Education
Alabama Students Want More Sex Education
Alabama has a sexually transmitted disease problem. The most recent numbers from the Centers for Disease Control show higher than average, and, in some cases, rising STD infection rates.
Trisha Powell Crain on Top Education Stories of 2015
This year has been extremely busy on the Alabama education beat: a study commissioned by the state education department itself called school funding inadequate and unequal; state Senate President Pro Tem Del Marsh floated a draft bill that could, among other seismic shifts, tie teacher pay to student test results; and, as Alabama School Connection’s Trisha […]
Sociologists’ Book Urges End of Sex Division in Sports
Can you imagine a world with no gender divisions in sports? University of Alabama at Birmingham sociologist Adrienne Milner can. Not only that — she wants to help make it happen. Along with University of Miami professor Dr. Jomills Henry Braddock II, she’s written a new book called “Sex Segregation in Sports: Why Separate Is Not […]
Teaching Tough Topics: NPT Reports
What should school children be taught about Islam, the Confederacy and other topics that are sensitive to some in our society? NPT Reports looks at how curriculum standards are set in Tennessee and why state officials are implementing new procedures to address public concerns as part of the Southern Education Desk's series, "Teaching Tough Topics."
What Expanded Gambling Could Mean for Alabama
State lawmakers took three legislative sessions to craft a bare-bones budget this year. Next year’s budget picture isn’t any rosier so calls are increasing for Alabama to expand gambling or start a lottery. Such a move would certainly mean revenue for the state, but just as with a roll of the dice, there’s risk. We start with that in this week’s Magic City Marketplace.
UAB Student, Iraq Vet Hopes to Help Feed Black Belt with Aquaponics
Ramon Jeter was raised by a single mother on the west side of Birmingham. Right out of Ramsay High School he joined the Navy. He eventually served as a field medic in Iraq. Now the married new father is studying public health at the University of Alabama at Birmingham, and he’s been accepted to Clinton […]
Teaching Tough Topics: Teaching Beyond The Test
Civil Rights, Voter ID laws, Felon Rights. These topics aren’t foreign for teachers and students in Southern classrooms. But what happens when pressure to teach to the test prevents challenging conversations?
Teaching Tough Topics: Teaching Civil War History In Mississippi As Symbols Fall
In Mississippi, the Civil War still stirs emotions. It’s not so much that teachers disagree on how it should be taught, but that ongoing attempts by the University of Mississippi and several cities across the South to shed Confederate symbols have called up old ghosts. Sandra Knispel reports for the Southern Education Desk.
Marco Rubio Makes First Campaign Stop in Alabama
Florida Senator Marco Rubio made his first Alabama campaign stop in Guntersville yesterday. Despite heavy rain, more than 800 people crowded into a gymnasium to hear what the presidential hopeful had to say.
Teaching Tough Topics: Textbook Fight Riles Tennessee
What should school children be taught about Islam? In Florida and North Carolina, parents claim students are being "indoctrinated" with a sanitized version of the Muslim faith. One of the fiercest fights so far is happening right now in Tennessee. As Chas Sisk of WPLN reports for the Southern Education Desk, it could reveal the playbook for future battles.
Teaching Tough Topics: The South’s Real History
Teaching subjects that trigger strong emotions and political divides is challenging. In the South, many of those fault-lines — racial, religious and otherwise — are intimately tied to its history. This week the Southern Education Desk is exploring how teachers tackle tough topics. WBHM’s Dan Carsen starts with an overview of some the major challenges, and […]
University of Alabama Student Government Association President Talks About Diversity
Elliot Spillers, who is black, talks with Sherrel Wheeler Stewart about the announcement of the hiring of a chief diversity officer & culture at Alabama.
Birmingham City Schools Enrollment Shows Slight Increase For First Time In Decades
Something happened in Birmingham schools this year, that hasn’t happened in more than three decades – the system didn’t have a drop in enrollment.
Issues and Ales Extra: How to Help Teachers
WBHM’s recent Issues and Ales forum delved into the future of education in Alabama. Panelist and Phillips Academy PTA president Jerry Tate took a moment away from the discussion to answer a simple question: “How can someone, who isn’t a teacher, support education?” Listen to excerpts from Issues and Ales: The Future of Education […]
Highlights From Issues and Ales: The Future of Education in Alabama
This year, the Alabama Legislature voted to allow charter schools in the state and expanded the Alabama Accountability Act. What does this mean for the future of Alabama’s public and private schools? Can public education adequately prepare all Alabama children for career success?
Issues and Ales Extra: Best Teacher Advice
WBHM’s recent Issues and Ales forum delved into the future of education in Alabama. Panelist and Jemison High School teacher Brooke Elliott took a moment away from the discussion to answer a simple question: “What’s the best piece of advice you received about becoming a teacher?” Listen to excerpts from Issues and Ales: The […]
Interview: UAB Space Archaeologist and TED Prize Winner Sarah Parcak
To some, the fact that “space archaeology” is actually a thing will come as news. Practitioners use satellite imagery to discover and analyze ancient ruins, and increasingly, to spot looting. University of Alabama at Birmingham archaeologist Sarah Parcak is a leader in the field, and she’s just been named winner of the 2016 million-dollar TED Prize, […]
Phil Hammonds on Bold Goals for Alabama Education’s Future
In advance of WBHM's and the Southern Education Desk's "Issues and Ales" education forum this evening, former Jefferson County School Superintendent Phil Hammonds joined WBHM’s Rachel Osier Lindley to talk about his prescriptions for improving Alabama’s schools and what Bold Goals Education aims to do.
