Robin Lowry's School Board Testimony

Robin Lowry's School Board Testimony

June 1st, 2023

Good Evening, I’m Robin Lowry, a recently retired Health & Physical Education teacher. Why does this district hire more lawyers than librarians? The actual number of each is shrouded in secrecy, but only one of these has been associated with student achievement -Certified Teacher-Librarians.  So why DO we hire more lawyers than librarians?

Like probably all of you, every school I went to had libraries.  When I tell neighbors & friends that the district has none they are shocked.  Libraries are the quiet places where we learned to love books and do research guided by a patient librarian.  Students often have no quiet place to study - I saw that during virtual school. A library in school would be a haven of quiet scholarship. At Edison High School our library space has glass walls and one day a student asked me “Miss - how can I read one of those books?”  “I said go take it.” Why not, there’s no librarian, just books sitting on shelves. Friends & neighbors move to surrounding districts like Glenside where my dear friend moved - of course they have librarians she told me.  Or the William Penn district where an elementary school librarian told me they have teacher-librarians in every elementary school.

It is time for a billboard that lets everyone know that the School District of Philadelphia has more lawyers than librarians. Claims that Reading is a priority ring false when there are no libraries or librarians in schools. Fully fund librarians in every school before you give another contract to a consultant or a law firm.