Nonprofit
Birmingham Divvies Up $500K In Bold Funding For Nonprofits
Nine Birmingham nonprofits will receive funding from the city’s Building Opportunities for Lasting Development grant initiative this year, despite an overall reduction in funding for the program.
As COVID-19 Spreads, Meals On Wheels Adapts To Serve Seniors
With volunteers at home and the economy in decline, area nonprofits are feeling the impact of COVID-19. Meanwhile, communities are seeing an increased need for charitable programs.
A Conversation with “Mr. Fred,” 86-Year-Old Learning to Read
Fred Oliver of Birmingham is 86 and a world traveler. He served in the Korean War, spent time in Japan, and has held more jobs than he can count. He loves to visit far-off places, but as we reported yesterday, his latest odyssey is close to home, at the Literacy Council of Central Alabama: he’s learning to read and write.
Crime in Greater Birmingham: Literacy as Long-Term Prevention?
Police and prosecutors try to fight crime in the streets and in the courts every day. But how do you fight the long-term root causes of crime? Some people think you do it in small school rooms, one lesson at a time.
Preventing Addiction In Schools
In Part One of WBHM's five-part series, we heard about how and why heroin use is on the rise in Alabama. Now in Part Two, education reporter Dan Carsen looks at how some young people are trying to slow its spread in their schools. The story starts with a confession in a small office just outside downtown Birmingham.
SUSTAINABILITY: Grant Brigham Of Jones Valley Teaching Farm
In the middle of urban Birmingham, there's a farm. Jones Valley Teaching Farm is an education center offering local students and families gardening, nutrition courses, fresh food, and much more. As part of our sustainability series, WBHM's education reporter Dan Carsen sat down with its Executive Director, Grant Brigham. Dan starts off by asking him if he sees the farm playing a part in Birmingham's long-term sustainability:
INTERVIEW: AdvancED CEO Mark Elgart
AdvancED is a private accrediting firm working with more than thirty thousand schools worldwide. A team from its Southern Association of Colleges and Schools division arrives in Birmingham today. They're checking whether Birmingham City Schools are fixing problems that led the agency to put the system on accreditation probation last summer. It got WBHM's education reporter Dan Carsen thinking about what these firms actually do, and whether they have as much power as it seems. He caught up with AdvancED president Mark Elgart and asked him how his agencies decide which districts get accredited ... and which don't.
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 Alabama Education
These are interesting times for Birmingham City Schools. Standardized testing is underway just as there’s a standoff over the future of superintendent Craig Witherspoon. The Board of Education could vote this afternoon to terminate his contract. Check the station website, Facebook page, and Twitter feed for the latest developments. There’s been some drama on the state and national levels too, with a congressional committee looking into the Alabama Education Association. WBHM’s Tanya Ott interviews reporter Dan Carsen on that and more in this week’s education chat.
