Stop 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. ...
read moreIt’s Time For Another Iron Bowl
Next Saturday, Nov. 24, the state of Alabama will come to a virtual standstill to tune in the annual football game between Auburn and Alabama. If college football is a religion in Alabama, and I think it is, next Saturday is the holiest of holy days. The University...
read moreBless His Heart
The PTOs of Vestavia Hills and Mountain Brook city school systems held their 14th annual PTO Legislative Forum the evening of Nov. 15. All legislators representing this area attended. They included State Senators Jabo Waggoner and Dan Roberts and House members David...
read moreThings That Make You Go “Hmmmmmmm”
Recently the Montgomery County school board (which I am on until the end of November) passed a resolution calling on our legislative delegation to work to repeal the Alabama Accountability Act. The Baldwin County board had already passed a resolution and now Mobile...
read moreMobile Joins The Parade Calling For Accountability Act Repeal
The Mobile County school system is the largest in Alabama with an enrollment of 53,971 last year. And at their Nov. 13 school board meeting they joined Baldwin and Montgomery county systems in passing a resolution asking their legislative delegation to work to repeal...
read moreIs Bureaucracy Killing Our Schools?
Sometimes I wonder if educators read this blog. But then I post a story like this one and I have my answer. Suddenly my inbox is swamped as educators from every corner of Alabama chime in to agree with me. Their frustration with the constant search for a "silver...
read moreLooking At Members Of 2019 Legislature
With the general election now over, we at least know who the brand new members of both the Alabama House and Senate will be. There will be 12 new Senators and 28 new House members. Actually, three of the Senators are former House members moving to the other chamber. ...
read moreInitiative Overload
A friend recently told me about something that grabbed my attention. And made a great deal of sense. She called it "initiative overload." Meaning that we bombard educators with first this initiative and then that one. The poor folks in classrooms and who runs...
read moreThoughts On Tuesday’s Election
Since most of us have now thanked the Good Lord that another election day has come and gone and we've had time to take a deep breathe, let's spend a few minutes reflecting on what happened across Alabama. A few days ago I posted that I would be watching five...
read moreDig Where The Taters Are
After posting the piece about Republican candidates getting campaign contributions from the PAC, Alabama Voice of Teachers for Education, a number of emails showed up in my inbox with folks wondering what is going on and if giving to people who have traditionally...
read moreRepublican Candidates Gobble Up AEA Money
There was a time not so long ago when the Alabama Republican party could not mention the Democratic party without also mentioning the Alabama Education Association AND trial lawyers. If a Democrat was being vilified, so was AEA and trial lawyers. Then something...
read moreMontgomery’s Bear Elementary Gets National Recognition
It's not unusual to hear a teacher refer to a school as "sweet." Now I'm not for sure exactly what they mean, but I certainly believe it is a compliment. So in keeping with this description, I definitely think Bear elementary in Montgomery is a "sweet" school. ...
read moreWhy Is California Millionaire Supporting Legislative Candidates In Alabama?
William Oberndorf is a hedge fund manager in California apparently with LOTS of money. Enough that he sent $100,000 to Alabama in 2014 and $85,000 in 2018 to be used to support political candidates. He does this by giving to something called "The Alabama Federation...
read moreHollywood Comes To Cullman County
Sometimes you are just dumbfounded. Like when you read this amazing AL.com article about what just happened at Parkside school in the east end of Cullman County. It began when some teachers at the school birthed the notion to redo their rooms as Hogwarts-themed...
read morePolitical Races I Will Watch Next Week
Like most folks, I will pay attention to all the political races on the ballot Nov. 6th, but I have more than passing interest in three Senate races and two House races. Three of them feature young, bright women running for office for the first time. All are...
read moreDel Marsh Opens Mouth, Inserts Foot
We told you that the Montgomery school board passed a resolution last week calling on local legislators to repeal the Alabama Accountability Act. This came after Baldwin County did the same the week before that. Now the Montgomery Advertiser has written an article...
