Probation
Life After Prison: Interview With Robin, Student And Tutwiler Inmate
All this week, WBHM explores challenges people face after being released from Alabama's prisons. One barrier is a lack of skills. But some educators are working to smooth that transition even before the inmates get out: J.F. Ingram State Technical College has a new program at Tutwiler Prison that teaches vocations and life skills, including getting along with others, with the goal of reducing recidivism. WBHM's Dan Carsen sat in on those classes then spoke with a student -- an inmate named Robin. We agreed not to use last names, but Dan asked her about her plans once she's out ... and about why she's in.
DOCUMENTARY: Voices From Tutwiler Prison For Women
J.F. Ingram Technical College is a unique part of Alabama's two-year college system because all of its students are incarcerated. Last month, WBHM's Dan Carsen went to Ingram's campus at Tutwiler Prison. He was planning to do a story on Ingram's new life skills program there, but sometimes, plans change. He decided the best way to convey those classes was basically to let the tape roll ... which also gives normally voiceless people a chance to be heard. You can hear them right now. Or click on the link above to hear them and see more photos.
Birmingham Schools Taken Off Accreditation Probation
Last night, the international accreditation agency AdvancEd released a report based on their team's March visit to Birmingham City Schools. Although the report noted many areas still in need of improvement, the agency upgraded the school system from "probation" to "accredited, warned." In response, school leaders called a press conference today. Our education reporter Dan Carsen recorded it and broke it down for listeners.
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 Schools: Takeover To Today, Part 3
The Alabama State Department of Education's intervention team has left Birmingham City Schools. ALSDE staff are approving local board agendas and monitoring finances from Montgomery. A year and a half after the state first took the reins, the local board is quietly going about its business. As 2014 approaches, there's a new optimism from the Superintendent's office down to the trenches. But is it realistic? In this third and final installment, WBHM's Dan Carsen reports on the reality on the ground, and on where informed stakeholders think it's all headed.
