Results from the Alabama Comprehensive Assessment Program released last month showed 81% of third graders in the district are now reading at or above grade level. This is up from just 53% on the previous year’s standardized test.
Woodfin said ten weeks into the school year, well more than half of third graders are considered truants, which means they have seven or more unexcused absences.
The choir at Ramsay High School is heading to Carnegie Hall this May. It’s an opportunity to boost school pride, but also to give some students the experience of a lifetime.
Alabama only has to provide bus access for families that live within two miles of their school, which leaves some families having to walk in dangerous conditions. Birmingham City Schools is trying to add new routes to address these concerns.
The Bush Hills Community Garden and Urban Farm grows truckloads of produce each year that’s given to area residents free of charge. In addition, the old elementary school on the property will soon be home to a teaching kitchen and community center.
The U.S. education secretary has called for investment to keep teachers from quitting. A teachers union leader has described it as a five-alarm emergency. In reality, there is little evidence to suggest teacher turnover has increased nationwide or educators are leaving in droves.
This is the first school year that third graders who do not read at grade level by the end of the school year must be held back in that grade, rather than passed on to fourth grade. The Alabama Literacy Act was passed several years ago, but its implementation was delayed because of the pandemic.
When the kids are away, the custodial and maintenance staff in schools work all summer long. One custodian told WBHM about what it takes to keep the kids happy and healthy as they trade sunshine for fluorescent lights.
Not every student who starts school lives to graduate. It’s estimated nearly 2,000 children and teens die from gun violence every year in the United States. This week Birmingham City Schools awarded diplomas to the families of some of those lost students.
In about 100 days, Birmingham will host the World Games. It’s an international competition for non-Olympic sports. Some are more well-known and others you’ve probably never heard of. One of those more obscure sports is korfball. It was created in the Netherlands, but WBHM found the sport has some interesting ties to Birmingham.
The election for the Birmingham City school board is August 24. Ten candidates responded to WBHM's survey to see where they stand on COVID, academic, funding, and parent engagement.
Homer Logan has two sides to his life. By day he runs an elementary school cafeteria in Birmingham. At night he's in front of crowds as "Logan the Entertainer."
Longtime educator Mark Sullivan is the new leader of Birmingham City Schools. He's no stranger to the school system and many hope that will keep him around longer than his predecessors.
BCS joins a growing list of school districts, including Tuscaloosa, Montgomery and Huntsville, that will begin the school year with remote learning only.
The Birmingham Board of Education is considering four possibilities to begin the academic school year: remote learning, a hybrid model, traditional school and a virtual school option for the first nine weeks. A final decision will be made July 31.
Closed through the end of the academic year, Alabama K-12 schools will being distance learning Monday. Jefferson County Schools released information Friday about their plan.
When it was announced recently that the Birmingham Promise would offer a full tuition scholarship to the University of Alabama at Birmingham, many praised the partnership as a way to give eligible Birmingham graduates a much-needed financial boost. But as it stands, most students wouldn't make the cut.
The University of Alabama at Birmingham will offer a full tuition scholarship to some graduates of Birmingham City Schools as part of a new partnership with the City of Birmingham.
Two Birmingham-area school systems scored better than last year on the 2018-2019 annual Education Report Card issued by the Alabama State Department of Education.
Church of the Highlands, Alabama’s biggest megachurch, has expanded into the inner city, leasing space at two Birmingham schools. But there’s been pushback in the community, some of it highlighting a racial divide.
Birmingham is one month away from a citywide election that will not only determine the future of funding for city schools but also whether up to one-third of City Council seats change hands.
Birmingham Mayor Randall Woodfin released details Wednesday of a plan to offer Birmingham City Schools graduates the chance to go to a public two or four-year school in Alabama tuition free. This follows a tweet Tuesday evening announcing the program.
Next month, many area students go back to school. But at Birmingham's Avondale Elementary School, several teachers and students won't be returning after what they say was a chaotic year.