Education News in Alabama

June 14, 2005 (archive)

IT WAS A GOOD WEEK FOR:

West Jasper Elementary School which was the recipient of the Sixth Annual National Change Award given by the American Association of Schools Administrators, Pearson Education and the Fordham University Graduate School of Education. The award recognizes schools that have made significant changes and had great success in raising the achievement of all students. In his remarks to the State Board of Education, Principal Eric Smith attributed the success of West Jasper to four things:

1. The school participates fully in the Alabama Reading Initiative and has switched from whole-group instruction to individualized and small-group instruction
2. The faculty uses assessments to drive instruction, monitoring each student's progress and tailoring classroom instruction to build upon students' strengths and strengthen their weaknesses
3. The faculty work as a team to improve their skills and the achievement of their students.
4. The school and faculty employ positive words and positive attitudes. The faculty, parents and student all believe that every child at West Jasper is special and that every child can succeed.

For more details on the elements of success at West Jasper Elementary, download the Summer/Fall 2004 issue of “Working Toward Excellence” at http://www.bestpracticescenter.org/publ/wteindex.html.

It was also a good week for several schools and educators in Alabama:

Jefferson County International Baccalaureate School was named America's #1 Public High School in Newsweek's list of America's Top Public High Schools. Other Alabama schools listed were Mountain Brook High School, Alabama School of Fine Arts in Birmingham, Auburn High School, Virgil Grissom High School in Huntsville, and Loveless Academic Magnet Program in Montgomery.

Jane Hampton was named the Alabama 2004 National Distinguished Principal by the National Association Of Elementary School Principals and the U.S. Department Of Education. Hampton is the principal of Oak Mountain Elementary School in the Shelby County School System and has spent 32 years serving the children in Shelby County as a teacher, assistant principal, and principal at the elementary level.

Marguerite Early was named the 2004 MetLife/National MetLife/National Association of Secondary Schools Principals State Middle School Principal Of The Year for 2004. Early is the principal of Hokes Bluff Middle School in the Etowah County School System where she has been the leader for the past four years.

Tommy Ledbetter was named MetLife/National Association Of Secondary Schools Principals State Secondary Principal Of The Year for 2004. Ledbetter is the principal of Buckhorn High School in the Madison County School System where he has been the leader for 23 years. His visionary commitment and stellar dedication to literacy secured Buckhorn’s success as a state and national model for secondary literacy reform.

Buckhorn H.S. will be featured in the upcoming issue of Working Toward Excellence, scheduled for publication later this summer. It was also featured in "Closing the Gap: How the Alabama Reading Initiative is Transforming Reading Instruction for all Students," which can be downloaded for free at http://www.bestpracticescenter.org/publ/index.html

SETTING THE RECORD STRAIGHT

A+ would like to correct two mistakes in our review of the FY 2006 Education Budget. First, State Superintendent Dr. Morton has never said he believes there will be proration in the 2005-06 budget year. And he believes that if revenues should fall short of what is needed to sustain appropriations, partial payments made in previous years to restore the Rainy Day Fund will be available to offset the effects of proration. It is the sustainability of growth needed to support appropriations for 2006- 07 that was a matter of concern to Dr Morton, the Governor and some policymakers.

Second we stated that the Legislative Fiscal Office (LFO) had projected a growth rate of 9.5% needed to sustain the level of appropriations granted by the legislature. In fact, near the end of the legislative session the LFO released a projection of 5.69% growth needed to sustain appropriation levels for the FY 2007 budget.

Our budget commentary reflected our concern that the most optimistic projections are required to sustain the budget allocations. We would have preferred a more cautious approach. ETF revenues have grown at rates of over 9% in recent months, however the ETF has averaged 4.15% over the last 15 years.

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Education News in Alabama is published bi-weekly by the A+ Education Foundation and is distributed to A+ board members, the media, and list serve subscribers. View archived newsletters.

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