Washington County Educator Writes The Governor
If you think Millry, AL is small, (population 546 in 2010) then go a few miles west of town to the Aquilla community. Its the kind of place that are sprinkled across the state. You know, you see one of those little green signs with a name, but nothing more. This was...
read moreEvaluators Slammed Washington County Charter Application
All charter school applications must be evaluated by a qualified entity before action by the state charter school commission. From the outset, this was done by the National Association of Charter School Authorizers based in Chicago. Today it is being done by the...
read moreWashington County Charter School Fiasco Gets National And International Attention
As we all know, news travels fast in this high-tech world we all live in. Even if it is news coming out of rural Washington County, AL. Dr. Diane Ravitch is in New York City. A former U.S. Assistant Secretary of Education, she is founder of the Network for Public...
read moreIs There Life After Sweet Tea?
Like most deep-friend southern boys, I like sweet iced tea. Like it a lot. Never one for coffee, I have gulped down gallons and gallons of sweet tea, morning, noon and night. A nectar of the Gods so to speak. Regardless the weather outside, nothing beats a tall...
read moreJosh Moon Exposes Washington County Charter School Debacle
Just as I did, John Moon with the Alabama Political Reporter, got a whiff of the stench coming from Washington County and started asking questions and digging. Josh is a veteran investigative reporter with a track record of exposing wrong doing. You can see his...
read moreThe Rape Of Washington County
If you are looking for peace and quiet and not many neighbors, my advice is to head for Washington County, AL. The first county north of Mobile County and bordered on one side by Mississippi and the Tombigbee River on the other, the last census showed only17,629...
read moreA Superintendent Has His Say
John Mullins is superintendent of the Arab city school system in Marshall County. Like most Alabama educators, he feels strongly about Senator Del Marsh's effort to repeal the Alabama College & Career Ready academic standards. Mullins is opposed to Marsh's plan. ...
read moreThose Who Ignore The Past Can Not See The Future
As I read the pontifications of present and former politicians who have all the answers for education in Alabama, my first inclination is to laugh. But I don't because it is obvious that they have either forgotten the state's past--or never knew it. So instead of...
read moreAnother NAEP Wild Goose Chase
We have discussed the National Assessment of Educational Progress test many times and talked about the silliness that politicians read into the numbers. How they constantly single out scores from just one year and treat them as if they came from a burning bush. How...
read moreAlabama Opportunity Scholarship Fund Cranks Up Spin Machine
From time to time one of the folks working for an Alabama scholarship granting organization speaks out. Which is well, fine and good and what they are paid to do. However, more often that not their message is long on fluff and short on facts and simply ignores the...
read moreWhat Impact Do Standards Have On NAEP Scores?
As we listen to the phony info about NAEP scores put out by those who support Del Marsh's politically-motivated attempt to repeal the Alabama College & Career Ready standards, we have to wonder SO WHAT? Like in SO WHAT do standards have to do with how a state scores...
read moreTwo More School Boards Pass Accountability Act Repeal Resolutions
Recently Morgan County and Washington County school boards joined the other 20 local systems who have passed resolutions calling on the legislature to repeal the Alabama Accountability Act. These 22 systems represent 204,505 students. This is almost 29 percent of all...
read moreAre You Ready To Go To Work?
Now that the latest "Marsh Monster", otherwise known as SB119 has passed the state senate, it will move downstairs to the House of Representatives. As you probably know, this is the bill to repeal the Alabama College & Career ready academic standards and insure that...
read moreDel Marsh And His Standards Repeal Farce
One of the definitions of "farce" is "an empty or patently ridiculous act, proceeding, or situation." I can think of no better example than the effort by Senator Del Marsh to repeal the Alabama College & Career Ready standards. First Marsh was a staunch supporter of...
