Education
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.
Driver’s Education
If you're over a certain age, there's a good chance you took driver's education in your high school. So why isn't that true for today's young drivers? From the Southern Education Desk at WBHM, Dan Carsen reports on a significant shift:
Boman interview
Alabama state representative Daniel Boman has done something rare: he has left the Republican Party to become a Democrat. The reasons, he says, are Republican stances on educational and other issues.
Closing Corporate Tax Loopholes
In Alabama and other states, education budgets are being squeezed. Teachers and support staff are facing layoffs and cuts in benefits and supply money. Seen against that background, it's not surprising that states are looking harder at a tricky but increasingly attractive source of funding. From the Southern Education Desk at WBHM, Dan Carsen has this report:
WBHM Needs Your Input on Education Issues
WBHM's new Education Desk needs your help. We're conducting a survey to determine what are the biggest issues facing Alabama's schools.
Greg Mortenson Interview
Bestselling author and internationally recognized education advocate Greg Mortenson speaks with WBHM's Dan Carsen about issues facing education in the South, including teacher pay and tenure.
A New Leader for Birmingham Southern College
Birmingham Southern College has new leadership today. General Charles Krulak will become the new president of the school, taking the reigns officially on June first. He's a retired U.S. Marine Commandant and former member of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Krulak has also worked in banking in the U.S. and Europe. WBHM's Andrew Yeager spoke with Krulak.
Holy Family Cristo Rey School
The dropout rate in Birmingham city schools is nearly three times the state average, leading some parents to consider more costly alternatives to public education. One school in Birmingham is making the option available to families that otherwise couldn't afford a private education.
Blueprint Birmingham
WBHM continues a series of conversations reacting to Blueprint Birmingham. That's the regional economic development plan announced last week by the Birmingham Business Alliance. It offers a five-year framework for addressing issues from leadership to education to economic growth.
Birmingham-Southern’s Struggles: a Student Perspective
When students return to Birmingham-Southern College next week, they'll find a school that's $10 million in debt and has a new interim president. Budget cuts also forced the elimination of 51 faculty and staff positions and five majors. What do students think?
Charter Schools: The Texas Example
Alabama is one of only ten states that don't allow charter schools. Many states, including Texas, adopted charter schools in the 90s. Today, more than 113-thousand Texas children attend charter schools.
OTL: Charter Schools
This week on WBHM we're exploring Charter Schools: how they operate, whether they're effective, and what political forces shape the debate over legalizing charter schools in Alabama. Friday (3/12) at noon on WBHM we discuss all this and more during On The Line: Charter Schools.
Charter Schools: Politics
Advocates of charter schools in Alabama are getting a do-over. A bill to authorize such schools has been reintroduced in the state legislature after lawmakers killed a similar proposal last month. But if the topic of charter schools weren't controversial enough, mixing it with Alabama politics makes for a potent combination. WBHM's Andrew Yeager continues our look at charter schools by examining the political context.
Charter Schools: Do They Work?
There are nearly 5,000 charter schools across the country. They educate more than 1.5 million students. And President Obama wants more. But do they work? There are a handful of charter schools in wealthy communities and, perhaps not surprisingly, they tend to have high test scores. But most charter schools are in low-income, often minority neighborhoods. How do they fare? WBHM's Tanya Ott has our report.
Charter Schools 101
A bill to authorize charter schools in Alabama is dead in the state legislature, but don't expect the debate to die down anytime soon. President Obama is pushing charter schools, and several of the gubernatorial candidates say they support the idea as well. But just what is a charter school? They've been around for more than a decade in some other states, but here in Alabama there seems to be a lot of confusion.
Dr. Freida Hill
Today is two months on the job for Freida Hill. She is the new chancellor of Alabama's two year college system. Hill spent 18 years working for Georgia's technical colleges. But in Alabama she steps into a system facing increased enrollment with shrinking budgets, plus lingering fallout from a corruption scandal. Hill spoke to WBHM's Andrew Yeager about some of those issues as well as her goals for the state's two year college system. She says she wants to improve the transition for students who transfer from a two year school to a four year school.
Gay/Straight: Bullying Gay Students
It's a phrase many kids use almost daily: That's so gay. Experts say that the use of homophobic slurs in schools is on the rise. Two 11-year-olds recently committed suicide after being bullied with anti-gay taunts. And though a new law requires the Alabama Department of Education to come up with a policy prohibiting harassment, that new policy isn't likely to mention sexual orientation.
Making Do: School Lunch
Want to know if times are tough? Look at the number of kids eating school lunch. Birmingham area schools report that since the economic crunch, fewer children are brown bagging it. School nutritionists say for the price, you can't beat school lunch. But is cheaper better?
