Trisha Powell Crain on Top Education Stories of 2015

 ========= Old Image Removed =========Array
(
    [_wp_attached_file] => Array
        (
            [0] => 2015/03/KateTerHaar.jpg
        )

    [_wp_attachment_metadata] => Array
        (
            [0] => a:5:{s:5:"width";i:600;s:6:"height";i:400;s:4:"file";s:23:"2015/03/KateTerHaar.jpg";s:5:"sizes";a:6:{s:6:"medium";a:4:{s:4:"file";s:23:"KateTerHaar-336x224.jpg";s:5:"width";i:336;s:6:"height";i:224;s:9:"mime-type";s:10:"image/jpeg";}s:9:"thumbnail";a:4:{s:4:"file";s:23:"KateTerHaar-140x140.jpg";s:5:"width";i:140;s:6:"height";i:140;s:9:"mime-type";s:10:"image/jpeg";}s:9:"wbhm-icon";a:4:{s:4:"file";s:21:"KateTerHaar-80x80.jpg";s:5:"width";i:80;s:6:"height";i:80;s:9:"mime-type";s:10:"image/jpeg";}s:18:"wbhm-featured-home";a:4:{s:4:"file";s:23:"KateTerHaar-467x311.jpg";s:5:"width";i:467;s:6:"height";i:311;s:9:"mime-type";s:10:"image/jpeg";}s:22:"wbhm-featured-carousel";a:4:{s:4:"file";s:23:"KateTerHaar-398x265.jpg";s:5:"width";i:398;s:6:"height";i:265;s:9:"mime-type";s:10:"image/jpeg";}s:14:"post-thumbnail";a:4:{s:4:"file";s:23:"KateTerHaar-125x125.jpg";s:5:"width";i:125;s:6:"height";i:125;s:9:"mime-type";s:10:"image/jpeg";}}s:10:"image_meta";a:12:{s:8:"aperture";s:1:"0";s:6:"credit";s:0:"";s:6:"camera";s:0:"";s:7:"caption";s:0:"";s:17:"created_timestamp";s:1:"0";s:9:"copyright";s:0:"";s:12:"focal_length";s:1:"0";s:3:"iso";s:1:"0";s:13:"shutter_speed";s:1:"0";s:5:"title";s:0:"";s:11:"orientation";s:1:"0";s:8:"keywords";a:0:{}}}
        )

    [_media_credit] => Array
        (
            [0] => Kate Ter Haar
        )

    [_navis_media_credit_org] => Array
        (
            [0] =>  Flickr
        )

    [_navis_media_can_distribute] => Array
        (
            [0] => 
        )

    [_imagify_optimization_level] => Array
        (
            [0] => 1
        )

    [_imagify_data] => Array
        (
            [0] => a:2:{s:5:"stats";a:3:{s:13:"original_size";i:339038;s:14:"optimized_size";i:215430;s:7:"percent";d:36.460000000000001;}s:5:"sizes";a:9:{s:4:"full";a:5:{s:7:"success";b:1;s:8:"file_url";s:51:"https://news.wbhm.org/media/2015/03/KateTerHaar.jpg";s:13:"original_size";i:158956;s:14:"optimized_size";i:83110;s:7:"percent";d:47.719999999999999;}s:9:"thumbnail";a:2:{s:7:"success";b:0;s:5:"error";s:77:"WELL DONE. This image is already compressed, no further compression required.";}s:6:"medium";a:5:{s:7:"success";b:1;s:8:"file_url";s:59:"https://news.wbhm.org/media/2015/03/KateTerHaar-336x224.jpg";s:13:"original_size";i:22618;s:14:"optimized_size";i:16802;s:7:"percent";d:25.710000000000001;}s:9:"wbhm-icon";a:2:{s:7:"success";b:0;s:5:"error";s:77:"WELL DONE. This image is already compressed, no further compression required.";}s:13:"wbhm-featured";a:5:{s:7:"success";b:1;s:8:"file_url";s:59:"https://news.wbhm.org/media/2015/03/KateTerHaar-600x338.jpg";s:13:"original_size";i:59868;s:14:"optimized_size";i:43226;s:7:"percent";d:27.800000000000001;}s:20:"wbhm-featured-square";a:5:{s:7:"success";b:1;s:8:"file_url";s:59:"https://news.wbhm.org/media/2015/03/KateTerHaar-300x300.jpg";s:13:"original_size";i:27920;s:14:"optimized_size";i:20724;s:7:"percent";d:25.77;}s:18:"wbhm-featured-home";a:5:{s:7:"success";b:1;s:8:"file_url";s:59:"https://news.wbhm.org/media/2015/03/KateTerHaar-467x311.jpg";s:13:"original_size";i:39392;s:14:"optimized_size";i:29191;s:7:"percent";d:25.899999999999999;}s:22:"wbhm-featured-carousel";a:5:{s:7:"success";b:1;s:8:"file_url";s:59:"https://news.wbhm.org/media/2015/03/KateTerHaar-398x265.jpg";s:13:"original_size";i:30284;s:14:"optimized_size";i:22377;s:7:"percent";d:26.109999999999999;}s:14:"post-thumbnail";a:2:{s:7:"success";b:0;s:5:"error";s:77:"WELL DONE. This image is already compressed, no further compression required.";}}}
        )

