Fox Chapel Area High School library named best school library in the state

Isabella Cheatham has found a home away from home at her school library.

The Fox Chapel Area High School senior said she feels welcome in the educational and relaxed space overseen by librarian Laura Ward — so much so that she and several other students start the day there instead of the traditional homeroom.

“I love being in the library,” Cheatham said. “It’s a really comfortable atmosphere.”

Junior Umayma Trebek is another student who starts her school day in the library. She loves the librarian and her assistant, Mary Helen Ryan, as well as its amenities.

“I love coming into the library not even just in homeroom, but in between periods to have a quick chat with them,” Umayma said. “They’re always so welcoming. The library’s such a fun place to come with your friends, even though you’re not supposed to talk in the library. … There are so many perks that come with the library. We do have a private bathroom.”

The library also has a Keurig, a refrigerator, a computer area to do research and homework, a courtyard for outdoor reading and a classroom area with a projector and other technology.

There are about 15,000 items including books and DVDs that students can borrow.

“My keystone is connection development, not collection development,” Ward said. “I care more about making connections. Not just with students, but with the staff and the community. I wanted to center the library around that idea.”

Ward’s welcoming atmosphere and her inspiring quotes from the American sports comedy/drama show “Ted Lasso” has helped foster a culture of well-read students who support one another and form clubs to connect others with similar interests.

“She has so much energy and she has so much passion in what she puts into things,” senior Kai Edwards said about Ward. “She’s always able to keep the energy up.”

Edwards encouraged middle schoolers with any preconceived notions of the library to “throw those out the window” before their freshman year because it is so much more than a place to check out a book.

All of that has caught the attention of the Pennsylvania School Librarians Association, which recently named Fox Chapel Area the 2025 Outstanding Pennsylvania School Library.

Shelf care

One of the student-led groups is the Shelf Care Club, formerly the Bibliotherapy Club.

It features about 10 students and two school sponsors, Ward and school counselor Rachel Machen. The club meets twice a month and focuses on mental health materials.

“It’s like a form of therapy for students through reading books,” Cheatham said. “We read books that are centered around mental health, and then we talk about them and bring in our own experiences. It’s just a safe space for students to talk about mental health and explore ideas of mental health and better understand it.”

Umayma said being a part of the club has helped her deal with the stress of school, preparing for college and other life challenges.

“It really helps me re-center myself whenever I’m feeling down or anything like that,” said Umayma, club treasurer.

A little about the librarian

Ward, a West Virginia native and Oak Glen High School grad, has been with the district for 17 years, including 11 as a librarian. She also serves as head girls wrestling coach and assistant girls tennis coach.

Ward has a master’s degree in library and information science from the University of Pittsburgh and a doctorate in educational leadership and administration from Point Park University.

She served as a teacher in Baltimore County Public Schools for two years before coming to Fox Chapel.

Ward said the administration has been very supportive of her ideas to expand the library and add more things for students.

“Every time I have a crazy idea — podcast studio, fireplace, Shelf Care Club — they are so supportive and they help me along the way,” Ward said. “That’s what I love so much about Fox Chapel.”

Her first experience in library management was as a student worker at Oak Glen. She also served as a statistician for her high school’s wrestling team.

Those managerial skills, combined with continued education and a passion for athletics, have made Ward a de facto therapist — but with more bookshelves in her workspace.

Vie Filar, a senior wrestler, said Ward is more than a librarian and a coach.

“Since (joining the team), I’ve been completely supported (by) her inside and outside the library,” Filar said. “She’s seen me at my lowest of lows and highest of highs. She’s been there for every single second. Every time I pop into the library I feel supported. I feel seen and heard. (Ward is) someone I know I can talk to.”

State recognition

The award will be presented at the 51st annual PSLA conference at the Bayfront Convention Center in Erie on April 3-4.

“Fox Chapel Area High School Library is an exemplary school library as evident in the programming, community outreach and daily interactions you have with students and staff,” association president Sarah DeMaria said via letter to the district.

DeMaria also referenced the Shelf Care Club as one example of how the library impacts students.

Her letter goes on to say how Fox Chapel Area was selected for the award because it exceeds the criteria with regards to the six foundations that are part of the American Association of School Librarians standards — that school libraries are places where students can inquire, include, collaborate, curate, explore and engage.

The PSLA did not respond to multiple messages seeking comment at press time.

“I’ve always known that this is a special library and a special place,” Ward said. “I’m just glad that other people can see it now. It’s not just coming from me talking about it. There are other people talking about how great it is. I feel like I’m a broken record sometimes. It’s nice that everybody can see how great the school is, the library is and what we have.”

There is no monetary award with the recognition.

The library’s budget this school year is $23,385. School enrollment is about 1,360 students.

Future plans include creating a podcast room in the reference section. It likely involves moving more books into the nonfiction section.

Shelf Care Club members said the only change they would like to see at the library is reupholstered furniture.

No challenge

People challenging school library materials across the nation have been in the news for the past few years.

According to an Associated Press report, the American Library Association tracked about 695 challenges to library materials and services through the first eight months of 2023 compared to 681 during that same time period in 2022. In 2019, the last pre-pandemic year, the association recorded just 377 challenges involving 566 titles.

ALA defines a challenge as a “formal, written complaint filed with a library or school requesting that materials be removed because of content or appropriateness.”

The ALA’s Office for Intellectual Freedom documented 1,247 demands to censor library books, materials and resources by the end of 2023 — that includes public libraries as well as school libraries.

Fox Chapel Area does have a districtwide policy for challenges and families are welcome to inquire about materials — they can fill out a form online and submit what they want to challenge and why. A committee of district leaders would be formed to review the challenge and material in question.

Ward said she has not had a challenge in her 11 years in large part due to a thorough vetting process.

She routinely checks with teachers to discuss curriculum and lessons before seeking supportive educational materials.

Ward also reads multiple reviews of books before adding them to the district collection.

One of the books on Fox Chapel Area High School shelves that was challenged in libraries in other states is “Speak,” a young adult novel by Laurie Halse Anderson, which tells the story of a 13-year-old girl struggling with life and school after she is raped at a party before her freshman year of high school.

The book was on the ALA’s top 10 most challenged books of 2020.

Cheatham defended the district having “Speak” and similar content, and said that it is important for high schoolers to have access to such sensitive material.

“I’m very blessed that I go here because of how much material we have and our options,” she said. “The club is very centered on books that have been challenged and concepts that people don’t want their children reading about or knowing about. “I think that it’s so important that our superintendent and our administration let us read these, and also let us run this club that is really focused on issues that are super tricky to discuss. I think it’s important for younger students to come up and read these books and understand these things.”