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The Birmingham City Council on Tuesday approved $3.5 million to expand early childhood education and literacy programs in the Magic City.
The money is part of a $38 million budget surplus approved by the council earlier this year.
The Small Magic program, formerly called Birmingham Talks, is a 10-week early education service that gives parents a wearable device that counts the words their children, age 5 or younger, hear throughout the day. The city has supported the project since it began in 2019, and in that time, it has grown from serving 90 children to about 1,500.
Small Magic is modeled after a Rhode Island program called Providence Talks, which was part of the Bloomberg Philanthropies’ Mayors Challenge. Bloomberg Philanthropies in 2018 chose Birmingham as one of five cities to replicate the project.
Councilor Clinton Woods said the number of words children are exposed to daily is one of the biggest indicators of literacy levels.
“This program allows us to have measurable data around how many words each child is hearing and to develop plans to increase that accordingly,” Woods said. “We want to make sure all of our children are being put in the best position to succeed in the classroom, and that’s a lot more difficult when they fall behind in reading comprehension. We’ve seen major improvement in literacy and reading levels over the last several years here in Birmingham.”
The money approved Tuesday will expand on Small Magic by supporting
- Training with UAB for expecting parents.
- Birmingham Reads, which provides tech-enabled support to parents to teach their 3- and 4-year-olds how to read.
- Ready Saturdays at the Birmingham Central Public Library where parents take young children for activities based on pre-K readiness standards.
“The kid thinks they’re having fun playing with blocks, but they’re actually learning early math skills like how to recognize patterns,” said Ruth Ann Moss, the executive director of Small Magic, who spoke to the council before the vote Tuesday.
A portion of the $3.5 million approved Tuesday will also go to improve childcare centers in Birmingham.
Moss said the money will pay for improving equipment and providing toys and books as well as offering technical assistance and coaching to help centers navigate certification processes.
Moss said the state of Alabama uses a one- to five-star rating system to evaluate childcare centers. In Birmingham, 87% of childcare facilities have one or fewer stars.
“So if you have one quality star, you get $9,000 a year from the state. If you have five quality stars, you get $90,000 a year from the state. If we here in Birmingham can focus on supporting the folks that take care of our youngest children, increase the quality that they provide, we’re going to get money from Montgomery sent up here to help our kids and our families,” she told the council
For families interested in these educational program opportunities, enrollment is now open at www.smallmagic.org.
Area Zoning Plans Set for Public Hearings, Other Business
The council on Tuesday also approved two public hearings related to the city’s 2013 Comprehensive Plan. Local leaders say the documents translate citywide goals into localized strategies for land use, housing, transportation, economic development and public space.
A public hearing for the Southern Area Framework Plan — which includes the Crestline, Crestwood and Red Mountain communities — is scheduled for next Tuesday during the City Council Meeting at 9:30 a.m. There will also be a community information meeting for this plan at 3:30 p.m. Thursday at the Avondale Library.
Another public hearing for the Pratt-Ensley Framework Plan will be held at 9:30 a.m. Sept. 22 at the Birmingham City Council meeting.
In other business, the council approved:
- An ordinance that ends a discount given to businesses that pay consumer use taxes early. These taxes apply when an item is ordered for shipping and the vendor does not collect sales tax at the point of sale, meaning the tax must be paid by the consumer instead. City officials said ending the discount aligns the city with recent state-level changes on the tax. The early remittance discount was capped at $400 for eligible businesses. City staff said the discount costs the city about $70,000 annually.
- $114,000 for a new grant program to support existing businesses in the city. According to city staff, the project, called the Legacy Forward Grant Program, will “support businesses modernization, operational stability and long-term sustainability.” The nonprofit group Urban Impact Inc. will develop, manage and administer the grant program for the city for $14,000, which will be paid out of the amount approved Tuesday.