read moreRep. Terri Collins Raises Valid Questions About Standards Repeal
Rep. Terri Collins of Decatur chairs the Education Policy committee in the Alabama House of Representatives. This means she will have a lot of input as to how Del Marsh's attempt to repeal the Alabama College & Career ready standards proceeds when it comes across the...
read moreThis Is Impossible. Numbers Don’t Support Del Marsh’s Claims
As we have mentioned repeatedly lately, Senator Del Marsh has declared war on the Alabama College & Career standards. Why? He says it is because Alabama students are going backwards and we have to blame it on something. (Even though he admitted to a principal this...
read moreSenator Marsh Using Mis-Leading Numbers To Push Legislation
Politicians love numbers. Even ones that are deceptive. I suppose they think the public is too dumb to catch their sleight of hand. Which means that no one should be surprised that the "talking points" put out by Del Marsh to promote his bill to roll back our...
read moreA Principal Takes Action
Courtney Wilborn is principal of White Plains Middle School in Calhoun County. This school has received numerous recognitions for its performance and Courtney was Alabama Middle School Principal of the year in 2018. All of which is to say that she personifies...
read moreGenerals Bring Common Sense To Standards Discussion
James Rogers, Tony Jones and Jim Myles have three things in common. 1. They all live in the Huntsville area. 2. They are all retired Army generals. 3.They think the idea of repealing the Alabama College & Career Ready standards is a very bad idea. Reporter Lee...
read moreNo Kidding, Del Marsh Wants Legislature To Decide On Alabama Education Standards
Senator Del Marsh obviously has little respect for teachers--and any other education folks. Apparently he does not consider teachers as professional or education to be a profession. Why do I come to this conclusion? Because his latest "Creature from the Black Lagoon"...
read moreDel Marsh Takes Aim At University Of Alabama Football
Republican Del Marsh singlehandedly passed the infamous Alabama Accountability Act in 2013 that has diverted $145 million from the state's public schools and has done nothing to help struggling schools. Now he has launched another sneak attack on public schools by...
read moreMarch 18, 2019: The Day My World Changed
Since my car is 20 years old, I am never too surprised when I have to take it to the shop. So why am I bewildered when my body--which is 56 years older than my car--needs the oil changed and brakes redone? Still I am. I'd not been at the top of my game for several...
read moreSenator Del Marsh Stoops To “Alternative Facts”
President Trump had hardly taken the oath of office in January 2017 when his advisor, Kellyanne Conway, told us on Meet The Press about "alternative facts." She was trying to defend press secretary Sean Spicer for disputing how many people attended the Trump...
read moreWhat Happened To Alabama Values?
How many times have we listened to some Alabama politician rant and rave about "Alabama values:? The obvious implication being that if you are not from Alabama, you are not as smart, good-looking and genteel as we are. Remember when George Wallace proudly claimed...
read moreMore Fake News
It is dumbfounding how far some folks will distort the truth so that they can claim they are the only people with the right answers. Basically if the facts don't fit their pre-conceived narrative, then why bother with them? I hold in my hand a flier promoting an...
read moreLiving In A Make Believe World
Huntingdon is a small college of 1,100 students here in Montgomery. They have a football team that belongs to the USA South Athletic Conference. They play schools such as LaGrange College, Brevard and North Carolina Wesleyan. Now join me in suspending reality for a...
read moreThree More School Boards Pass AAA Repeal Resolution
Roanoke City, Covington County and Blount County are the latest school boards to pass resolutions calling for the repeal of the Alabama Accountability Act. This brings the total to 20--with more on the way. According to information from Scholarship Granting...
read moreSchools Of Distinction Make Us All Proud
Each year the Council for Leaders in Alabama Schools host a luncheon to recognize 24 schools from around the state that have been chosen as SCHOOLS OF DISTINCTION. There are eight state school board districts. Three schools are picked from each district. And one of...
read moreWhy Are Alabama Taxpayers Footing Mary Scott Hunter’s Legal Bill?
