Education
Bham Board Fires Witherspoon, But…
People who've been saying they could no longer be surprised by the Birmingham school board were surprised Tuesday night, and for several reasons.The most important was the fact that, despite the state takeover, the board voted to terminate the contract of Superintendent Craig Witherspoon. WBHM's Southern Education Desk reporter Dan Carsen has the web-exclusive story.
Lessons of the Little River Canyon Center
On a high plateau in rural northeast Alabama, there's a multimillion-dollar state-of-the-art education complex. Campus, museum, community center, and event spot, Jacksonville State University's Little River Canyon Center is becoming a destination for students, tourists, and regular local people. How this unlikely place came to be is a twenty-year story of politics, money, celebrity, and inspiration. But for this first of two reports, WBHM's Southern Education Desk reporter Dan Carsen focuses on what people are learning there now:
Carsen Interviewed By “The Terminal” On Radio Journalism
The Terminal, Birmingham's web information hub, recently interviewed our Southern Education Desk reporter Dan Carsen on video about everything from his day-to-day job to big-picture education issues, including what has surprised him the most in his year-plus reporting for WBHM and the SED. Click through to watch the interview and get an inside look at what being a public radio education reporter is like.
John Archibald on upheaval in Trussville and Birmingham Schools
There's been lots of upheaval recently in local schools. Monday, the Trussville Board of Education terminated the contract of superintendent Suzanne Freeman. Not to be outdone, the Birmingham Board of Education is staring down a meeting on Tuesday to consider the state's financial plan for the district.
Carsen and Ott on All Things Alabama Education
We've had a short break from Birmingham Board of Education fireworks, but that doesn't mean that story or the Alabama education beat has slowed down at all. In this week's Edu-Chat, WBHM's Tanya Ott inverviews Southern Education Desk reporter Dan Carsen on No Child Left Behind, the Education Trust Fund, local kids in China, and "meatless meetings."
Trussville Moves to Terminate Schools Superintendent
The Trussville Board of Education is moving to cancel its contract with Superintendent Dr. Suzanne Freeman. After a multi-hour meeting yesterday, the board announced it had voted unanimously to ends its contract with Freeman, who has led the district since its beginning in 2004.
INTERVIEW: Dr. Michael Crowe
Education affects how the brain ages, and when older people take cognitive tests, the results are compared to those of others with the same amount of schooling. But new UAB research shows that because of racial and economic disparities in education quality, that approach could be leading to disadvantaged people being diagnosed as impaired when they really aren't. Our Southern Education Desk reporter Dan Carsen sat down with Dr. Michael Crowe, who says the disparities in our schools are obvious.
State Board Approves B’ham Schools Management Plan
It didn't take much convincing for Alabama schools chief Tommy Bice to secure his board's formal approval of the management plan he's putting in place for Birmingham Schools. State board members, after expressing appreciation for Bice's handling of a difficult situation, voted unanimously to approve it at a special called meeting early Thursday afternoon. Our Southern Education Desk reporter Dan Carsen has the latest in this web-exclusive.
State Taking Over Birmingham Schools
In developments that many saw coming, the state education department is seizing control of Birmingham City Schools. Southern Education Desk reporter Dan Carsen has this late-breaking web-exclusive.
What Makes Good Teaching? Straight From The Classroom, A Play-By-Play
In some ways, teaching is like sports: there’s a lot that’s unseen by the untrained eye. That’s one reason post-game analysis is popular. So why not do that for something vital to our future? Southern Education Desk reporter Dan Carsen used to be a teacher and a teacher-trainer. As part of our series "What Makes Good Teaching," he offers a play-by-play from right here in Birmingham.
B’ham Schools Submit State-Mandated Plan
The Birmingham School System has met the first part of a state-mandated deadline by submitting a detailed cost-cutting plan. But the state still could take over the local system's fiances soon. Southern Education Desk reporter Dan Carsen has this late-breaking Friday web exclusive.
School Takeover and Controversy in Educational Television
The Birmingham Board of Education has until tomorrow to submit its list of people it's going to lay off as part of the $12 million cost cutting plan and more Alabama Educational Television Foundation members quit to protest changes at Alabama Public Television.
Alabama Public Television: The Meeting Minutes
WBHM has obtained copies of the minutes from the most recent meetings of the Alabama Education Television Commission (the meeting where commissioners fired Alabama Public Television executive director Allan Pizzato).
Carsen, Ott on All Things Alabama Education
Clearly, just because school is out doesn't mean the education beat is slowing down. The question on many people's minds is, what's going on with Birmingham City Schools and the state? WBHM's Tanya Ott interviews Southern Education Desk reporter Dan Carsen on that, tuition increases, "digital districts," and a grant meant to make cancer treatment more cost effective.
Selling Camp Coleman
For many children, summer vacation means the chance to go to camp. For Girl Scouts around Birmingham that tradition is about to change. Last month, the Girl Scouts of North Central Alabama announced it would sell four of its six camps, including the 87-year old Camp Coleman. The facility in Trussville is among the oldest continually operating Girl Scout camps in the country. As WBHM’s Andrew Yeager reports, one group is trying to prevent that closure from happening.
State Steps Up Intervention, Could Take Over Bham Schools
The Alabama State Board of Education votes to have the state oversee the Birmingham School Board's day-to-day financial operations, specifically its implementation of a cost-cutting plan. But that could be just the beginning of state involvement. Dan Carsen has this web-exclusive story and national newscast spot.
