Education
A Constitutional Law Scholar on Ala. Religion in Schools Bill
A bill in the Alabama House would allow public school students to get elective credit for religious instruction. Southern Education Desk reporter Dan Carsen recently interviewed Blaine Galliher, the bill’s sponsor and a proponent of such “release time” programs. The programs would have to be approved by local school boards and would not cost the schools any money. And, Galliher said, students would not be coerced in any way. But a day later, Dan discussed the bill with legal scholar and religious liberty advocate Douglas Laycock...
Interview with Blaine Galliher on Religion in Public Schools
The First Amendment says “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof.” But does that mean public schools can give credit to students for creationism classes? What if they’re off campus and privately funded? A bill in the state Legislature would authorize school boards to set up such “release time” programs. Dan Carsen speaks with its sponsor, House Rules Committee Chairman Blaine Galliher.
Carsen and Ott EduChat
It’s week two of the 2012 legislative session in Alabama and job creation and budget shortfalls continue to take center stage. Officials predict a budget gap in the many hundreds of millions of dollars – meaning cutbacks, possible layoffs, and other belt-tightening measures. WBHM’s Dan Carsen of the Southern Education Desk tells Tanya Ott that the budget crisis in non-education departments could pit the Education Trust Fund against everything else.
Interview with Education Reformer Michelle Rhee
Michelle Rhee is an education reformer known for making controversial moves. After closing schools in Washington D.C., she was featured on the cover of Time magazine holding a broom. Her group StudentsFirst is in Alabama pushing for charter schools and new ways to evaluate teachers, among other things. She spoke with Southern Education Desk reporter Dan Carsen, who asked her about what her group's goals mean for people around here.
How Much Do You Know About Charter Schools?
Alabama Governor Robert Bentley says charter school legislation will pass in the 2012 legislative session. Bentley outlined his education priorities in his State of the State address last night. The head of the Alabama Education Association vehemently opposes bringing charter schools to Alabama, calling them experimental and untested. Proponents say the taxpayer-funded schools that operate outside some of the rules that affect public schools offer more flexibility and accountability. Who's right?
State Lawmakers Consider Education Reforms
When lawmakers return to Montgomery today for the beginning of the 2012 legislative session, they'll have a lot of meaty issues to deal with, from tweaks to the state's immigration law to a potential $400 million budget shortfall. They'll also tackle several education reform initiatives. The Southern Education Desk's Dan Carsen fills us in.
Carsen and Ott EduChat
When lawmakers returned to Montgomery for the beginning of the 2012 legislative session, they had a lot of meaty issues to deal with, from tweaks to the state's immigration law to a potential $400 million budget shortfall. They're also tackling several education reform initiatives, and as the Southern Education Desk's Dan Carsen told WBHM's Tanya Ott, this year looks to be a lot like last year, with plenty of controversial issues on the table.
Charter Schools: None in Alabama, but May Change Soon
In a national ranking on charter schools, Alabama did not even come in last. That's because the state is one of only nine that doesn't have charter schools, but that could change, and soon. Dan Carsen has more for the Southern Education Desk at WBHM:
Bards of Birmingham
When schools cut their budgets, arts and theater programs are often the first to go. But in Birmingham, a youth acting group is still teaching lessons to any kid with the chops to get on stage. It's also pushing boundaries in a way that might make some theater traditionalists and parents uncomfortable. From the Southern Education Desk at WBHM, Dan Carsen reports.
Remembering UAB Legend Gene Bartow
The man referred to as the father of UAB athletics has died. Gene Bartow passed away Tuesday after a two-year battle with stomach cancer. He was 81. The hall of fame coach lead teams at six universities, but it was at UAB where he really made his mark as the first mens basketball coach and first athletic director. WBHM’s Andrew Yeager has this remembrance.
Officers Pepper-Spraying Birmingham Students
Depending on the details, recent images of police pepper-spraying protesters have triggered varying levels of outrage. But here in Birmingham, police are regularly pepper-spraying students while they're in school. Dan Carsen has more from the Southern Education Desk at W-B-H-M.
Despite Successful Fundraising, Imagination Library Still On Hold
Though the United Way of Central Alabama surpassed its 2011 fundraising goal, a popular early literacy program is still on hold in Jefferson County. Dan Carsen has more from the Southern Education Desk in this web-exclusive report.
Imagination Library Cut in JeffCo
A literacy program that brought free books to young Jefferson County children has been suspended due to lack of funds. Dan Carsen has more in this web-exclusive report from the Southern Education Desk.
The Private Eye Program
What's common to all academic subjects? Well..thinking. "Critical thinking" is a buzzword for a reason, regardless of whether educators think today's students do it well enough: it's basic to what students are meant to do in school. But can you actually teach thinking? From the Southern Education Desk at WBHM, Dan Carsen reports on an innovative program trying to do just that.
Plaintiffs to Appeal Lynch vs. Alabama Ruling
The plaintiffs in the landmark Lynch vs. Alabama property tax case are appealing a federal judge's recent ruling that seemed sympathetic but ultimately went against them. Dan Carsen has more in this web-exclusive report.
