An in-depth exploration of education in the 21st century South.
Most analysts compare defensive lines, secondaries, quarterbacks and ground games. But the Southern Education Desk decided to look at other facts about these two southern universities.
Alabama boosted its graduation rate with questionable methods and now faces federal and state audits. It’s hard to know yet how far off the rate is.
Federal Judge Madeline Haikala is considering whether Gardendale can pull out of the Jefferson County system & start its own without violating civil rights.
Fred Oliver of Birmingham is 86 and a world traveler. He loves to visit far-off places, but his latest odyssey is close to home at the Literacy Council of Central Alabama: he’s learning to read and write.
A 25-year-old Birmingham-based nonprofit and United Way agency is working with about 150 people who realize “You’re never too old to learn. And you’re never too old to learn how to read better. And do better in your life.”
It took repeated tries, but today the state school board named Michael Sentance, a consultant and formerMassachusetts Secretary of Education, its choice to be new Alabama Superintendent.
Given thousands of related job openings but only hundreds of computer science college graduates, Alabama is trying to ramp up its computer science education. That includes a new policy allowing those classes to count toward core math graduation requirements. WBHM’s Dan Carsen concludes our series with a visit to a Birmingham-area class that’s leading the way.
Over the next ten years, the number of jobs in science, technology, engineering and math fields are expected to outpace other industries by about five to ten percent. That’s according to the group Change the Equation, an organization that pushes for greater STEM education in schools. Yet, throughout the South, particularly in rural and high poverty communities, administrators have trouble attracting educators qualified to teach STEM.
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