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Kay Ivey signs four executive orders to address education crisis

On Wednesday, Governor Kay Ivey released four new executive orders related to public education. The executive orders are intended to achieve Gov. Ivey’s inauguration day vow to get Alabama’s public school performance among the top 30 in the country. “I am proud to sign these executive orders into effect and believe they will lay an essential foundation for ensuring every Alabama student receives a high-quality education,” said Governor Ivey. “This is the first of many steps I plan to take in this new term to increase Alabama’s national ranking in our student’s reading and math performance. Our children are our future, and by investing in their education, we are investing in

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November is Thank Alabama Teachers Month

Alabama Governor Kay Ivey on Tuesday kicked off the annual Thank Alabama Teachers observance to honor Alabama’s K-12 educators. Governor Ivey, at the commencement, announced that she is officially declaring November as Thank Alabama Teachers Month. The Thank Alabama Teachers initiative was created in 2020 to demonstrate gratitude in ample ways for the role Alabama teachers play in every facet of their students’ lives. Gov. Ivey was joined by Alabama State Superintendent of Education Dr. Eric Mackey at Carver High School for the event. “As someone whose career began in the classroom, I know the important work our teachers do on a daily basis,” Ivey said on Twitter. “Our educators are truly shaping the

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Alabama shows some improvement in education rankings even though math scores plummeted

On Monday, Governor Kay Ivey said that the recent results of the National Assessment of Education Performance (NAEP) show that what the State of Alabama is doing in education is “working.” “This year’s NAEP results confirm that Alabama’s focus on core learning like reading and math is working and that in-classroom instruction matters,” Ivey stated. “Throughout my first term, we have laid a solid foundation by setting strong standards and an assessment system aligned to our standards. I am confident that we will build on this foundation as we move forward. It should also not go unnoticed that while the rest of the nation dropped, Alabama bucked that trend by holding our own and making

How one small town is teaching English to kids of immigrants

As part of an exercise to help the class learn English, a third grader pulled a block from a Jenga tower and read aloud a question written on one side. “Where,” the boy read, then slowly sounded out the other words: “Where would you like to visit?” “Disneyland,” one student said. “Space,” another classmate chimed in. “Guatemala,” said a girl with a bright blue bow. Kathy Alfaro, a new English language teacher at Russellville Elementary, exchanged a few words with the girl in Spanish and then turned to the other students. “Do y’all know what she said?” Alfaro asked the class. “She said she has a lot of

Steve Flowers

Steve Flowers: Board of Education

School board members are some of the most selfless public servants in Alabama. This accolade goes to the Alabama State Board of Education, and, more specifically, local school board members. These members are tasked with a very important mission but receive very little compensation for their time and efforts. They are indeed public servants. The Alabama State Board of Education is a nine-member body that sets public education policy for K-12 schools. The governor is an ex-officio member of the board, and the remaining eight members are elected to four-year terms from single-member districts of approximately equal population. There is no limit to the number of terms a

Kay Ivey visits elementary school robotic and engineering labs

Alabama Governor Kay Ivey visited Dalraida Elementary School in Montgomery on Monday to inspect the new robotics and building/engineering labs there. Ivey was accompanied by education leaders and members of the capital press corps. “When I was in Fourth Grade, we didn’t do robotics,” Gov. Ivey said. “We just were memorizing our multiplication tables.” The third and fourth-grade students in the robotics lab demonstrated their proficiency at building and operating the little robots that lift and manipulate objects in tasks analogous to construction equipment. Like robots at a factory, they were being operated by the children who assembled them from kits. Dr. Bryan Cutter is the principal at Dalriada Elementary School. Principal Cutter

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Alabama adjusts required score on teacher certification test

 In an effort to get more teachers in classrooms, Alabama school board officials on Tuesday voted to temporarily lower the minimum passing score on the educator certification test. The temporary measure will implement a sliding scale that will allow higher grades to compensate for a lower score on the Praxis certification test, news outlets reported. It would also set up a waiver system in areas with critical shortages, so lower-scoring graduates could teach temporarily. They must eventually pass the test to earn a permanent certificate. The temporary measure was approved as the state tries to combat a teacher shortage. Alabama lawmakers this spring approved the largest pay raises in a

Committee advances ban on teaching of ‘divisive concepts’

An Alabama legislative committee on Tuesday advanced a bill that would ban the teaching of “divisive concepts” about race and gender in public schools, including the notion that people should feel guilt because of their race. The Senate Governmental Affairs Committee voted 6-1 for the bill that now moves to the full Alabama Senate. The legislation comes as Republicans in several states seek to ban either ban critical race theory or put limits on how educators discuss race in the classroom. The bill by Republican Sen. Will Barfoot of Pike Road would ban a list nine of “divisive concepts” from being taught in K-12 schools. While they could be discussed in colleges, it would

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Revisions to Alabama history teaching standards delayed

With much of the nation debating what and how to teach about history, the state of Alabama has delayed a revision to its classroom standards for teaching history for years after they were both praised and criticized by an educational think tank. Officials this fall postponed an update to the state’s social studies course of study for five to six years, citing a positive review from the Fordham Institute, an ideologically conservative educational group that has become recognized for its audits of state history and civics standards, al.com reported. A notice about the delay came in November, a month after Alabama officials voted to ban so-called critical race theory

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Kay Ivey seeks delay of 3rd grade reading promotion requirement

Gov. Kay Ivey said Wednesday that she will ask lawmakers to delay a requirement to hold back third-graders who don’t meet reading benchmarks but said the state must strengthen efforts to boost math and reading scores. The Republican governor recommended a one-year delay of the promotion policy scheduled to take effect at the end of this school year. Alabama Superintendent of Education Eric Mackey said he supports the delay because the COVID-19 pandemic disrupted the last two school years. Mackey said his department had estimated about 12% of third graders would be held back if the requirement were implemented this year. “I just feel like with the impact

Former candidate Tim James eyes possible challenge to Kay Ivey

Former Alabama gubernatorial candidate Tim James said Wednesday that he is considering challenging fellow Republican Gov. Kay Ivey in next year’s governor’s race. James, the son of former Gov. Fob James, said he will decide by the end of the year. Taking on a well-funded incumbent is typically an uphill battle in a primary, but his entry into the race could thwart the governor’s hopes of having only minimal opposition in 2022. Staking out far-right political territory, the 59-year-old toll road developer has defended people’s decisions to decline the COVID-19 vaccine and on Wednesday called transgender acceptance, critical race theory, and yoga in gym class part of a

Alabama sees surge in virus cases among school-age children

Alabama is seeing a sharp rise in COVID-19 cases in school-age children, an increase officials say is likely fueled by the highly contagious delta variant and is causing some schools to temporarily switch to remote learning. The Alabama Department of Public Health said Thursday that 5,571 children ages 5 to 17 were reported to have contracted COVID-19 last week. That compares to 702 cases in school-aged children during the same week last year, when more than half of students were studying remotely and the delta variant was not circulating. State Health Officer Scott Harris pointed to the more contagious delta variant as “the most likely explanation.” “The numbers