BW Recommends is a rundown of stories you might have missed this week. It offers insight into issues important to our area and sometimes tickles your curiosity.

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Birmingham Remembers the 16th Street Baptist Church Bombing, 62 Years Later (WBHM)

Monday marked the 62nd anniversary of the 16th Street Baptist Church bombing in Birmingham that killed four young Black girls. In a memorial service at the church, congregants remember the sacrifice of Denise McNair, Addie Mae Collins, Cynthia Wesley and Carole Robertson during the bombing that became a significant moment in the Civil Rights Movement and Birmingham’s history.

Behind the Latest Dismal NAEP Scores (The Hechinger Report)

It’s not just the pandemic. Recent declines are a continuation of learning loss that started long before that.

Alabama Department of Education Considers Changes to Testing for High School Graduation (Alabama Reflector)

The ASDE is considering applying for a waiver that would change the way high school students are considered prepared for college and work. Instead of taking the ACT, students could take the WorkKeys test. WorkKeys assesses workforce readiness in applied mathematics, workplace documents and graphic literacy, while the ACT measures college readiness in English, reading science and math.

Alabama Charter Schools Seek Share of County Taxes in Court (Alabama Daily News)

Eleven Alabama public charter schools are asking a Montgomery circuit judge to block the state superintendent of education from finalizing annual countywide property tax distributions to other public schools until the court decides whether charter schools are entitled to a share of those funds.

National Nonprofit Awards Birmingham Promise $1 Million for City Students (Birmingham Times)

The national nonprofit  CAFE Group this week awarded $1 million to Birmingham Promise Executive Director Samantha Williams to support scholarship and internship programs for students at Birmingham City Schools.

Deep South Mayors Discuss Building Prosperous Communities At Economic Growth Conference (Associated Press)

Mayors of cities across the Deep South, including Birmingham, gathered in Mississippi for the inaugural DELTA FEST conference to discuss ways to usher in a 10-year effort to build prosperous communities in Southern states.