Since her first day as a librarian at Madison Middle School two years ago, Quinntana Slaughter has made it her mission to better serve the school’s increasingly multicultural and multilingual student body.
Slaughter prioritizes offering books in various languages to reflect the diversity of her students. The week before Thanksgiving, Madison Middle will host an international event, allowing students to celebrate their cultural pride and educate their peers, teachers, and community members about their backgrounds.
“We have many students learning English, and I aim to provide them with materials that allow them to feel comfortable reading in their native languages while they learn,” she explains. “Our library also highlights various awareness days and months throughout the school year, showcasing resources from our collection to support these events.”
Slaughter comes to work every day eager to help every student learn and thrive. She emphasizes digital literacy, teaching students how to navigate the internet and social media responsibly. Through the school’s makerspace, a collaborative environment, she offers technology adventures for students to design, experiment, and create with tools like 3D printers.
As an instructional partner, Slaughter also provides resources to support the curriculum and assists students with information literacy and research needs. She integrates coding, media literacy, and responsible internet use into library lessons, fostering creativity and collaboration.
“Library services have evolved significantly with the addition of technology,” she notes. “We now offer access to digital resources, making it easier to find books online.”
Thanks to a partnership with Nashville Public Library, students can access books, ebooks, and more at any time using their student library card numbers through the Limitless Libraries program. Most students have laptops and can use library resources via ClassLink and the library application, which Slaughter helps them learn to navigate if they need assistance.
“Our partnership with Nashville Public Library allows for many outreach opportunities,” she says. “They come to our school and provide lunchtime activities with our students while giving them information on programming that occurs at the Main Library branch and the Madison branch, which serves our student population. The activities also provide our students with a chance to creatively express themselves through arts and crafts.”
Seeing Libraries as Hubs – and Librarians as Heroes
A proud graduate of MNPS from the Hillsboro High School Class of 1996, Slaughter completed her bachelor's degree in history at Tennessee State University and holds two master’s degrees – one in public service management from Cumberland University and another in library and information science from Trevecca Nazarene University. Before joining MNPS, she worked as a public health administrator at the Metro Nashville Public Health Department, serving as the community liaison for the Nashville Regional HIV Planning Council.
Slaughter first came to love the work of librarians when she was a child, driven by her passion for knowledge and a desire to help others access vital resources. She views libraries as community hubs where individuals from all backgrounds can come together to learn, grow, and explore.
“Growing up in Flint, Michigan, I spent my summers in the library. The librarians were my heroes – surrounded by books, helping others, and creating a welcoming space for the community,” she recalls. “One summer, they had a reading challenge, and seeing LeVar Burton when 'Reading Rainbow' was the best show on TV made librarians seem like superstars to me.”
Slaughter is a mother of three wonderful daughters, two of whom are MNPS students, and a proud grandmother of four – two boys and two girls – who live in Spokane, Washington. In her free time, she enjoys exploring genealogy, has a deep love for music, and cherishes quality time with her daughters.