Birmingham Schools Host Charter School Forums
Alabama may very well have its first-ever charter schools next year. The approval process, which has already hit snags in other parts of the state, will go through a state commission or through local school boards that have elected to become authorizers. Birmingham City Schools is one of just two authorizers in the state, and last night, school leaders held the second of two meetings to explain exactly what that means. Birmingham Superintendent Kelley Castlin-Gacutan told more than 100 people at Parker High School that “we have the authority to first approve or deny any interested party.”
Being an authorizer, or, as many called it, “having a seat at that table,” does not guarantee the district will approve charter schools. Even so, the meeting brought out several speakers who worried charters would siphon money and good students from traditional schools. But parent Jewel Taylor thinks charter schools would be good for Birmingham, as long as city school leaders keep communicating about them.
“I think some people came with a preconceived notion that all Birmingham City Schools are going to be charter schools,” she said. “This is not about all city schools being charter schools. This is about us raising our hands in Birmingham City and saying we would like to [be in position to] authorize those schools.”
A district spokesperson says the school system is still ironing out criteria for charter school applications, and that would-be charter school operators will have 30 days to apply once those are released.
From bromance to breakup: How Elon Musk and Donald Trump blew up
The blow up marks the end of an alliance between the president and the billionaire that lasted far longer than many observers expected.
Israel says it’s arming clans to fight Hamas in Gaza
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu acknowledged the government was arming factions in the Gaza Strip to combat Hamas, after accusations from an opposition politician.
Trump’s travel ban includes Afghanistan, where thousands await U.S. resettlement
President Trump's travel ban on a dozen countries includes Afghanistan. Since American troops left in August of 2021, many Afghans have already arrived in the U.S. but many more are still waiting.
After his mother’s death, Ocean Vuong wrote his way out of grief
Vuong's new novel, The Emperor of Gladness, is the first he's written, from start to finish, since his mother died in 2019. He says writing it was a way to honor her memory.
Trump says he and Musk ‘had a great relationship. I don’t know if we will anymore’
Trump said he was surprised that his former adviser Elon Musk is scorching the Republican megabill, but said he thought Musk was wrong and conflicted in his criticism.
Concerns over conditions in U.S. immigration detention: ‘We’re hearing the word “starving” ‘
ICE detentions have surged, but deportations have lagged. Over the past month, NPR spoke to dozens of detainees, families and lawyers who spoke of overcrowded facilities lacking food and medicine.
