Tag: Education
School Funding Change on the Move in the Legislature
Between the fall of 2019 and fall 2020, 59 public school systems’ enrollment grew by nearly 6,500 students.
But under the state’s current funding structure, systems have to fund most of that growth, including hiring the needed teachers, out of their local tax revenue, and state funding is slow to catch up, if it ever does, educators say. For some of the systems with the largest growth, that’s hundreds of students and millions of dollars.
Senate Bill 9 would amend the state’s Foundation Program to calculate growth so systems don’t have to wait a year for per-student funding, which this year is about $6,271. It would estimate non-virtual enrollment based on the previous years’ growth. Read more.
AEA Selects New Executive Director
Amy Hubbard Marlowe is the new executive director of the Alabama Education Association, the organization’s board of directors announced this week.
Marlowe has served as interim executive director for two years and previously worked in the association’s governmental relations, public relations and research and technology branches.
The AEA’s primary legislative goal this session is a significant pay raise for educators, the press release said. Gov. Kay Ivey is expected to request in the proposed budget she sends lawmakers this week a 2% increase, ADN reported last week.
Read more.
Fultondale High School Too Badly Damaged by Tornado to Use Again
The end came earlier than expected for the Fultondale High School facility.
After the school suffered heavy damage from this week’s EF-3 tornado, Jefferson County Schools Superintendent Dr. Walter Gonsoulin announced Friday that the building would no longer be used for in-school education.
“We have been assessing the damage since Monday night. At this point, it does not appear the building will be able to be occupied again. The damage is that extensive,” Gonsoulin said in a statement sent by email and Facebook to parents and staff.
Read more.
Mental Health Services in Schools Improving, More Help Needed
Mental health support in Alabama schools has improved since the Alabama Legislatures appropriated $4.5 million toward the effort last year, but education leaders say more help is needed.
Education and mental health leaders held a joint press conference in the State House Wednesday, announcing a renewed push for more funding from the Legislature.
“I think we have made major impacts, particularly under the situation right now with COVID, but I think there is still a dire need for services, collaboratives, as well as tools for these people to have,” Kay Warfield, the Alabama State Department of Education’s education administrator, said.
Read more.
How Are Schools Handling Spring Semester Classes Amid COVID Fears?
The continuing spread of COVID-19 throughout the state of Alabama has raised questions about how schools plan to go into this 2021 spring semester, which begins Tuesday.
Several schools have altered their plans from their fall semester operations, while some are continuing with the same conditions they had before the holiday.
Particularly given the new, more infectious strain of COVID-19 that has made its way into the United States, safety precautions and social distancing measures are a top priority. Read more and see list of school systems.
Alabama Students in Fourth and Eighth Grades Score Below National Averages in Math, Reading
When the National Report Card, an assessment of educational progress, came out for 2019, the results were not great for Alabama.
Alabama students in fourth and eighth grades lag behind the country in the overall reading and math scores. Worse, average reading scores for Alabama students actually went down from where they were the last time the assessment was done — just two years earlier.
And race and ethnic gaps remain evident in the scores, with white students scoring close to the national average in reading and math, followed by Hispanic and black students, in that order.
Read more.
Back to School: Metro Districts Moving From Virtual to Face-to-Face Instruction
As metro Birmingham school systems learn to cope with the COVID-19 outbreak, many of them are changing back to traditional class schedules, or at least something closer to it.
In general, many systems that began with only virtual learning to start the year already have moved toward allowing students back on campus, at least part time. The Jefferson County School System, for instance, is in the midst of a staggered plan to get students back to school in person full time.
Others plan to reassess their schedules at the end of the first nine-week grading period, late this month. Read more and look up your school district.
On Second Thought: Hoover City Schools Return Elementary Students to Classrooms, but Not Older Kids
The Hoover City School District has altered a decision to return students to classrooms on a full-time basis because of a turn for the worse in local COVID-19 data.
Instead, parents of children in fifth grade and younger who opted for in-school education will attend classes four days a week beginning Monday, according to a statement issued Tuesday by the system. That’s up from the two days a week that those students attend now. But those in grades six and higher will stay with the staggered two-day schedule — a reversal of a previous decision by the system to return to in-school classes every day. Parents who opted for virtual learning for their children may continue using that system.
Read more.
The Loyalty Foundation and Partners Chip in Computers for Area Students
With an eye toward bridging the digital divide, The Loyalty Foundation joined forces with Jefferson County and other partners to provide computers to students in underserved communities in the region.
Fifty boxes with new computers were on display today in the County Commission chambers as the joint effort was announced. Commissioner Sheila Tyson is part of the effort, along with DC BLOX, an Atlanta-based data center provider in Birmingham’s Titusville Community. Read more.
Board of Education President Criticizes Woodfin’s Plan to Cut Funding for Birmingham Schools
Though she insisted that she was “absolutely not here in my professional capacity,” Birmingham School Board President Daagye Hendricks addressed the Birmingham City Council on Tuesday, calling Mayor Randall Woodfin’s proposed FY 2021 budget “egregious” for cutting funding to city schools.
This year’s city budget is nearly $50 million smaller than last year’s budget, thanks to a sharp decline in the city’s business tax revenue due to the COVID-19 pandemic. One of the $412 million budget’s many proposed austerity measures — which include funding cuts for external organizations and furloughs for hundreds of city employees — is a reduction of $1 million in city funding to Birmingham City Schools.
Read more.