read moreTrump Tax Cuts Create Bonanza For Some AAA Donors
The Internal Revenue Service is currently looking at a tax loophole that was made much broader by the so-called Trump tax cut bill last year. The bill put a $10,000 limit on federal deductions for state and local taxes (commonly referred to as SALT). This sent some...
read moreLooking At 2019 Political Reality
When the Alabama Accountability Act passed the legislature in 2013, the Senate vote was 22-11 and the House vote was 51-26. And though that was just five years ago, in the world of politics, it was long ago. We have now had an election in 2014 and are having another...
read moreMontgomery School Board Becomes 2nd To Call For Accountability Act Repeal
For the second time in less than a week, the school board of a large system has passed a resolution calling for the legislature to repeal the Alabama Accountability Act. This time it was Montgomery on a 5-1 vote. Several members were forceful in their support of the...
read moreTouching A Nerve
Since in my case, seeing is believing, when I heard that the Baldwin County school board was to pass a resolution on Oct 18 calling for repeal of the Alabama Accountability Act, I climbed in my 19-year old car and headed toward Bay Minette. Sure enough, right on...
read moreVoices From The Classroom
My buddy Shannon Odom is principal of Gilmore elementary in Jackson and has been for a number of years. She and her cohort in crime, Kathy Spidle, principal at Grove Hill elementary, keep Clarke County superintendent Larry Bagley on his toes. I kid Shannon that her...
read moreBaldwin County School Board Calls For Repeal Of Accountability Act
The Baldwin County school board said, "enough is enough" and passed a resolution on Oct. 18 calling for the repeal of the Alabama Accountability Act. This move was spearheaded by board member David Tarwater. After the vote, Tarwater thanked other board members and...
read moreNumbers Needed To Decipher The Accountability Act
Numbers are often tossed around about the Alabama Accountability Act that may, or may not, be completely accurate. After all numbers that would be useful to know are simply not available. Like how many students on scholarships to private schools actually attended a...
read moreWhat Happened To The Montgomery School Board Races?
When the sun set last Feb. 9, there were 24 candidates signed up and chomping at the bit to run for five open seats on the Montgomery County school board. (Me included.) The field has been narrowed now to only six on the ballot on Nov. 6. District 1 has Republican...
read moreA Definite Glimpse At Dedication
In the grand scheme of national affairs, or even those of Alabama, the PTA meeting at Vaughn Road elementary in Montgomery on Oct. 9 didn't make news of any sort. Fox News was not there, nor even a local TV station or newspaper reporter. Just some dedicated teachers...
read moreA Deep Dive Into Schools Getting Accountability Act Money
AL.com's Trish Crain, as she always does, has taken a very close look at which private schools are getting the bulk of scholarship money from the Alabama Accountability Act. You can see her work here. While there are far more than 100 schools participating in this...
read moreWhy Are We Giving Teach For America Nearly $700,000 A Year?
Few could argue with the concept of Teach for America when it was launched in 1990. Basically it was the Peace Corps for struggling school systems. They would recruit bright college students to be teachers, give them a dab of training and then send them off to work...
read moreFive Alabama Blue Ribbon Schools Named
The highest national honor a school can attain is being named a Blue Ribbon school by the U.S. Department of Education. Honorees have just been announced. Nationally there were 300 public schools and 49 non-public. Alabama had five public schools Arab elementary in...
read moreTime To Pull The Plug On Jason Taylor
Of all the blunders former state superintendent Mike Sentance made (and there were many), none looms any larger than his decision to hire Jason Taylor to supposedly "straighten out" finances for the Montgomery school system. As we've said before, Taylor was the Chief...
read moreAll I Want For Christmas Is One Front Tooth
So last Sunday I'm at the BBQ joint around the corner treating myself to some ribs. About halfway through the last one, I chomped down on something that definitely was not meat. I rolled it around in my mouth and decided to face the music and check it out more...