Most readers are well aware of the very, very messy search process that brought Mike Sentance to Alabama in 2016 as state superintendent. The stench got so bad that state senators Gerald Dial and Quinton Ross conducted an investigation into what took place. I...
read moreBradley Byrne Joins Forces With Betsy DeVos
Congressman Bradley Byrne, already an announced candidate for U.S. Senate in 2020, took the stage with Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos, to announce his support for a program offering Federal tax credits for donations to scholarships for private schools. Think of...
read moreAnother Look At Basketball And AAA Scholarships
We posted a few days ago about the fact that some of the private schools competing against public schools for basketball state titles have quite a number of Alabama Accountability Act scholarships. In fact, of the six schools vying to be state champs in divisions 1...
read moreHuntsville Student Wows Today Show Interviewers
Ashley Kimble is a senior at Grissom High in Huntsville. It is doubtful that when she got involved in designing an artificial foot for Kendall Bane, a wounded Marine, she had any notion that her work would end up with she and Bane being on NBC's Today show. AL.com...
read moreWell Hell. When Things Just Don’t Seem Right
There is sadness in little Georgiana, AL tonight. Because this morning in Birmingham in the final four of the state high school basketball tournament, the team from this little hamlet lost 60-58 to a private school in north Alabama in the smallest division schools...
read moreBasketball Teams And Accountability Act Scholarships. Any Connections?
High school basketball season for schools playing in a public league end this week with the state tournament in Birmingham. There are seven size classifications ranging from schools with less than 100 students to Hoover high with 2,177. The smallest division goes to...
read moreTime To Show Some Love
When I posted Thursday night about local school boards who have passed a resolution to repeal the accountability act, I was unaware that Opp city schools joined the parade at their Feb. 21 meeting. That makes 17 systems in all who have taken a public stance that they...
read moreThree More School Systems Pass Repeal AAA Resolutions
Add Geneva and Butler counties and Andalusia city to the growing list of school systems calling for the legislature to repeal the Alabama Accountability Act. They join: Baldwin, Blbb, Henry, Houston, Jefferson, Marion, Mobile, Montgomery, Randolph and Tallapoosa...
read moreSenator Not Happy With State School Chief
Chris Elliott is the brand new Republican state senator from Baldwin County. While he is new to the Senate, he is not new to politics, having served as a county commissioner for years. We've told you about the dispute between the county school board and the city of...
read moreBaldwin County Says They Will Stand Their Ground In Showdown With State Superintendent
In a press conference that lasted nearly 30 minutes Monday, Feb. 18, Baldwin County superintendent Eddie Tyler, school board chairman Cecil Christenberry and attorney Don Beebe explained in detail why the county filed suit against state superintendent Eric Mackey last...
read moreWhy Is The State School Board Missing In Action?
Let's go back to the survey we did in early January that got more than 600 responses and take a closer look. One thing that jumps out is how the public regards the state board of education and their lack of activity when it comes to the accountability act. We asked:...
read moreBaldwin County School Board Sues State Superintendent Eric Mackey
Three weeks ago we told you about the mess in Baldwin County regarding the effort of Gulf Shores to start its own city school system. The county school board was not happy at all with the way in which state superintendent Eric Mackey seemed to be tipping the scales...
read moreRepeal Resolutions Just Keep On Coming
As we bring down the curtain on this week, I am happy to report that a grand total of SIX school boards passed a resolution this week calling for repeal of the Alabama Accountability Act. They were: Houston, Bibb, Henry and Marion counties and the city systems of...
read moreThe Figs Found My Mailbox
This afternoon I go to the mailbox and lo and behold, there is a well-wrapped box from Texas with two pint jars of whole fig preserves inside. Like a kid at Christmas, I tore into the package with great anticipation. And then--discovered that Santa did not bring me...
read moreNever Forget To Laugh
In this crazy, hyper active wired world of today, we encounter a tsunami of information each day, way too much of which reminds us of what a mess we deal with all the time. A constant barrage of bad, depressing news. (And I admit that I do my own share of passing...
read moreStop The Presses. Two More Systems Pass Resolutions.