Backs to Wall, Birmingham BOE Approves Cuts
After another surprising and sometimes confusing meeting, the Birmingham Board of Education has approved a cost-cutting plan some hope will keep the state from taking over the district. Our Southern Education Desk reporter Dan Carsen has this web-exclusive report.
Carsen, Ott on All Things Alabama Education
A lot has been happening on the Alabama education beat since our last chat with Southern Education Desk reporter Dan Carsen, but one story continues to dominate and make national news: the Birmingham School Board. A slim majority recently rejected a state cost-cutting proposal, but ironically, that defiant move could result in the board losing what little autonomy it has left. WBHM's Tanya Ott interviews Carsen on that subject and more.
Possible Birmingham School Takeover and Don Siegelman’s Future
This week, members of the Birmingham Board of Education voted against the nearly $12 million in cost-cutting measures suggested by state investigators. The board now faces a possible takeover by the state. In his latest column, the Birmingham News' John Arcibald argues Birmingham's school system doesn't have a "money problem", but rather, a "problem with money."
B’ham Board Rejects State Cost-Cutting Plan
In a 5-4 vote along increasingly familiar lines, the Birmingham Board of Education on Tuesday rejected a cost-cutting plan proposed last week by the state team investigating the local board. An outright state takeover could be imminent. Southern Education Desk reporter Dan Carsen has this web-exclusive story.
Training School Principals
Research says the role of the principal is changing. They’re not just managers: they are instructional leaders. And as the expectations of principals change and grow, so too does the process of training them.
Good Teaching: Middle School Teacher of the Year
Teachers have long debated the best way to get students to absorb lessons. Whether it’s learning ABCs or trigonometry, there is no definitive answer on the best way to engage students. The Southern Education Desk asked a well-regarded Louisiana educator to talk about what works for him.
What Makes a Good Teacher?
Good teaching is central to effective education, but it's not easy to pin down what actually constitutes good teaching. WBHM and the Southern Education Desk want your opinion. Join us for Issues & Ales to have your say.
Good Teaching: May The Force Be With You
Inner city schools are tough places. In Jackson, Mississippi, only half of the kids make it out with a diploma, and far fewer leave ready for college work. But on occasion, a teacher can nurture a science scholar or even get a whole class to geek-out on grammar. In part four of our Southern Education Desk series, Good Teaching, Annie Gilbertson profiles a young teacher struggling, and sometimes succeeding, to share his love for Latin.
Good Teaching: High Schoolers Learn to Be Good Teachers
Studies estimate that a third of novice teachers quit in the first five years. Many say their training didn’t prepare them for the classroom. In Rome, Georgia, a program for high school students who aspire to be teachers is exposing them to the rigors of leading a class full of students now, even before they enroll in a college education program.
Good Teaching: A Reporter Returns to School
Every parent wants a good teacher for their child, and across the South, states are creating policies to make that happen. The Southern Education Desk's Christine Jessel travels back in time for a personal look at the question at the heart of these controversial evaluations: What does a good teacher look like?
Good Teaching Series Overview
For the past year, the Southern Education Desk has been digging into the challenges facing education in the south. One core question that has surfaced over and over again is: What is good teaching? The answer is complicated. There are no easy answers. Real understanding takes time, context and perspective. This week, Southern Education Desk journalists from five states begin a series of reports that will seek to provide some answers.
Birmingham to Beijing
Lack of exposure to other kinds of people, languages, and ideas is a disadvantage for poor rural and urban students across the country. Inner-city Birmingham is no exception, but six local high school students are hoping to become exceptional ... in more ways than one. Thanks to their hard work and the efforts of a first-year teacher, they're planning to study in China this summer. Our Southern Education Desk reporter Dan Carsen has the story.
Carsen, Ott on All Things Education Alabama
It's the final week of the legislative session and that means Alabama lawmakers are scrambling to pass several bills. One of them would tweak the immigration law by preventing school officials from asking students about their parent's immigration status. Still, the Justice Department is concerned about effects on Latino children. And that's just a little of what's happening on the education beat. Southern Education Desk reporter Dan Carsen tells WBHM's Tanya Ott about that and more in this week's interview.
INTERVIEW: State Schools Chief on Birmingham Investigation
The state investigation and possible takeover of the Birmingham Board of Education has made national news. State Superintendent Tommy Bice and his investigative team met with the local board behind closed doors here in Birmingham late Thursday. Our Southern Education Desk reporter Dan Carsen caught up with Superintendent Bice via cell phone while Bice was traveling late Friday. Click the link above or the picture for more of the story, or click an icon below to go straight to the web-exclusive interview.
Carsen, Ott on All Things Alabama Education
There’s a lot happening on the education beat. The problems on the Birmingham Board of Education have risen to the level of national news, and educators worried about everything from charter schools to budget cuts are raising their concerns, loudly. Southern Education Desk reporter Dan Carsen talks with WBHM's Tanya Ott about all this and more, starting with the big story: the drama surrounding the Birmingham Board of Education and the superintendent whom five of them tried to fire.
Witherspoon Is Still B’ham Schools Chief
UPDATED LATE THURSDAY: Despite repeated efforts by some at the Birmingham Board of Education meeting Tuesday night, Craig Witherspoon is still the school system's superintendent, and will remain so during a new state-level investigation of the local school board. Our Southern Education Desk reporter Dan Carsen was at the charged meeting and filed this extensive web-exclusive report. Click on the story to read Witherspoon's statement in response to the investigation, the state board's official April 12 resolution initiating it, and more.