Public schools
Biography of a district: Infrastructure one of many challenges awaiting next representative
The new 2nd Congressional District, with a Black Voting Age Population (BVAP) of 48.7%, was intended to give Black Alabamians a better chance to choose their leaders. In the end, the new boundary lines for the district did what they are supposed to do — give African Americans more of a voice within the state’s […]
Does a charter need a new contract to expand? Alabama commission plans to ask feds
The Alabama Public School Charter Commission Monday looked at ways to allow state charter schools to grow following a request from a Birmingham school. i3 Academy, a Birmingham-based charter school, has said they need another building with all of the benefits of a “cost center,” including state allocation, to house ninth grade and later grades […]
Cursive makes a comeback — by law — in public schools
This story was originally published on Stateline. In 2016, California Democratic state Assemblymember Sharon Quirk-Silva sat with then-California Gov. Jerry Brown at an event where he signed baseball-type cards featuring the image of his dog, Colusa. But many of the recipients of the cards couldn’t read his cursive signature, Quirk-Silva recalled, much to the Democratic […]
Alabama Public Charter School Commission may reconsider approval of Wiregrass school
The Alabama Public Charter School Commission may reconsider the approval of a Wiregrass charter school that staff says has not met reporting deadlines on pre-opening conditions. Barnabas School of Leadership, set to open next year in Dothan, received a one-year extension earlier this year. But the school is looking for a new building, said Logan […]
Alabama Department of Education wants to boost literacy in later grades
Having spent years focusing on reading skills for early elementary school students, the Alabama State Board of Education is seeking funds to boost literacy after third grade. The State Board of Education on Oct. 12 approved a budget request for “struggling readers beyond grade 3” for $22 million. Last year, the Board had requested $3 […]
Oklahomans concerned contentious law impacts teaching of ‘Killers of the Flower Moon’ history
OKLAHOMA CITY — With the release of the film “Killers of the Flower Moon,” questions still persist about Oklahoma schools’ ability to teach the historical events depicted in the film. The source of the uncertainty is House Bill 1775, a 2021 state law regulating classroom discussions on race and gender. Tribal leaders have called on […]
As migrants arrive, some schools need more buses, books and bilingual teachers
On a pretty fall day in Massachusetts last week, Morad Majjad began work by checking in with a middle school nurse to see if he was needed as a translator. By the time the day was over, Majjad — whose title is family liaison for the West Springfield school district but who is better described […]
Shaken by post-pandemic disruptions, some states take a harder line on school discipline
Parents in Boone County, Kentucky, were outraged this past January when a ninth grader who had been suspended a year earlier for threatening violence against his fellow students returned to class as soon as his punishment time was up. The parents packed a school board meeting, excoriating the county superintendent and other officials for the […]
Five Alabama schools awarded National Blue Ribbon School Program designation
Five Alabama schools were awarded the National Blue Ribbon Schools designation, according to a Tuesday afternoon news release. The National Blue Ribbon Schools Program has been in place since 1982, according to the U.S. Department of Education website. The program recognizes schools for “overall academic excellence or their progress in closing achievement gaps among student […]
States see influx of migrants from India, Venezuela and China
NEW YORK — A late-pandemic surge of new arrivals from India, Venezuela and China, reflecting people with legal visas and those fleeing across the United States’ southern border seeking asylum, helped bring more than 900,000 new immigrants to the U.S. between 2021 and 2022, according to a Stateline analysis of new census data to be released Thursday. Florida […]
Hit the snooze button: States debate later high school start times
California and Florida have become the first states to require later public school start times, a response to reams of research showing significant advantages for high school students who can get more sleep by beginning their day at 8:30 a.m. or later. But such changes come with difficult ripple effects — upended bus schedules, later starts […]
Alabama Public Charter School Commission preps for independence
How does a commission become independent? With a lot of paperwork. Alabama legislators this spring approved a bill to make the Alabama Public Charter School Commission, currently under the direction of the Alabama State Department of Education, into its own entity. Now, the commission needs to work through its budget, staffing and legal services. “So, […]