We don't test students as much as people think we do. And the stakes aren't ...
First, students are tested less than many people believe. Second, in places where students spend too much time taking tests, local schools and districts — not federal or state policies — tend to be the culprits. And third, the notion of standardized ...Poll: Black Voters Strongly Support School Choice
A new survey conducted by the Black Alliance for Educational Options (BAEO) shows a majority of black voters in several states strongly support school-choice, and many favor the option to send their children to public charter schools. BAEO surveyed 2,400 black voters from Alabama, Louisiana, New Jersey, and Tennessee.Some students using tax credit-based scholarships to attend private schools
There are no failing public schools in the Shoals, as defined by the Alabama Accountability Act, but a few students in the area are using the tax credit-based scholarships to attend private schools in Florence.Joe Reed steps up attacks on NEA oversight of AEA
Joe Reed wants Alabama Education Association members to reject changes to the governance of the organization. In a flyer dated Oct. 30 and sent to members, the former associate executive secretary renewed accusations that the National Education Association, which took AEA into trusteeship earlier this year, was trying to take over the teachers' association.Verizon ends low-cost Wi-Fi program for Huntsville city schools
It was a good deal while it lasted, but Verizon has told the Huntsville city school system it will stop providing low-cost unlimited Wi-Fi service to students and parents on Nov. 30. "Their concern for education was dwarfed by some other concern," Superintendent Dr. Casey Wardnyski told AL.com Thursday afternoon.Some students using tax credit-based scholarships to attend private schools
There are no failing public schools in the Shoals, as defined by the Alabama Accountability Act, but a few students in the area are using the tax credit-based scholarships to attend private schools in Florence.Alabama gets a D+ grade in 2015 State Integrity Investigation
Governors are just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the tradition of corruption in Alabama government. In 2011, three people - a lobbyist, a casino developer and a state representative - pleaded guilty in a case that alleged legislators were bribed to vote for a bill to legalize electronic bingo.Poll: Black Voters Strongly Support School Choice
A new survey conducted by the Black Alliance for Educational Options (BAEO) shows a majority of black voters in several states strongly support school-choice, and many favor the option to send their children to public charter schools. BAEO surveyed 2,400 black voters from Alabama, Louisiana, New Jersey, and Tennessee.Joe Reed steps up attacks on NEA oversight of AEA
Joe Reed wants Alabama Education Association members to reject changes to the governance of the organization. In a flyer dated Oct. 30 and sent to members, the former associate executive secretary renewed accusations that the National Education Association, which took AEA into trusteeship earlier this year, was trying to take over the teachers' association.Verizon ends low-cost Wi-Fi program for Huntsville city schools
It was a good deal while it lasted, but Verizon has told the Huntsville city school system it will stop providing low-cost unlimited Wi-Fi service to students and parents on Nov. 30. "Their concern for education was dwarfed by some other concern," Superintendent Dr. Casey Wardnyski told AL.com Thursday afternoon.School resource officers' role in schools
Many of you have watched the video from South Carolina that shows a student forcefully pulled from her chair by a school resource officer and flung across the room. The SRO in the video was fired two days later. Schools in Alabama also use school resource officers.Trisha Powell Crain Talks Money, Politics, and More in Alabama Education
There's never a shortage of stories coming from Alabama's schools. But before WBHM's and the Southern Education Desk's "Issues and Ales" education forum Thursday evening, we wanted to shed as much light as possible on the big picture behind the headlines. For better or worse, that backdrop always includes money and therefore politics.Alabama mother fights for teen's right to die at school
An Alabama teen with a terminal heart condition has not returned to school after a spate of hospitalizations because of what his mother says is a dispute with school officials about how he might die.Armed But Untrained: Why So Many School Cops Are Unprepared for the Classroom
A high school girl who refuses to follow school rules is body-slammed to the ground, pulled out of her chair, and flung past rows of desks. The school resource officer's use of force, caught on video, unleashes national outrage and costs him his job.Alabama Education Trust Fund ends year in black by $140 million
Money flowing to Alabama's Education Trust Fund exceeded spending by $140 million during the fiscal year that ended Sept. 30, and most of that will be set aside for leaner times. About $118 million will go into the Budget Stabilization Fund, according to a memo from the Legislative Fiscal Office to the Legislature's education budget chairmen.Recent Teacher Of The Year Resigns In Alabama Over Certification Issues
Less than two years after being named Alabama's Teacher of the Year, Ann Marie Corgill resigned her post this week, citing her frustration with bureaucracy. After Corgill was moved from teaching second grade to fifth, she was told she wasn't qualified to teach fifth-graders.Josh Moon: Bureaucracy isn't helping Ala.'s schools, teachers
A former Alabama Teacher of the Year quit last week. Ann Marie Corgill, a fifth-grade teacher from Birmingham who was the state's 2014 Teacher of the Year, turned in her resignation last week after weeks of bureaucratic nonsense sucked the life out of her.- Alabama Teacher of the Year Told She's Unqualified, ResignsA one-time Alabama Teacher of the Year says she has resigned after state officials told her she's unqualified to teach in her fifth-grade classroom because of certification issues. Veteran teacher Ann Marie Corgill said Alabama Department of Education officials recently informed her that she was not qualified despite her well-documented accomplishments.
Alabama Teacher of the Year who left Mountain Brook for Birmingham is resigning
Ann Marie Corgill, 2015 National Teacher of the Year finalist and 2014-2015 Alabama Teacher of the Year, has submitted a letter of resignation to Birmingham City Schools. Corgill, a fifth-grade teacher at Oliver Elementary School, moved to the Birmingham school district after teaching at Cherokee Bend Elementary School for three years - a move widely considered a step in the right direction for the Birmingham City Schools.HSLDA | Department of Education Refuses Private School Registration
ADVERTISEMENT Alabama members of Home School Legal Defense Association are reporting that the Alabama Department of Education has prevented them from complying with state law, which states that private schools must annually register with the department. Attendance at a private school, either on-site or through a home program, is one of the legal options for parents conducting home instruction.Proposed changes to state special ed code raises questions
There's a myriad of proposed amendments to the state code, but the most controversial is a change in the due process procedure. Due process allows students to file an official complaint with a state court if it's felt a special needs student is not receiving the quality of education he or she needs.Nabors completes task as Jacksonville schools' temporary leader
"People told me, 'That's a hornet's nest over there, stay away from there,'" said Nabors, 55, a native of Guntersville who had connections in Jacksonville from his time attending Jacksonville State. "But I just had peace about it. I just felt like it was what I was supposed to be doing."
Must-Read Education News - October 21 to November 10
Much appreciation to the hard-working reporters who cover education in Alabama. Newest stories at the top. Links to prior editions at the bottom of the Alabama School Connection page (http://www.alabamaschoolconnection.org).
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