After posting last night about Bibb and Marion county school boards passing repeal accountability act resolutions, I learned this morning the Leeds city system also passed a resolution yesterday, while Houston County did on Monday. That means 11 systems with a total...
read moreTwo More School Boards Pass Accountability Act Repeal Resolutions
Feb. 12 was a double-header for school boards passing resolutions calling for a repeal of the Alabama Accountability Act. Bibb and Marion counties joined the previous seven systems to take such action. Others are: Baldwin, Jefferson,.Mobile, Montgomery, Randolph,...
read moreHomage To Alpha Lee’s Biscuits And Fig Preserves
Mama was Alpha Lee Stuart before she married and became Alpha Lee Stuart Lee from Rt. 2, Red Level, AL. She was put on the earth to worry about things she could not do anything about--and cook. I could not do anything when she said, "I'm worried about such and such,"...
read moreRemembering Feb. 28, 2013 And The Politics Of Contempt
Feb. 28, 2013 was just another late winter's day in Montgomery. The temperature was in the 50's, the legislature was in session and the State Board of Education was having a work session. State Superintendent Tommy Bice was at the work session with no clue that Hell...
read moreCalifornia Here I Come
No doubt it was bound to happen. The moment when my reputation as a wise ole owl spread far beyond Alabama. In fact, all the way to California. So at 4:30 p.m. central standard time this afternoon, Feb. 8, I will be interviewed on KPFA in Berkeley, CA. Dr. Kitty...
read moreCraig Ford Takes Alabama Policy Institute To Task
Former state representative Craig Ford served several teems in the legislature representing Etowah County. He was never accused of being shy. And from 2010 to 2018, Phil Williams served from Etowah County in the state senate. While the two represent the same folks...
read moreCraig Pouncey Pulls No Punches
Jefferson County school superintendent Craig Pouncey is one of the more well-known educators in Alabama. Considering that he has more than 30 years in the profession as teacher, superintendent of Crenshaw County schools, chief of staff for state superintendent Tommy...
read moreWill Someone Help Del Marsh With His Homework?
No doubt Senator Del Marsh is a very busy guy. Being majority leader of the Alabama senate is not an easy task. You have about a dozen balls in the air at all times. Of course, Marsh is the champion of the Alabama Accountability Act, the legislation that has...
read moreJefferson County Board Calls For Accountability Act Repeal
In what is the strongest rebuke yet of the Alabama Accountability Act, the Jefferson County school board, the second largest system in the state, has passed a resolution calling on the legislature to repeal AAA. They are the seventh board to take this step. This is...
read moreDid The State Shaft Montgomery On Charter Schools?
I think they did. And so does Josh Moon, who writes for the Alabama Political Reporter. Read his story here. Here are parts of what Josh reports: "There is a process in place to approve charter schools in Alabama. When the Alabama Legislature passed the law allowing...
read moreSome Things Need No Words
Here is a wonderful story about terminally ill Kelly Phillips and his two-year journey in a battered old houseboat down the Mississippi River. Do yourself a favor and read it. And be reminded again that there is good all around us, if we only stop to pay...
read moreState Superintendent Questions Accountability Act
Eric Mackey, state school superintendent recently visited schools in the Demopolis city school system and according to this article, was very impressed. That is definitely understandable because this little system of about 2,200 students, has long been an oasis right...
read moreWe Have A New “Failing” School List. And Another Example Of Just How Stupid The Accountability Act Really Is.
