CTU is seeking a full-time librarian for every school in Chicago

CTU is seeking full-time librarians at each school

Activists gathered outside Tilton Primary School on Tuesday morning to voice their demands. The Chicago Teachers Union has said it wants every school to have a full-time librarian.

CHICAGO – The Chicago Teachers Union (CTU) urges every school in the district to employ a librarian.

Activists gathered outside Tilton Primary School on Tuesday morning to express their demands. CTU has said it wants librarians to work full-time as well.

They said the district employs only about 80 librarians, down from 450 in 2013. Activists say school librarians can help improve reading scores and provide other benefits to students.

The union says the hardest hit schools were mostly black schools on Chicago’s South and West Sides.

Chicago Public Schools (CPS) responded to the union’s demand, saying the district is prioritizing classroom and school staffing resources to best support students.

CTU needs a librarian in every school in Chicago

The Chicago Teachers Union has called on CPS CEO Pedro Martinez to centrally fund a librarian for every school in the district, regardless of ZIP code.

“The district recognizes the important role of the school librarian, as evidenced by the recently renewed budget model that prioritizes and provides staffing positions for each school, including providing a position that can be filled by a librarian if the school staff determines it best meets their needs. needs,” we read in the statement.

CPS says it hired more than 2,600 teachers and more than 4,000 paraprofessionals between 2019 and 2024.