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Education News in Alabama
By Sallie Owen
1. DISTANCE LEARNING TO REACH EVERY ALABAMA HIGH SCHOOL Full ACCESS distance learning capability will reach every Alabama high school by the 2009-10 school year, one year ahead of schedule. State Superintendent of Education Joe Morton is using $11 million from the recent $1 billion education bond issue to fund expansion grants. All public high schools already have the capacity to offer ACCESS's internet-based classes. These grants will put an interactive video conferencing classroom in all 371 high schools statewide. ACCESS is a top priority for Gov. Bob Riley. It "gives students all across the state learning opportunities they other would never have," Riley said. "ACCESS lets students take courses not offered at their schools," Sen. Hank Sanders writes about ACCESS in his latest weekly column. 2. DOTHAN DEBUTS COMMUNITY PARTNERSHIP WITH SCHOOLS "Yes We Can! Dothan" kicked off Tuesday with a news conference attended by more than a hundred people who want to work together to strengthen public schools in Dothan. Dozens of Community Conversations are scheduled throughout the area to gather public input on goals for the school system. Watch video from WTVY News, "Education initiative says 'Yes We Can! Dothan'": "Yes We Can! Dothan" is part of the "Yes We Can! Alabama" network. The network, designed to connect communities working for better schools around the state, is a partnership of A+, Leadership Alabama, the Mobile Area Education Foundation and the Public Affairs Research Council of Alabama. 3. 'YES WE CAN! BIRMINGHAM' STARTS FOUNDATION Community leaders formed the Birmingham City Schools Foundation to see that the Birmingham City school system follows through on goals and demands voiced by citizens. The foundation is a product of "Yes We Can! Birmingham," which has been gathering input from Birmingham citizens about what they want in their public schools. This input will form the basis of a "community agreement" between citizens and the school system. Read "Birmingham school foundation launched to raise money, foster support," from the Birmingham News: http://snipurl.com/ywcbham02 And the move won praise from the News' editorial page. Read "A new foundation": http://snipurl.com/ywcbham03 "Yes We Can! Birmingham" is also part of the "Yes We Can! Alabama" network. The network, designed to connect communities working for better schools around the state, is a partnership of A+, Leadership Alabama, the Mobile Area Education Foundation and the Public Affairs Research Council of Alabama. 4. ALABAMA PRE-K ADVOCATES WIN NATIONAL AWARD The Alabama School Readiness Alliance won the Pre-K Champion Award given by Pre-K Now, a national organization which promotes high-quality pre-kindergarten for four-year-olds. And the Alabama Office of School Readiness was also honored at the awards ceremony in Washington, D.C. “Alabama has emerged as a national leader in the pre-k movement. Thanks to the work of the Alabama School Readiness Alliance and the Office of School Readiness, thousands of children will benefit from the enriching, nurturing experiences that will set them on a trajectory for educational and social success,” said Libby Doggett, Ph.D., executive director at Pre-K Now. “These organizations have helped to expand access and maintain quality at the same time...this should be the goal for every state.” The Alliance's founding partners are Alabama Giving, the Alabama Partnership for Children, A+ and VOICES for Alabama's Children. 5. HIPPY HELPS PARENTS SUPPORT LEARNING Funding for high-quality pre-k in Alabama got a boost during the 2008 special legislative session. Lawmakers and Governor Riley approved an education budget to double funding for pre-k to $20 million. Part of that money will fund another school readiness program called HIPPY, which stands for Home Instruction Program for Parents of Preschool Youngsters. To read about HIPPY and its impact in Talladega County, check out this article: 6. RESEARCH FINDING: The Southern Poverty Law Center's Education Reform Project wants to see a research-based discipline program implemented statewide. The program, called Positive Behavior Interventions and Supports, has already been piloted successfully in Alabama. Examples include University Place Elementary in Tuscaloosa and Florence Middle School. Research has shown that school discipline practices are a major factor in pushing vulnerable children out of school and, often, into the juvenile justice system, a path known as the "school-to-prison pipeline." Dissatisfaction with school discipline is also a reason many teachers in Alabama leave the profession. PBIS fundamentally transforms the school into an environment where good behavior is taught and modeled by everyone from the principal to the custodian. Students are rewarded and praised for the good behavior while discipline problems are addressed in a smarter way. Read more and get the report, "Effective Discipline for Student Success: Reducing Student and Teacher Dropout Rates in Alabama," from http://www.splcenter.org/news/item.jsp?aid=317 7. EXAMPLES OF EXCELLENCE
8. STATE BOARD OF EDUCATION UPDATE The Alabama State Board of Education met July 8. All members but the governor were present. The board elected new officers, voting 7-0 for Randy McKinney to serve as vice president. Mary Jane Caylor was elected president pro tem on a 5-1-1 vote, with Stephanie Bell voting "no" and Betty Peters abstaining. In other business, the board issued several commendations, including Shaneadra Graham from B.B. Comer High School, who is a semifinalist in the Royal Bank of Scotland's Achievers of the Year; and John Draper, who is retiring from the Council for Leaders in Alabama Schools. The board also approved teacher education programs at Spring Hill College and authorized review of programs at Jacksonville State and South Alabama. 9. WHAT'S UP @ A+ A+ COLLEGE READY EXCEEDS GOALS – Enrollment in Advanced Placement courses has topped expectations in four Montgomery high schools. The four are A+ College Ready program schools, participating in a training and incentive grant to boost Advanced Placement program success.** A+ College Ready is a division of the A+ Education Foundation. Read "AP pilot program exceeds goals" from the Montgomery Advertiser: (**Advanced Placement Programs is a registered trademark of the College Board, which was not involved in the production of, and does not endorse, this product.) 10. JOB OPENING The Alabama School Readiness Alliance in Montgomery is looking for a full-time administrative assistant. Contact Brittany Winfree (bwinfree@alavoices.org) for a job description. What is SNIPURL? We Need You Spread the word Want to subscribe? The A+ Education Foundation, based in Montgomery, publishes Education News in Alabama twice a month. A+ is a nonprofit organization that advances policies, programs and initiatives in Alabama's K-12 education system that result in high achievement by every child. Past editions can be found at www.aplusala.org/ednews/index.asp Feedback is welcome. Send messages to comments@aplusala.org |
July 16, 2008 (A+ Education Foundation
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