I also love books and believe kids should have as easy of access to as many books as possible.
What I would suggest however, is that you start gently and respectfully find out the background and viewpoints of the other teachers, admins, and volunteers.
I volunteered in my local public school for over 12 years plus have experience with Catholic schools as well. There is a lot of similarities when it comes to the decision making actually.
First you have the funding - someone (be it the school board or the parish council) holds the purse strings and makes the top level decisions about money. That’s what would need to be addressed regarding getting a librarian back into the school.
Second you have the legalities - I saw first hand the teacher frustration with our state’s laws when they mandated that various set amounts of time be given to X, Y, and Z. It sounds good on paper … but there are only a certain number of minutes in the school day. A mandatory “uninterrupted reading time” law in my state resulted in the loss of library time because library time involved walking around and looking at books - and to qualify, the time had to be specifically sitting still and reading (no listening to an adult read, etc.)
Third you have the experiences - people create rules and procedures based on experience. And you have to find out why things are the way they are before you can change them. Don’t assume - have the meaningful conversations and find out. Maybe the ESL teacher had too many of their books - purchased with their own money - disappear. Maybe the library area has a mold issue no one has the funding to address. Maybe some parents have made too much noise about “wasted time” or lodged complaints about which books are available.
Fourth - once you know what the funding situation is, what legalities are in place, what past problems/concerns have led to the current situation - then you talk with the power brokers. The PTO members, the parish council members, the pastor, the principal, etc - every school I’ve been at has a core group of about 5 to 15 people who in the end really make everything happen. You get them in agreement with you - things change. You don’t - it’s impossible and you’ll find your contract not getting renewed.
I also love books and believe kids should have as easy of access to as many books as possible.
What I would suggest however, is that you start gently and respectfully find out the background and viewpoints of the other teachers, admins, and volunteers.
I volunteered in my local public school for over 12 years plus have experience with Catholic schools as well. There is a lot of similarities when it comes to the decision making actually.
First you have the funding - someone (be it the school board or the parish council) holds the purse strings and makes the top level decisions about money. That’s what would need to be addressed regarding getting a librarian back into the school.
Second you have the legalities - I saw first hand the teacher frustration with our state’s laws when they mandated that various set amounts of time be given to X, Y, and Z. It sounds good on paper … but there are only a certain number of minutes in the school day. A mandatory “uninterrupted reading time” law in my state resulted in the loss of library time because library time involved walking around and looking at books - and to qualify, the time had to be specifically sitting still and reading (no listening to an adult read, etc.)
Third you have the experiences - people create rules and procedures based on experience. And you have to find out why things are the way they are before you can change them. Don’t assume - have the meaningful conversations and find out. Maybe the ESL teacher had too many of their books - purchased with their own money - disappear. Maybe the library area has a mold issue no one has the funding to address. Maybe some parents have made too much noise about “wasted time” or lodged complaints about which books are available.
Fourth - once you know what the funding situation is, what legalities are in place, what past problems/concerns have led to the current situation - then you talk with the power brokers. The PTO members, the parish council members, the pastor, the principal, etc - every school I’ve been at has a core group of about 5 to 15 people who in the end really make everything happen. You get them in agreement with you - things change. You don’t - it’s impossible and you’ll find your contract not getting renewed.