The 2013 Alabama Accountability Act decreed that we would come up with a list of "failing" schools each year. The legislature in its infinite wisdom said the list would be the bottom six percent of all public schools. (Supposedly this was so we could give...
read more
Time For Some Facts About Accountability Act
The pro-accountability act folks are gearing up to make sure that their annual raid on the Education Trust Fund continues. Unfortunately, as the Alabama Policy Institute keep showing us, this crowd seldom let’s facts get in the way of their propaganda. Therefore,...
read moreRussellville Says Repeal Alabama Accountability Act
The Board of Education tor the Russellville city school system is the latest local school board to pass a resolution calling for the repeal of the Alabama Accountability Act. Here is their resolution: Whereas, the legislation known as the Alabama Accountability Act...
read moreAlabama Policy Institute Strikes Out Again
The Alabama Policy Institute has their propaganda machine working overtime trying to convince us that the Alabama Accountability Act will not only cure ingrown toenails, make tomatoes grown and stop your husband from snoring, but is just the magic elixir to save...
read more(In My Best Elvis) Thank You, Thank You Very Much
The last BIG BIRTHDAY has now been here, come and gone. There were dozens and dozens and dozens of well wishes. I was truly humbled by them all. From friends from college and high school (probably just to let me know they too made it this far), from regular blog...
read moreFur Flies In Baldwin County
All divorces are messy. Even the "good" ones. This is especially true when the divorce is happening between an existing school system and a "wannabe" one. As is the case in Baldwin County where the city of Gulf Shores has been yearning for its own city system for a...
read moreUniversity Charter School Makes National News
Last summer we told you about the brand new charter school opening in Livingston, that is closely alighned with the University of West Alabama. I have been to the school and am very impressed. The fact that its leadership is home grown can not be over emphasized. ...
read moreOh My Goodness. Another Birthday.
Ain't no way. Impossible. Simply can not be. The calendar must be messed up. I mean, I just had a birthday a couple of months ago didn't I? Right before Thanksgiving? Or was it just before football season maybe? Remember it well. Was the 36th anniversary of my...
read moreGovernor Ivey Names Jo Bonner Chief Of Staff
A few week ago we told you that former Congressman Joe Bonner had joned the staff of Governor Kay Ivey as Senior Advisor. She has now made Bonner Chief of Staff. He replaces Steve Pelham who is going to Auburn University as Chief of Staff for President Steve Leath....
read moreSurvey Says Time For Accountability Act To Go
More that 600 people have responded so far to our recent survey about the Alabama Accountability Act. They are loud and clear as to how they view AAA. Seventy-six percent say it should be repealed. Another 17 percent say it should be modified and only one percent...
read more55 Years Ago Today
It was a Saturday. I was at the Mobile Infirmary in a waiting room studying German, having just begun my 4th quarter at Auburn. I was waiting on my son Kevin to make his first appearance in this world. The doctor had predicted that he would be born in late December,...
read moreTime To Let Us Hear From You
We put up a brand new survey 36 hours ago to get feedback concerning the Alabama Accountability Act. This law was passed in 2013 and, to say the least, has been rather controversial because it diverts money from the state Education Trust Fund to be used to provide...
read moreAnd Excellent Example Of What Is Going On In Alabama Schools
Sometimes you come across something and your only response is, "Wow." That is exactly what I thought when I read this article in the TimesDaily from northwest Alabama. It's about a group of Sheffield High students and their research project that the Samsung...
read moreStart The New Year With A Survey About Alabama Accountability Act.
Though we've written extensively about the Alabama Accountability Act since it was passed in 2013, we have never done a survey of readers about what they think about this legislation. So let's get started. Go here to respond to this new survey. Your insights are...
read moreWriters Of Accountability Act Never Heard Of The Good Samaritan
Most of us heard the parable of the Good Samaritan at an early age. Probably in a Sunday School Class. And in Alabama, it was probably a Baptist Sunday School. As you remember, Jesus told the story of a Jewish traveler who was beaten and left by the side of the...
read moreNew School Reports Are Out. Now What?
