grant to work toward returning school librarians to the district.
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Background illustration by Booblgum/Getty Images |
There is a new feeling of possibility in Philadelphia. Jean Darnell, the district’s new director of library science has arrived, along with an Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) grant with a goal to bring school librarians back to Philly schools.
The district denied SLJ’s request to interview Darnell, but in a Philadelphia Inquirer story, the former Texas school librarian spoke of the need to return robust libraries to her new city.
“Philadelphia is the country’s OG capital. How do you not have a rich literacy program—that’s the antithesis of what I learned in U.S. history class,” Darnell said. “If our libraries fail, our literacy will tank, because there’s no separation of the two. Libraries should be the heart of schools, and thinking that you can have a fully operational school with no heart, that doesn’t work.”
She also made a plea.
“I can’t do it with no money,” Darnell told the Inquirer. “Don’t tie my hands. We need federal funds—that’s endowments, philanthropic efforts. I’m one person, but I’m going to advocate 24/7. I will work with everyone, the public libraries, the volunteer organizations. Come talk to me. I’m not going to give you anything less than 100 percent, and I need for this city to get behind this 100 percent. I need for the city of Philadelphia to put its faith in me.”
In addition to Darnell’s position, the district has received an IMLS Laura Bush 21st Century Librarian Planning Grant that is being used to study how other urban districts are adding school librarians, create a district pipeline for those positions, and craft a five-year plan for school libraries.
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The Grant Work The IMLS Laura Bush 21st Century Librarian Planning Grant has three main components, as explained by PARSL’s Deb Kachel and Barbara Stripling. 1) Research urban districts adding librarians. Kachel is interviewing people at 12 large urban school districts that are adding librarians. “We think there are some lessons to be learned there,” says Stripling. “Not that Philadelphia would adopt the same things, but we’ve promised to do a summary paper on, what are the strategies that have worked in various places?” 2) Build Philly librarian pipeline. “We've got to build a pool,” says Stripling. “We have to build a pathway for people to become librarians or to join the district.” They have three strategies toward that goal:
3) Work with the school district to build a five-year implementation plan. The district will choose the priority schools to get librarians. “We're going to develop a readiness instrument that enables all of us to look at what's in place in various schools, the level of support from the principal and teachers, the current status of the facilities, and if there is any kind of collection,” says Stripling. Kachel and Stripling understand there is a long road ahead and don’t expect there to be a librarian in every school in five years. “We know it's going to take a long time to get to where we want to be,” says Kachel. “It took over 20 years for them to decimate school library programs in Philly. It could take that long to build them back up. But each school that we can set up with a school library and a school librarian empowers those teachers and students. And we're going to do one building at a time if we have to.” |
“She has a lot on her plate, so we’ll figure that out,” says Kachel, who notes the importance of the district hiring someone for the position because it speaks to its commitment to trying to bring school libraries back to a district that currently has 216 schools and the equivalent of two full-time certified school librarians. Instead of pushing against the district to try to bring back school librarians, PARSL is collaborating with the district to find a way to reach that shared goal.
“We’re so excited because to have a unified vision, it needs to come from the school district,” says Kachel. “We’re just here to support.”
Kachel and fellow PARSL member Barbara Stripling did not know Darnell before she was hired but are thrilled with the choice since getting to know her.
“One of the things that we’re so excited about is her understanding of the power of school libraries to get kids motivated and excited about learning and reading,” says Stripling, who knows something about the needs of a large urban district as the former director of library services for New York City schools. “And she has a real mastery of technology and of the power of technology, including AI, [to] really bring our kids into the 21st century, which is part of our major focus. Our kids need these skills.”
Darnell’s abilities outside of library programming excite them as well.
“She’s also really good at presenting these ideas to the public,” says Stripling. “She’s able to communicate the excitement so that the public at large will get excited, and that’s going to be important.”
Kachel notes that instead of accepting all the reasons something can’t be done, Darnell is asking, “Why not?” She won’t accept years of institutional excuses for why Philadelphia schools can’t bring school librarians and properly run libraries back to its buildings.
“You can’t sit here and say that you care about the libraries and do nothing,” Darnell told the Inquirer. “Anything that you can pour into my library program, I’ll take it. If you’re into robotics, help me get a robot in the library, and then I can booktalk and show kids some other cool resources that the library has. Don’t tell me what a library can’t do. I’ll show you what a library can do.”
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