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Goodbye. But only for a moment

Today is the last day the Alabama School Connection will publish new content. It’s time to say goodbye. But only for a moment. Beginning Monday, I will begin a new job as statewide education reporter for Alabama Media Group, publishing online at al.com. I’m thrilled...
Posted On Oct 14 2016
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Enrollment Opens for Alabama’s Non-Traditional High School Diploma

Students who didn’t earn a diploma before they left high school now have the opportunity to go back and do so. In July, the state board of education approved the “nontraditional high school diploma”, providing pathways for students who either dropped out of high...
Posted On Oct 05 2016
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What the Annual Alabama “School Incident Report” Shows

Each summer, the Alabama State Department of Education (ALSDE) releases the annual “Student Incident Report” (SIR) by school. It is a compilation of numbers of students involved in violations at school, reported online via the SIR system. Any and ever...
Posted On Sep 21 2016
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Alabama’s A-F School Grading System Is Almost Ready

This December, Alabamians will finally see letter grades linked to accountability measures for each of our nearly 1,400 public schools. Plans are being finalized for the A-F school grading system, and the most recent draft, assumed to be final, was presented at September’s state...
Posted On Sep 14 2016
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Wanna Know More About Who Gets Paddled in Alabama’s Schools?

Alabama Media Group and Alabama School Connection collaborated on this story, published Monday morning, about paddling in Alabama’s schools. We learned this morning that nearly 19,000 students were paddled in Alabama’s schools during the 2013-2014 school year...
Posted On Sep 12 2016
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Federal Judge Rules in Favor of Cleburne County Student Alleging Discriminatory Treatment

An African-American student who filed suit against the Cleburne County Board of Education will return to the football field after U.S. District Judge Virginia Hopkins issued an order temporarily setting aside the extended punishment given to him last February banning him from...
Posted On Aug 16 2016
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Public Meetings for the Every Student Succeeds Act Start Tuesday, August 9

Here’s your chance to weigh in with state department of education officials about the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA). ESSA is the new federal law replacing No Child Left Behind. Malissa Valdes-Hubert, Public Information Manager for the Alabama State Department of...
Posted On Aug 08 2016
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Explainer: What Is Wrong with America’s Civic Education

Peter Levine, Tufts University Any election demands knowledge, attention and wisdom from the whole electorate. When a campaign season does not seem to be going well, there’s often angst about whether the public has been sufficiently educated. Anxious eyes turn to our public...
Posted On Jul 13 2016
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Governor’s ESSA Committee Has Completed First Round of Meetings, Here’s What’s Next

The statewide committee charged with planning for implementation of the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) recently completed their first round of sub-committee meetings. The Governor’s web page for ESSA has been updated to include meeting notes from four of the seven...
Posted On Jul 11 2016
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State Board of Education to Consider Untraditional High School Diploma at July Board Meeting

Students who were unable to earn an Alabama high school diploma because they either didn’t earn enough credits and/or couldn’t pass one or more portions of the old Alabama High School Graduation Exam (AHSGE) could be given a second chance to do so. The State Board of...
Posted On Jul 11 2016
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Racial Discrimination Lawsuit Filed on Behalf of Student at Cleburne County High School

In a lawsuit filed in federal court last week, an African-American Cleburne County High School student alleges he was discriminated against, punished more severely than white students for the same offense, and retaliated against by three members of the Cleburne County Board of...
Posted On Jul 07 2016
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Public Charter School Operators Letters of Intent Released by the Commission

The Alabama Public Charter School Commission today released letters of intent from the five groups hoping to operate public charter schools in Alabama. The groups are (click the links to read the letters of intent): The SLAM Foundation, Miami, Florida The Mobile Area Education...
Posted On Jul 07 2016
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Confusion Abounds on How to Enroll Homeschooled Students to Play Sports in Public Schools