Report cards for 1,300 Alabama schools are now out. Their release brought the usual amount of fluttering about from educators and politicians. In brief, general improvement was seen across the landscape with more districts earning A's and B's than previously. Trish...
read moreSully’s Science Project
Let's begin the New Year on a light-hearted note and what better way to do that than checking in with our fourth grade buddy Sully, down in Baldwin County. Couple things you need to know about Sully, like most young boys, he is not big into taking a shower and for...
read moreA Tip Of The Hat
Let's shut the door on 2018 on a couple of upbeat notes. KUDOS TO GOVERNOR KAY A few days ago I bragged on my son Kevin and the excellent article he wrote for the Lagniappe publication in Mobile about receiving one of his great grandmother's quilts. Somehow the...
read more2018 In The Rearview Mirror
With Christmas over and the New Year almost upon us, thought I would take a moment to look back at the year that just was. :Like them all, it had highs and lows and left memories both good and bad. In digging through records, I find that I drove more than 11,000...
read moreYou Broke My Baton
Funny how our minds tuck away little bits and pieces of our past, only to be easily jogged into our consciousness years later So it was on my recent trip to Wisconsin. I was headed north on I-39 when a few miles across the Illinois-Wisconsin state line a sign let me...
read moreChristmas In A Different Time and Different Place
Once upon a time in a place very far away, there was a land called the 1950s. When the clock struck midnight on Dec. 31, 1949, I was midway through the first grade, Daddy was in the Air Force. A decade later, Dec. 31, 1959, I was midway through the 11th grade at...
read moreA $10,000 Smile
Members of the Morgan County Education Association gathered recently for some holiday season fun and fellowship. There was laughter, hugs, food, best wishes for a grand season and even a speech by an old fat guy. (No. not Santa.) Three guests, Tammy Slappey, June...
read moreOnce Again Montgomery Ignores Reality And Looks For Another Education Band Aid
There are certain non-negotiable education truths. One being THERE ARE NO FAILNG SCHOOLS--ONLY FAILING COMMUNITIES. Unfortunately, few, if any, politicians understand this, and not many educators either. This was clear the morning of Dec. 20 when the state school...
read moreFormer Baldwin Board Member Has His Say
David Tarwater served for six years on the Baldwin County board of education. He did not seek re-election this year. In October, he introduced a resolution, which the board passed, calling for the repeal of the Alabama Accountability Act. (Baldwin County was the...
read moreNot A Death In The Family–But Almost
There are things we all know will eventually happen--still we're never quite ready when the time comes. Which is the way I felt when an email showed up in my inbox telling me that my little-hole-in-he-wall Italian restaurant on South Court Street in Montgomery,...
read moreA Real Note From A Real Teacher
We've mentioned the web site DonorsChoose a number of times. This is where teachers describe a project they are trying to fund, the things they need and how much it will all cost. I highly recommend you taking a look at it. You can search by state and by city and...
read moreA Lesson In Manipulating Numbers
Just 12 months ago Ed Richardson was the interim state superintendent and since the state had intervened in the Montgomery County system, he was also the "czar" of this system. He constantly painted an extremely bleak future for MPS. One of his favorite things to do...
read moreA Christmas Memory From Lawrence County
Among other things, tis the season for memories. And as we grow older, memories become ever more precious to us. We recall small lessons we learned that stayed with us a lifetime. Bill King is a retired educator from Lawrence County. He shares a Christmas memory he...
read moreRandolph School Board Calls For Accountability Act Repeal
The Randolph County board of education has become the firth board in the state to pass a resolution asking for the repeal of the Alabama Accountability Act. They join Baldwin, Mobile, Montgomery and Tallapoosa counties in doing so. For those who might not know,...
read moreA Wonderful Story Of Inspiration
There is good all around us. Don't think so? Then read this article in The Gadsden Times about Crystal Casey and the long road she has traveled to get a college education. It's a story about the inner strength of someone who started life on a very bumpy road and...
read moreMore Fake News From Alabama Policy Institute
The Montgomery County board of education passed a resolution in October calling for the repeal of the Alabama Accountability Act. I was on the board that did this, I wrote much of the resolution and I voted for it. So, I was more than a little surprised when I read a...
