MPS outlines long-range library services plan; board asks for school-level staffing report

Milwaukee Public Schools staff presented a long-range plan for library services that the administration says will align district library programs with Wisconsin state requirements and national best practices, and set a target that 70% of students will have equitable access to a school librarian in the 2025–26 school year.

Chief Academic Officer Jennifer Mims Howell told the committee the plan is guided by the Future Ready Library framework and state requirements and aims to make libraries "equitable places where learning happens" by integrating digital citizenship, research habits, and access to resources across grade levels. She said librarians and paraprofessionals support library services districtwide and that the plan includes measures to track students' growth with pre- and post-tests tied to grade-level curriculum.

Board members asked for more specific, school-level information. Director Benoit asked how many librarians the district currently employs and whether every school has librarian support; Mims Howell said a library exists in every school but that the administration would provide a breakdown of licensed librarians and paraprofessionals. Director Herndon asked that the report replicate the school-level format used in previous reports that accompanied referendum-funded library staffing, and the chair asked the Office of Board Governance to schedule the fuller report for a future meeting.

The item was presented as informational; no board action was taken. The administration said it would provide the requested counts and a school-level list of which schools currently have librarian support and which do not. That follow-up was captured by the committee as a direction to staff rather than a formal vote.