Dan Carsen Interviewed Re Immigration Law on “The Takeaway”
Education reporter Dan Carsen is interviewed by PRI's "The Takeaway"about the latest immigration-law dust-up between the U.S. Department of Justice and Alabama Attorney General Luther Strange.
Strange Rebuffs DOJ Again
In the latest chapter of a blunt back-and-forth over Alabama's immigration law, state Attorney General Luther Strange on Friday again rebuffed the U.S. Department of Justice over access to student information. Dan Carsen has more in this web-exclusive report.
IMMIGRATION LAW: State AG Balks at DOJ Request
The U.S. Department of Justice, concerned about the new immigration law, has requested enrollment data from district superintendents across Alabama. But it's unclear when or whether that information will be provided, as state Attorney General Luther Strange balked at the request. Dan Carsen has more in this web-exclusive report from the Southern Education Desk at WBHM.
Lynch v. Alabama Ruling
A federal judge recently ruled on a case that has implications for how schools are funded and taxes are assessed across Alabama. Dan Carsen has more on Lynch v. Alabama in this web-exclusive report.
Religious Exemptions to School Vaccine Requirements on Rise
Today's students and most of their parents are too young to remember a time when epidemics crippled and killed millions. And there's a reason we've forgotten: vaccines. Even so, a small but growing number of Alabama students are getting religious exemptions to school immunization requirements. The reasons are sometimes religious, sometimes philosophical, and sometimes health-based. Dan Carsen has more from the Southern Education Desk at WBHM.
Immigration Law and Schools: Trying to Calm Fears
Across Alabama, people have been marching to spotlight children affected by the state's strict new immigration law. The measure requires schools to record the immigration status of newly enrolled students. After more than 2,000 Hispanic students were absent from Alabama schools early last week, activists and educators are reaching out to families worried about what the law will mean for them. Dan Carsen has more from the Southern Education Desk at WBHM.
Immigration Law and Schools
Students, parents, and school officials are reacting to Alabama's new immigration law, the toughest in the nation. The law went into effect last week after a federal judge upheld many of its most controversial provisions, including a requirement that schools check the immigration status of newly enrolled students. And that extra layer of administrative responsibility may pale in comparison with the fear it's engendered. Dan Carsen has more from the Southern Education Desk at WBHM:
Part 3: Walking School Bus
What has bright colors, traffic signs, dozens of feet, and provides exercise, companionship, and a safe way to school? It's a new community-oriented health and safety strategy called a "walking school bus." In the last of a three-part series on school transportation, Dan Carsen has more from the Southern Education Desk at WBHM:
Pt2-RuralChallenges
Safe transportation to and from school is a challenge across the country. Roughly 800 children die making that trip each year, and the dangers vary by location. The rural south has its own challenges, some preventable, some not. In Part Two of a three-part series on school transportation, Dan Carsen has more from the Southern Education Desk at WBHM:
School Transpo Safety Pt 1 – Urban Trains
It's no secret that kids trying to succeed in school face hurdles, some more than others. But for students in many of Birmingham's urban neighborhoods, serious safety challenges involving massive moving machines start before they even get to school. In Part One of a three-part series on school transportation, Dan Carsen has more from the Southern Education Desk at WBHM:
AP-update
At Alabama public high schools that first implemented the A+ College Ready Program in 2010-2011, A.P. exam pass rates increased by 111 percent. The pass rate for minority students increased even more. But how did that happen? Click here to read Dan Carsen's web-exclusive report:
Defibrillators
All Alabama public high, junior high, and middle schools now have defibrillators. So, in a state with tightening education budgets, how did this come about? Click here for education reporter Dan Carsen's web-exclusvie story:
AdvancedPlacement
The Alabama State Department of Education has won a $1.3-million grant from the U.S. Department of Education to support the state's improving Advanced Placement programs. And at least one reason for that improvement is controversial. Click here for education reporter Dan Carsen's web-exclusive story:
Jones Valley Tutorial
Birmingham City Schools kitchen staff recently got a tutorial on nutrition and locally grown, sustainable food at Jones Valley Urban Farm. They picked herbs and vegetables and helped bury stereotypes in the process. Dan Carsen covered the event for WBHM and the Southern Education Desk. Click here for the web-exclusive first-person account:
Polluted Schools
[The EPA has named five prominent Birmingham firms liable for pollution in several North Birmingham Neighborhoods. The following is our award-winning story on the subject from two years ago:] The Walter Coke plant in North Birmingham makes high-grade coke used in blast furnaces and foundries. But according to a class-action lawsuit, that's not all it makes: property owners allege carcinogens from the plant have drastically lowered their property values. But for people living and going to school in this industrial area, that's just the tip of the iceberg. Our Southern Education reporter Dan Carsen has more.
Teach For America in Alabama
The national service program Teach For America has been in Alabama for a full school year. As it gears up to send our state more than 50 new teachers, it makes sense to check on the group's progress here. Dan Carsen, a former TFA teacher, asks around for the Southern Education Desk at WBHM.
Alabama’s New Immigration Law and Schools
Alabama's new immigration law has been at the center of heated debate in the state, across the country, and beyond. Of many controversial provisions is one that requires schools to determine the immigration status of students, and in some cases, their parents. Some educators are uneasy with that new role. That's to say nothing of the feelings of many immigrants, legal and otherwise.
