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The Future of Public Education Tour – Make Plans to Attend

Here is your chance to engage with the state superintendent of education. Alabama’s State Superintendent Dr. Tommy Bice kicks off a 12-stop tour across the state to share information about public education initiatives on Tuesday, August 26, at 6 p.m. at Lee High School in...
Posted On Aug 25 2014
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Civics Education in Alabama’s Public Schools

Having celebrated the 4th of July, a.k.a. Independence Day, a few days ago, I thought you might like a look at what our children are expected to learn about civics in our Alabama public schools. I wrote about this a couple of years ago, but figured that since a new Social Studies...
Posted On Jul 06 2014
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Tying Student Test Scores to Superintendent Evaluations

Everybody’s talking about tying teacher evaluations to student test scores. What if student growth, achievement, and/or test scores were tied to superintendent evaluations? What if, building upon the superintendent’s management skills, community-building skills,...
Posted On Jun 22 2014
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Staying Informed: Board of Education Notice and Agenda

A central tenet of engagement is being informed. How do you stay informed without knowing what your board of education is up to? And how do you know what your board is up to if you don’t receive the proper notification and an idea of what will be discussed in advance of...
Posted On Jun 15 2014
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What Does Your Board of Education Do? A Simple Challenge for You

What DOES your board of education do? Your board of education is where the buck stops in a school district. That’s the group of folks who vote the superintendent’s recommendations up or down, hire and fire the chief school financial officer, and approve the budget...
Posted On Apr 16 2014
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The Good Stuff Happening in Our Schools

Ever get tired of hearing the bad news about Alabama’s public schools? Wanna know where to find the good stuff? If you’re on Twitter (and you should be), check out this list of Twitter feeds for 31 of Alabama’s school districts. That’s where the good stuff...
Posted On Feb 27 2014
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Where to Get Daily News About K-12 Education in Alabama

Where do you get your daily news for K-12 public education in Alabama? Do you wait for it to come across your internet feed? Hunt for it on al.com or your local newspaper or digital news site? Check your Twitter feed? Coverage of K-12 education news is inconsistent in Alabama,...
Posted On Dec 22 2013
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Public Education User Fees – For School Bus Transportation?

Y’all might be aware that I’ve been busy with the Hoover Board of Education lately. It started here. Then it went here. And then here. And then the Board, after intervention by the United States Department of Justice (DOJ), and during Monday’s Regular board...
Posted On Dec 12 2013
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2014 Meeting Dates and Times Are Changing for the State Board of Education

State Superintendent Dr. Tommy Bice had only recently taken the head spot when I realized the wealth of information that could be gleaned from attending  State Board of Education (SBOE) Work Sessions and Meetings. I was impressed with the candid nature of discussions among state...
Posted On Dec 03 2013
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Virtual Schools in Alabama? Yep.

What is a virtual school? Think of it like a virtual store. When you’re shopping for gifts on the Internet, you’re not actually IN a store, but the shopping experience equates that of shopping in a store. And when you complete the transaction, the resulting product...
Posted On Dec 02 2013
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How Does Your Board Do Board Business with Your Community?

How does your board of education (BOE) do board business with your school community? It varies greatly from district to district, that’s for certain. A quick look at available documents on a district’s web site can give you an idea of how much information is shared...
Posted On Nov 29 2013
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Test Scores? Who Cares?

The used-to-be-counted-as-something-but-don’t-matter-this-year standardized test scores from Spring 2013 are now available to view. But don’t attempt any analysis unless you have a few extra hours to compile your own spreadsheets. The standardized testing ritual is...
Posted On Nov 17 2013
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How Many Folks Are Working in Your Schools?

Do you have any idea of how many folks are working in your schools? Would you know where to find the information if you wanted to know? This is another of those areas where it’s really difficult to get timely information. Most of the time, you likely don’t even think...
Posted On Nov 12 2013
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Trust But Verify. That’s So Hard in Alabama

Likely you have read of the Hoover Board of Education’s (HBOE) decision to eliminate transportation for all except children with special needs beginning with the 2014-2015 school year. The decision blind-sided many, myself included, as there had been no public discussion of...
Posted On Nov 10 2013
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Poverty in Alabama’s Schools

The Southern Education Foundation recently released “A New Majority: Low Income Students in the South and Nation“, which highlights that the majority of students in the South are considered low income. “Low income students” are students eligible for free...
Posted On Oct 18 2013
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Coordinated Learning Supports Arrive for Alabama’s Children

NOTE: 10/18/13 The headline was changed to “Coordinated Learning Supports Arrive for Alabama’s Children”. Originally the headline read “Extra Learning Supports Arrive for Alabama’s Children”. There’s really nothing “extra”...
Posted On Oct 17 2013
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Who’s Doing a Great Job Sharing Information with the Public? The Alabama State Department of Education

Did the headline catch you off-guard? I thought it might. Well, it’s true. I’ve been around these parts my whole life, and I have never seen a public education entity, state or local, more willing to share meaningful information with the public than the folks...
Posted On Oct 10 2013
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October Is Parent Visitation Month! What’s Going on at Your School?

Every year since 2005, the State Board of Education (SBOE) has proclaimed October to be Parent Visitation Month. A helpful guide is published by the ALSDE to assist schools and districts with planning special events for parents and families at school. The idea behind it is to...
Posted On Oct 08 2013
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Who Decides What Gets Taught in Our Classrooms?

What our children learn in Alabama’s classrooms is shaped by the Alabama course of study (COS) and the textbooks that are chosen to frame the subject’s study. Two separate committees are formed at the state level  (1) to determine the COS and (2) to approve a list of...
Posted On Oct 07 2013
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What Data Is Collected on Our School Children and How Is That Data Governed?

So just what data DO our public schools collect on our children? How is it housed? How, to whom, and in what form is it reported? These are data privacy issues and are burning questions in education in Alabama. This is a longer-than-average post, but stick with it, and you will...
Posted On Sep 30 2013
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Any Plans for Capital Projects in Your School District’s Future?

What is your board of education planning on building and/or repairing in the next five years? Here’s a handy link to find those plans yourself. You really ought to take a look. You might just find a few surprises like I did. For example, I was surprised to find that my...
Posted On Sep 23 2013
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Boards of Education Spending More Than We’re Sending Them for FY14

Our Alabama boards of education are planning to spend a whole lot of money in the next fiscal year. Fiscal Year 2014 (FY14) begins October 1 and ends September 30, 2014. With five districts’ budgets not yet available, the total of the other 130 school districts’...
Posted On Sep 22 2013
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School District Happenings: Learn What’s Going On

Change in public education continues to come at a fast and furious pace here in Alabama. From the new requirements for a high school diploma to Plan 2020 to the waiver from No Child Left Behind to the flexibility plans to the wave of technology many school districts are...
Posted On Sep 18 2013
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One Last Shot at Getting Our Constitution’s Education Article Right

Perhaps the third time will be the charm. Alabama is at it again, trying to write a decent Education Article for our state constitution. Trying to get it to pass in the legislature, and ultimately to be approved by the voters in the 2014 election. [For background on the rewrite...
Posted On Sep 11 2013
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Here’s Your Opportunity, Alabama, to Engage in a National Dialogue on Education Reform

OK, Alabama, don’t say you weren’t given the chance. One of the nation’s leading forces in education reform (whether you agree or disagree with her, she is a leading force) is coming to Birmingham on Thursday, September 12 for a Teacher Town Hall. Michelle Rhee,...
Posted On Sep 04 2013
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