read moreCircling The Bases On A Friday
THANK YOU, THANK YOU to all who sent an email note or commented on FB about the article son Kevin wrote about the quilts he recently received. I got dozens and dozens. Kevin definitely touched many hearts with this well-written piece. And me being a male and...
read moreA Proud Pappy
My son Kevin lives in Mobile and writes for the weekly publication Lagniappe. And though daddies are supposed to be biased, I can say with all sincerity that he is an excellent writer. Read the following just published piece and make up your own mind. "The best gift...
read moreElvis Is Back. And Thawing Out.
Madison, WI is in SOUTHERN Wisconsin, Like only about 50 miles from Illinois. By comparison, it is 300 miles from Madison to Ashland on the state's northern border. Still, it was 19 degrees last Friday morning in Madison. I have no idea what the temperature was in...
read moreAlabama Policy Institute Needs To Do Some Homework
So here comes the Alabama Policy Institute with an effort to promote the Alabama Accountability Act that is simply woeful, amateurish and sloppy. Go here to see what I mean. Instead of facts to support their claims, they just blow smoke. Fake news at its finest....
read moreElvis Is Leaving The Building
Your trusty and ancient blogger will be AWOL for several days as I head for the frozen tundra of Madison, WI, The purpose in going is to attend a meeting of the Wisconsin Public Education Network Dec. 7. This is basically a collation of local public school advocacy...
read moreJo Bonner Comes To Montgomery
Governor Kay Ivey has just announced that former Congressman, Jo Bonner, is joining her staff as "senior advisor." In my opinion, this is great news for the people of Alabama. I have known Jo since 1982. And if I could sum him up in just one word, it would be...
read moreIs The Business Council Getting Out Of The Education Picture?
As we reported back in July, longtime head of the Business Council of Alabama, Billy Canary, was ousted from his position after months of high stakes politicking by some of Alabama major companies. His replacement will be Katie Britt, who is presently chief of staff...
read moreBack To The Beginning
It has now been almost six years since the legislature pulled a "fast one" on public education in Alabama by passing the Alabama Accountability Act. And with more and more people realizing that the bill has never been what it was touted to be, I thought it might be...
read moreTallapoosa County Latest To Call For Accountability Act Repeal
The list of local school boards calling for the repeal of the Alabama Accountability Act increased on Nov. 27 when the Tallapoosa County board joined with earlier efforts by Mobile, Baldwin and Montgomery school boards. The vote was a unanimous 5-0. In fact, it was...
read moreThe Iron Bowl And Education
As I watched the team in white (Auburn) get methodically picked apart by the team in red (Alabama) last Saturday to the tune of 52 points to 21 points, I couldn't help but equate this to a situation unfolding in Montgomery about charter schools. What IF the two teams...
read moreAfter Spending $50 MILLION On Campaigns, California Elects New State School Chief
That's right. $50 million. California elects their state superintendent of education (which makes no sense to me) and when all the counting was over in a hotly-contested race, state legislator Tony Thurmand defeated former charter school exec, Marshall Tuck. As...
read moreMy Suggestion For A Christmas Gift
While some may call me Scrooge, I can not remember the last time I shopped for a Christmas gift for someone. I mean like where you buy something, wrap it up and give it to them. It's because I long ago decided that those who mean the most to me basically have about...
read moreVouchers Take A Beating In Texas
Some Texas legislators have been pushing school vouchers for years. (You know, like those scholarships we give to private schools in Alabama through the Alabama Accountability Act.) And while the Senate has been friendly to the idea, the House of Representatives has...
read moreRiding and Reflecting
It was Oct 31, 2018. A gloriously bright and mild day. The day I decided summer had finally given up its too-long grip on all of Dixie. My car window was down as I passed sights seen many times before. I was on U.S. 80 heading west from Montgomery. ...
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