A few weeks ago I spoke to an elementary principal about the issues she faces.  She told me that one is teacher absenteeism.  When I asked her why,she quickly told me, "Stress."  At 4 p.m. today, (Friday May 25) I'm talking to the principal of one of the best...

As the Tombigbee river meanders through west Alabama it eventually becomes the eastern border of Washington County.  In fact, this is where its waters join those of the Alabama river before heading to Mobile Bay and the Gulf of Mexico.  The county is both big and...

My friend Wendy Lang is a former educator, an advocate for public education and a single parent who understands the value of those who invest in the lives of children.   She is also a regular columnist for the Decatur Daily, her hometown newspaper. She just attended...

There are many wonderful educators in Alabama.  And in my book, Hope Zeanah, assistant superintendent of education in Baldwin County, is at the top of the list.  She was principal of Elberta elementary for 16 years.  Was Alabama Principal of the Year in 2013. And even...

As we hear more and more about teachers showing their dissatisfaction with wages and working conditions I came across an article that gives insight as to what is going on today in schools across the country. In a sobering article in Education Week Teacher with the...

OK.  OK.  For those of you who have only known me for a few years, you will likely be shocked to know that long ago (and many pounds) I was a distance runner and lettered on Auburn University's cross-country team.  Even got a navy blue sweater with a bright orange A...

One side of the cafeteria at Goodwyn middle school was packed with 6th, 7th and 8th grade girls.  Some all dressed up, some in their school clothes.  All were wiggling and jumping and doing the kind of things young ladies of that age are supposed to do. Across the...

As we continue to play the blame game about the Montgomery public school situation, it is interesting to see what has happened  in Inglewood, CA since the state took over its school system in 2012. As an article in the Los Angeles Times titled: "Six years after the...

Knowing there is always more than one way to skin a cat, some Alabama legislators are always looking for new ways to sneak more money away from public schools. This time it was by allowing taxpayers to use tuition to private schools as a tax break, thus taking more...

It's no secret that the last few years have been a challenge for Alabama public education.  Certainly we have had legislation passed that has not been helpful. The best such examples are a bill passed in 2012 requiring that all schools receive a letter grade of A-F...

The Rural Schools Collaborative, a national organization, has funded small grants for rural schools in Alabama for several years.  (I am pleased to serve on their board.)  Eight state projects were funded in the most recent grant cycle. Two of the efforts were a...

Polling data released by the Network for Public Education (NPE) shows that an overwhelming proportion of parents, teachers and students are opposed to teachers carrying guns in schools, and believe that gun control, including the banning of assault weapons, is the...

It's easy to tell this is an election year in Alabama by the way some politicians are trying to capitalize on another school shooting.  Right on cue, Rep. Will Ainsworth of Guntersville, who is running for Lt. Governor, is touting a bill to allow trained, certified...

Head east from Montgomery on I-85, go north on highway 49 at the Tuskegee/Franklin exit, take a right in Dadeville and pass the cemetery and you're at Dadeville elementary where principal Chris Dark watches over 641 kindergarten through sixth grade students. It was...

Since announcing last week that I am running for a seat on the Montgomery County school board this spring, I have definitely been humbled by the response I have received.  Email after email after email wished me success and encouragement.  School principals from here...

Brothers Charles and David Koch are two of the richest people in the world.  They own Koch Industries, the second-largest privately owned company in the country.  In 2013 the company had revenues of $115 billion. Long active in conservative politics, as this...

While I will never claim that I don't cuss, I work hard to refrain from doing so on my blog.  But in this case, it's damn hard not to. Politicians, particularly Senate majority leader Del Marsh and Rep. Terri Collins, seem to have gone out of their way to tear down...

One of mother's favorite expressions was, "It just flew all over me."  Interpretation--something got her attention and she was not happy about it. And from time to time, I must admit that things "fly all over me" as well.  A great example being this recent article in...

Saturday, Jan. 27 dawned wet, dreary and chilly across  Alabama.  The prefect morning to roll over and sleep in. But 500 teachers and one sleepy-eyed blogger converged on Homewood middle school in the Birmingham suburbs for a gathering of the Alabama National Board...

It has been well-documented that for the past couple of years, the Alabama state board of education has not resembled a well-oiled machine.  Unfortunately it has spit and sputtered and lurched and bucked like Grandpa's old truck heading for its last roundup....

I have long thought that "most wheels have been invented."  So I have spent many, many years looking for them.  In other words, what was someone doing that was worthy of being shared with others. My first job out of Auburn University, back about the time the earth...

My little front yard in Montgomery is a blanket of white this Wednesday morning as Mother Nature sprinkled between one to two inches of snow during the night.  And not a creature is stirring, not even a mouse. Nothing is moving and  I've yet to see the youngsters...

Editor's note:  My friend Wendy Lang is a former teacher who lives in Decatur.  She works for the Alabama Education Association as a uniserv district director and is a weekly columnist for the Decatur Daily.  Here are some reflections from her. Educators often have a...

Courtney Wilburn, who is in her seventh year as principal of White Plains Middle in Calhoun County, has been named middle school principal of the year by the Council for Leaders in Alabama Schools (CLAS). Under her direction, White Plains Middle has become noted for...

Given all the commotion and twists and turns, not to mention law suits and investigations, swirling around the state school board in the last 18-24 months, it was dog gone near inevitable that legislation would surface for the upcoming session designed to re-structure...

We'll just call him Sully, because that's what everyone else calls him.  Except on those occasions when his mother, as mamas sometimes do, calls him by his given name of Sullivan. He is in the third-grade and is 110 percent boy.  He is not allergic to sweat or dirt,...