The school board voted unanimously on Jan. 19 to create a new librarian position that will also focus on media and literacy instruction. The board set aside up to $73,150 to cover the salary and benefit costs for the remainder of the school year.

The decision came after the board in December postponed action on the superintendent’s request to create the new position. At that time, Board President John DeRuyter said board members needed more details before they could move forward. A work session was held Dec. 29 to discuss how the new staff member would support the district’s goals.

Superintendent Joshua Garrett proposed the job to help students in middle school and high school. He explained that the librarian would do more than just manage books. Depending on their qualifications, the person will also teach classes on media literacy to help students better understand the information they find online and in the news.

Not everyone at the Jan. 19 meeting thought a librarian was the district’s most urgent need. Second grade teacher Aly Howell spoke to the board as both a teacher and a parent. She argued that the district has other staffing gaps that should be addressed first.

Howell pointed out that the schools, for example, currently rely on volunteers to act as crossing guards. She also noted that some students in third through fifth grades are not receiving the extra help they need because there are not enough staff members available.

“There are 37 students, K-5, who are in need of interventions,” Howell said. “Only a portion of them are being served by Title I staff.” She asked the board to change the focus of the new job to prioritize these younger students.

Title I federal funding support schools with high percentages of children from low-income families.

Garrett responded that the district needs a staffer who can encourage a love of reading across all grade levels.

During the Jan. 19 meeting, Garrett addressed questions about how the district helps students who need extra academic support. He noted that five staff members have special state certifications to teach literacy to special-needs students. He believes the district has the right experts but needs to organize them more effectively to help all students.

“Intervention doesn’t explicitly mean to pull out of class,” he said. “It means to intervene in their education. These teachers can do that. We have that level of expertise in the building. It’s just a matter of reorganizing things to meet the needs of children in the classroom.”

Garrett said he has begun working with Evergreen Elementary Principal Cathy Winn, with the intention of certified teachers providing extra help to students in their classrooms.

The superintendent described the new librarian job as a non-traditional role, designed to bring back the joy of reading. He said the district is looking for candidates who hold an Alaska teaching certificate.

Garrett said that while they want to find the right person, they would like to have the new teacher soon.

“We aren’t in a hurry to fill the spot, but it would be nice to have the position filled a month from now,” he said.

“It’s a position that manages both libraries and, depending on the qualifications of the individual, could teach a couple of classes at the high school and middle school level for media literacy,” he said.