Though the Alabama High School Athletic Association (AHSAA) approved changes to allow homeschooled students to play sports in Alabama’s public schools, some school districts are not yet enrolling homeschooled students due to confusion about academic and other enrollment...
Posted On Jul 05 2016
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State Board of Education Members Open to Feedback about State Superintendent Applicants

Education writer Larry Lee recently wrote that Rep. Terri Collins (R-Decatur) was “meddling” by sending an email to state school board members about her choice for state superintendent. Collins chairs the House Education Policy Committee. Most bills that are proposed...
Posted On Jul 02 2016
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Five Letters of Intent from Charter Operators Received by the Alabama Public Charter School Commission

The Alabama Public Charter School Commission received letters of intent from five potential charter school operators interested in operating public charter schools in Alabama. Commission member Thomas Rains confirmed the number of letters in an interview this afternoon. Rains...
Posted On Jun 28 2016
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Advanced Placement Courses in Alabama – See the Data Here

Alabama School Connection and BirminghamWatch recently collaborated to publish a package of articles about how Advanced Placement (AP) course-taking is on the rise, why that rise has occurred, and what impact that may have for students in Alabama. We pulled together a lot of data...
Posted On Jun 26 2016
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A Look Back at Early Integration Efforts, Post-Brown, Through the Eyes of the Southern School News

Reprinted from the first issue of the Southern School News, September 3, 1954: WITH this first issue of Southern School News, the Southern Education Reporting Service [SERS] undertakes a major new journalistic assignment —to tell the story, factually and objectively, of what...
Posted On Jun 22 2016
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How Charter Schools Can Open in Your Neighborhood

When state lawmakers passed a law in 2015 to allow public charter schools to operate in Alabama, they laid out two paths for potential charter school operators: (1) through the Alabama Public Charter School Commission and (2) through local boards of education who choose to become...
Posted On Jun 21 2016
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Governor’s ESSA Committee Moving Forward – Website Live Now

By December 1, Alabama’a Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) state implementation committee will recommend how to implement provisions of the law to the Alabama State Board of Education. The State Board of Education will then have a few months to tweak the plan as it deems...
Posted On Jun 20 2016
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Special Education Advisory Panel Meeting Scheduled for June 15

Advocates, educators and parents of children with special needs will gather in Montgomery on Wednesday, June 15, at 9:30 a.m. for their twice-yearly meeting. Interpreter services for the hearing impaired and Spanish speaking individuals will be available. According to the Alabama...
Posted On Jun 07 2016
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Court Documents Reveal Turmoil within Hoover’s Trace Crossings Elementary Is Nothing New

Court documents and testimony in a federal sexual discrimination lawsuit are now providing an inside, public look at the dysfunction inside Hoover’s Trace Crossings elementary school during the years parents were leaving in droves for private- and home-school opportunities. Those...
Posted On Jun 05 2016
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Feeding Alabama’s School Children During the Summer – Sites Updated June 30

UPDATE: The map was updated June 30 to reflect additional sites.  Most of the 480,395 children in Alabama who are eligible for free or reduced-price meals during the school year don’t have access to those meals during the summer, according to U.S. Department of Agriculture...
Posted On Jun 01 2016
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Weigh In on the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA)

Sure, summer is (almost) here. But what could be better than reading through proposed rules for accountability provisions in the new federal education law and sharing your thoughts with the U.S. Department of Education through their online portal? On the one hand, the timing is...
Posted On May 26 2016
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Special Education Due Process Changes Rise Again

Those special education due process changes have arisen again and are back on the table for Round Three, though the most controversial change has been scrapped. The Alabama State Department of Education (ALSDE) had proposed cutting the time period within which parents coul...
Posted On May 25 2016
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Dyslexia Advocacy Group Asks for Input

If you are the parent of a child with dyslexia, Decoding Dyslexia of Alabama and other support groups want to hear from you. They’ve created a survey that will be open until May 25. Click here to start the survey. The survey asks parents of children with dyslexia what their...
Posted On May 20 2016
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