read moreDothan Eagle Questions Accountability Act
Under the headline: $30 M should produce dramatic results, not indiscernible difference, the Dothan Eagle has joined the chorus of those questioning the value of the Alabama Accountability Act. Here's what they had to say recently: As Dothan school officials wrangle...
read moreA Fine Piece Of Writing
My son, Kevin, lives in Mobile and writes for the weekly publication, Lagniappe. I am proud of him and his ability to tell a story. He is a tireless researcher and digs hard to get those tiny facts and quotes that bring a story to life. On September 22, 1993 ,The...
read moreA Closer Look At Accountability Act And Student Performance
We recently wrote about the latest study by the University of Alabama of academic performance of students who have received scholarships to private schools via the Alabama Accountability Act. In a nutshell, the report says that there is very little difference in the...
read moreAnniston Star Sees Little Value In Accountability Act
After watching the lack of performance by the Alabama Accountability Act for the last five years, The Anniston Star takes a look at the recent University of Alabama study of academic performance of students getting scholarships to private schools through this program...
read moreAn Honest Look At Education Today
Raise Your Hand Texas is a public school advocacy group based in Austin. Among the many things they are involved in is an on-going effort to tell the story of today's schools and what teachers are asked to cope with. As they say: "Being an educator in today’s schools...
read moreHonk If You Have Seen Jason Taylor
When then state superintendent Mike Sentence took over the Montgomery County school system early in 2017 one of his first moves was to sign a three-year. no-bid contract for $708,000 to bring Huntsville City school's Chief Financial Officer, Jason Taylor, to...
read moreTwo Weeks And Counting
It has now been two weeks and two days (August 31) since I was sworn in to serve the remainder of a term on the Montgomery school board. Of course, the view is always different on the inside looking out than on the outside looking in. And so it is here. One of the...
read moreSaluting National Merit Scholarship Semi-Finalists
One of the highest recognitions a high school senior can receive is becoming a National Merit Scholarship semi-finalist. The current group of Alabama students to gain this honor has just been announced. There are 215 of them, from both private and public schools....
read moreFather Time Taps Auburn Alum On The Shoulder
How many times have I been part of the multitude gathered in Auburn to watch a football game? No earthy idea. The first one was in the fall of 1961 back when Shug Jordan was coach and the stadium held about 40,000 people. No million dollar contracts for coaches, no...
read moreUniversity Of Alabama Study Shows Accountability Act Scholarship Students No Better Academically Than Public School Students
The Alabama Revenue Department has made public another study by the University of Alabama assessing performance of students attending private schools on Accountability Act scholarships in comparison to students in public schools. Grades were reviewed from the 2016-17...
read moreTracking Montgomery County School Board Races
It seems the election for members of the Montgomery County school board is like the Energizer Bunny--it just keeps going and going and going. Actually they have been going since last Feb. 9 which was the last day for candidates to qualify. This board has seven members...
read moreWhen Did Rube Goldberg Highjack Public Education?
Rube Goldberg is a name that will sound vaguely familiar to many of you--but you don't know why. Goldberg was born in San Francisco in 1883 and though he graduated from the University of California with a degree in engineering, he gained fame as a newspaper...
read moreIn A Strange Twist Of Fate, I Am Now On The Montgomery School Board
Yes, sometimes life takes twists and turns that we never would imagine. Exhibit A is the fact that just after noon today (Aug. 31) I was sworn in as a member of the Montgomery County school board for District 2. This is the seat I ran for earlier in the year and lost...
read moreSix Years Later, 3,436 Students Still Waiting For Help From Accountability Act
When the Alabama Accountability Act was passed in 2013 we were told over and over that it was all about helping low income students. And we were told that competition would save "failing" schools. It went like this: some schools would work really hard to get out from...
read more
Recent Comments