Trisha Powell Crain Talks Money, Politics, and More in Alabama Education
There's never a shortage of stories coming from Alabama's schools. But before WBHM's and the Southern Education Desk's "Issues and Ales" education forum Thursday evening, we wanted to shed as much light as possible on the big picture behind the headlines. For better or worse, that backdrop always includes money and therefore politics. So our education reporter Dan Carsen sat down with Alabama School Connection founder and BirminghamWatch contributor Trisha Powell Crain to talk about that and more.
Dr. Tondra Loder-Jackson, Discusses Impact of Civil Rights On Education
In advance of the WBHM/Southern Education Desk Issues and Ales forum on the future of Education in Alabama, Dr. Loder-Jackson discussed her research on civil rights in Birmingham schools.
Long Hours At Work And School Fuel Determination For Stratford High Graduate In Nashville
Though he’s a teenager, Kevin is the man of the house. While in high school, he worked long hours to help out, which made staying in school a struggle. Instead of dropping out, he stuck with it and graduated from Nashville’s Stratford STEM Magnet High School.
Nashville Student Focuses On Graduation at Non-Traditional Academy at Old Cockrill
Dealing with Chronic illness is just one of the issues students can face during school. The resulting stress, absences and falling behind can sometimes make dropping out an attractive option. In this Southern Education Desk series “Back on Track,” Nashville Public Television tells us about Ben, a young man who faces struggles, but is determined to graduate from the Academy at Old Cockrill.
New Orleans’ Posh Academy Helps LGBT Students Complete GED
In it’s series Back On Track, the Southern Education Desk looks at a program in New Orleans that supports some of those students as they work toward a high school degree. The program called Posh Academy, is part of BreakOut, a non profit addressing issues of LBGT youth. WWNO’s Mallory Falk spoke with some of the students, including 23-year-old Lhundyn Fernandez.
Back on Track: Donna Dukes And Sernitria Bell
High school graduates earn about $10,000 more each year than dropouts. And they’ll be less likely to end up in jail, or even suffer some preventable diseases, studies show. But what if students could get back on track before an academic plunge dooms them to a life of less than? The Southern Education Desk, in […]
Study Centers and Counselors Give Student-Athletes Academic Support
Football, basketball, baseball, gymnastics. College sports are a way of life in the South. Fans pack into stadiums or glue themselves to TV's to watch their favorite teams battle it out. But the pressure on a young person to succeed on the field or court is only half the battle. College athletes are also expected to succeed in the classroom.
Athletes And Schools Tackle Tougher NCAA Academic Requirements for Potential D1 Players
When it comes to Division I football, Southern states including Alabama, Florida, Georgia, and Louisiana, produce the largest number of recruits per capita. New NCAA rules take effect for college athletes next fall. A 2.0 GPA and a decent ACT score won’t be enough anymore. To avoid the bench, freshmen will have to come in with a 2.3 GPA in core classes — reading, math, science, and social studies. And players in high school — where standards are generally lower — are feeling it.
University of Alabama System Board of Trustees Committee Backs Contract for UAB Football Coach
Members of the University of Alabama System Board of Trustees compensation committee approved a new five-year contract for head UAB football coach Bill Clark Wednesday. UAB President Ray Watts said Clark would remain the Blazers’ coach when Watts announced the team’s reinstatement in June but an agreement did not come for more than three months.
Birmingham School Board Approves Application to Authorize Charter Schools
"In an effort to be a player in this process, we really needed to become an authorizer, so that anyone who is interested in moving forward with a charter school application would have to first come to the school district,” Dr. Kelley Castlin-Gacutan .
Alabama’s Science Standards Get a Makeover
Alabama schools are getting new science standards for the first time in a decade. The state Board of Education voted unanimously today to replace old standards that some teachers say were behind the times the moment they were approved. As evidence, they point to their students’ biology textbooks, many of which currently come with warning […]
Dr. Minda Berbeco On Alabama’s New Science Standards
Alabama’s State Board of Education on Thursday approved new K-12 science standards that will go into effect next school year. Science teachers across Alabama say the new standards are better than the current decade-old ones. We wanted a national perspective too, so WBHM’s Dan Carsen caught up with Dr. Minda Berbeco, Programs and Policy Director for […]
Second Legislative Special Session Starts Tuesday
State lawmakers have hit crunch time. The next fiscal year starts October 1st and the state still does not have a General Fund budget. Lawmakers and Governor Robert Bentley remain at odds over what to do about a more than $200 million budget shortfall. Two legislative sessions have come and gone with without a resolution. So the governor has called another special session to start Tuesday.
Hoover Schools Chief Says No to Becoming Charter Authorizer
“I hold no assumption that there is a charter school entity out there that can do the work better than we’re doing,” says superintendent Dr. Kathy Murphy.
