Avondale Elementary Climate Frustrates Parents and Teachers

 ========= Old Image Removed =========Array
(
    [_wp_attached_file] => Array
        (
            [0] => 2019/07/SchoolBuildingMain.jpg
        )

    [_wp_attachment_metadata] => Array
        (
            [0] => a:5:{s:5:"width";i:519;s:6:"height";i:336;s:4:"file";s:30:"2019/07/SchoolBuildingMain.jpg";s:5:"sizes";a:6:{s:6:"medium";a:4:{s:4:"file";s:30:"SchoolBuildingMain-336x218.jpg";s:5:"width";i:336;s:6:"height";i:218;s:9:"mime-type";s:10:"image/jpeg";}s:9:"thumbnail";a:4:{s:4:"file";s:30:"SchoolBuildingMain-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:28:"SchoolBuildingMain-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:30:"SchoolBuildingMain-480x311.jpg";s:5:"width";i:480;s:6:"height";i:311;s:9:"mime-type";s:10:"image/jpeg";}s:22:"wbhm-featured-carousel";a:4:{s:4:"file";s:30:"SchoolBuildingMain-409x265.jpg";s:5:"width";i:409;s:6:"height";i:265;s:9:"mime-type";s:10:"image/jpeg";}s:14:"post-thumbnail";a:4:{s:4:"file";s:30:"SchoolBuildingMain-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:{}}}
        )

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

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

    [_imagify_data] => Array
        (
            [0] => a:2:{s:5:"sizes";a:1:{s:4:"full";a:2:{s:7:"success";b:0;s:5:"error";s:37:"The backup directory is not writable.";}}s:5:"stats";a:3:{s:13:"original_size";i:0;s:14:"optimized_size";i:0;s:7:"percent";i:0;}}
        )

    [_media_credit] => Array
        (
            [0] => Dan Carsen
        )

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

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

)
1639132340 
1563276732

The Birmingham Board of Education has some hiring to do, particularly at one elementary school. Thirty percent of the educators at Avondale Elementary from last year will not be returning. Teachers and parents say the environment at the school was chaotic last year, and they worry about safety and communication. It’s also leading some parents to consider other education options for their children.

Morgan Richardson was president of the Avondale PTA, but this year, she says her children will attend private school.

She says she is an advocate for public education, but she has concerns about Avondale.

In the last school year, there were regular reports of fights; one student brought a BB gun to school, she says. Also, the school eliminated recess for second graders to allow more instructional time, but parents say they were not informed. During the hottest part of the year, the air conditioning in the aging school often did not work.

Parents took their concerns to the principal, but Richardson says they were not pleased with the response.

“It did not seem to be appreciated, and we definitely didn’t see any action on it,” she says.

They went up the chain and met with the other school system leaders, including Superintendent Lisa Herring.

“We were allowed to express our concerns, but we were not communicated with in a way that gave us any resolution,” Richardson says.

Parents weren’t the only ones frustrated.  Three of last year’s third-grade teachers resigned; only one remains.

Current and former Avondale teachers we reached declined to comment publicly, but say privately the environment was chaotic and they didn’t feel supported by the administration.

We reached out to Superintendent Herring, who referred all questions to Avondale Elementary’s principal, Sonya Shingles.

Shingles says she’s heard the criticism and is managing the turnover.

“Every school throughout the country and district deal with turnover rates at the very end of the year,” Shingles says. “Avondale has not had anything significantly, or significant turnover that would impact the school in a negative way. It’s just your normal.”

Shingles says some teachers left for jobs in other industries or because their spouses relocated.

To address the concerns about communication and safety, Shingles says she’s developed a plan for stronger communication and is organizing volunteers as extra eyes and ears around the school.

And she says she is taking some additional steps.

“As the principal, I think it’s very important that I am very visible throughout the day and that I work very closely with Birmingham police to just come by and visit the school just make sure everything is okay,” Shingles says.

Amber Pope, incoming PTA president and former teacher, says she’s focusing on solutions and preparing for the new school year.

“The turnover has happened. Now, going forward, how can we prioritize support for those new teachers, and all teachers?” she says.

Avondale Elementary has the largest percentage of white students among Birmingham City Schools, according to state records.

The influx started in 2012 when about two dozen white middle-class families moved in and decided to send their kids to Avondale instead of private schools. It made news locally and nationally on NPR.

Today, breweries, restaurants, and renovated homes mean rising property values and more people interested in moving to Avondale and Crestwood.

Call it revitalization or gentrification — but the community is changing, and it’s a tension that’s not lost on parents like Pope.  She says sending her kids to a predominately black school is not an experiment.

“As a white person at a mostly minority school, figuring out is what I’m doing helping, or am I marginalizing,” she says. “Am I really bringing people to the table? Should I be the one setting the table?”

August 8 is the first day of school at all Birmingham schools. Avondale principal Sonya Shingles says she’ll fill the time between then and now interviewing potential teachers so the school will be ready for opening day.

 

Florida prosecutor seeks to overturn convictions in cocaine sting operation

A Florida prosecutor says he will seek to vacate as many as 2,600 convictions of people who bought crack cocaine made by the Broward County Sheriff's Office for sting operations between 1988 and 1990.

6 charged with human smuggling in deadly 2021 Mexico truck crash

The truck had been packed with at least 160 migrants when it crashed into a support for a pedestrian bridge in the Mexican state of Chiapas.

Lawsuit: A Character.AI chatbot hinted a kid should murder his parents over screen time limits

The parents of two Texas minors are suing a chatbot developer saying the company's services endangered their kids. One chatbot allegedly encouraged a child to self-harm and to kill their parents; another allegedly exposed them to sexualized content.

Taller vehicles are more dangerous to pedestrians, even at low speeds, research finds

A study by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety shows higher speeds are worse for pedestrians regardless of vehicle height — but those risks are amplified for vehicles with taller front ends. 

Renowned poet and Black arts movement icon Nikki Giovanni dies at 81

The poet and activist was a leading figure of the Black Arts Movement. Giovanni was working on her upcoming book of poetry, set to publish in the fall.

What we know about Luigi Mangione, the suspect in United Healthcare CEO’s killing

Mangione was arraigned on firearms and forgery charges in Pennsylvania after his arrest Monday evening, and is expected to face charges in New York as well.

More Education Coverage