    [_imagify_status] => Array
        (
            [0] => success
        )

)
1616982884 
1451497025

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 Powell Crain points out, charter schools became legal in Alabama. But she tells WBHM’s Dan Carsen that even that story is not quite so simple.

Listen to the five-minute on-air version of the interview above. Key excerpts and a web-only extended version are below. 

An Experiment

“Charter schools are only as good as the operators. I don’t know how you know up front if a charter school operator is going to be a good one or not, so it’s always an experiment … I wouldn’t say I’m worried, [but] I think I’ll be watching very carefully.”

Haves and Have-Nots

“[The report said] the way Alabama’s schools are funded is massively inequitable … The school districts that have, have a lot. The school districts that have very little local money are the have-nots … Alabama has a history of saying, well, we’re happy with the haves and the have-nots. I mean, the system has developed not out of ignorance. There have been some purposeful choices made that have allowed some school districts to amass more money than others.”

Tying Teacher Evaluation — and Pay — to Student Test Scores?

“Remembering, it is a draft [bill] … if teachers do exceedingly well, then they [would] be paid a bonus. At this point, Alabama is one of only six states that don’t tie teacher evaluation to test scores in some way. The devil is in the details … Bringing this to scale, I have some concerns. We have a lot of struggles in our schools, right? Can we really expect every teacher to be able to mount all of those struggles that children face in a day and then show some fantastic result on a standardized test score?”

Click below for the web-exclusive 17-minute interview, which includes Crain’s thoughts on teacher tenure, “neovouchers,” Catholic education (and Catholic education with money diverted from public coffers), No Child Left Behind, and the controversial Alabama Accountability Act of 2013, which continues to be revised and scrutinized:

 

 

 

 

southerneddesk_logo

 

BSC’s Daniel Coleman talks about his years-long effort to save the school and what happens next.

After the news that Birmingham-Southern College is closing, we sat down with the school’s president, Daniel Coleman.

IVF could help her start the family she wants. Will Alabama’s personhood law derail it?

Despite a law meant to protect IVF in Alabama, patients and advocates worry the protections won’t hold — and warn of future attacks on reproductive rights.

Struggling Birmingham-Southern College says it will close at end of May

The College Board of Trustees voted unanimously to close the longtime institution, officials announced in a news release. The announcement came after legislation, aimed at securing a taxpayer-backed loan for the 168-year-old private college, had recently stalled in the Alabama Statehouse.

What happens when a rural hospital shuts its doors? Look to Pickens County

Residents in the west Alabama county warn that the lack of emergency care can have deadly consequences. It's a fate that could befall a growing number of rural communities.

What issues are driving you to the polls this year?

What issues are top of mind as you head to the polls this year? What do you want the candidates to be talking about?

Q&A: A bad deal made Jackson’s water problems worse. It wasn’t the only Mississippi city harmed

Reporter Sarah Fowler talks about her investigation that found at least eight Mississippi cities were harmed by deals over faulty smart water meters.

More Education Coverage