By Trisha Powell Crain | tcrain@al.com Even as the coronavirus pandemic rages on, Alabama schools will roll out a brand-new standardized test for students in second through eighth grades in early March. Students must take the test at school, said Alabama state Superintendent Eric Mackey. There is no at-home option. With about 30% of Alabama’s 716,000 students…
Category: Accountability
Alabama K-12 COVID dashboard: 3,071 new cases added
January 19, 2021 By Trisha Powell Crain | tcrain@al.com While cases of COVID-19 in Alabama’s K-12 schools are down overall from the last report of 2020, nearly a quarter of districts are reporting their highest numbers to date. The number of new cases reported the week of Jan. 15 was 3,071, down from 3,352 cases reported…
Alabama teachers may have to wait longer for COVID-19 vaccine
Updated 10:25 AM; Today 9:06 AM By Trisha Powell Crain | tcrain@al.com Alabama teachers have been essentially bumped down the priority list to get the COVID-19 vaccine, State Superintendent Eric Mackey told the state board of education during Thursday’s work session in Montgomery. Alabama considers teachers and schools support staff to be part of phase 1b to…
Wis. teacher says she caught COVID-19 in classroom, leading to husband’s death
Wis. teacher fights return to in-person learning after husband’s death from COVID-19 By WTMJ Staff| January 10, 2021 at 1:03 AM CST – Updated January 10 at 1:03 AM KENOSHA, Wis. (WTMJ) – As schools in Kenosha, Wisconsin, prepare to return to in-person learning, one teacher who believes she contracted COVID-19 in the classroom then passed it…
Alabama’s top 10 education stories of 2020
Updated Dec 31, 2020; Posted Dec 31, 2020 By Trisha Powell Crain | tcrain@al.com The worldwide COVID-19 pandemic changed everything about how we did school this year, impacting everyone from little ones in pre-K to elementary, middle, high school and college students, too. While coronavirus dominated the education landscape, there were other notable happenings, too. Here’s our…
When will Alabama teachers receive COVID vaccine?
Updated 11:22 AM; Today 10:58 AM By Leada Gore | lgore@al.com Alabama teachers will likely receive the COVID-19 vaccinations in the coming months, officials said. Teachers, both public and private, education staff and childcare workers are in the 1B group, putting them just behind frontline healthcare workers and residents and staff of nursing homes and long-term care…
Union members discuss COVID-19 vaccine options for Alabama teachers
By Randi HildrethPublished: Dec. 23, 2020 at 11:26 AM CST BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (WBRC) – Alabama state school superintendent, Dr. Eric Mackey, has said he hoped school leaders would be included in early COVID-19 vaccination efforts and it could happen soon after CDC officials approved teachers as next candidates to get the shot. The CDC categorized teachers as…
Alabama high school graduation rate for class of 2019 hits 92%
Updated 1:53 PM; Today 1:47 PM By Trisha Powell Crain | tcrain@al.com Alabama’s high school graduation rate rose to an all-time high of 91.7%, up nearly 2% from 90% for the class of 2018, according to an analysis of the class of 2019 graduation rates released Tuesday by the nonpartisan Public Affairs Research Council of Alabama. Speaking during…
2 more Alabama schools go remote amid COVID surge
By Ashley Remkus | aremkus@al.com Two schools in Muscle Shoals are the latest in Alabama to announce a transition to remote learning as coronavirus cases surge across the state. The middle and high schools in the northwest Alabama city will switch to remote learning on Monday and continue through Friday, which marks the end of the fall semester….
Alabama school system goes virtual after 900 quarantined, 70 COVID positive cases
By Leada Gore | lgore@al.com December 11, 2020 Decatur City Schools is the latest to go virtual due to the rising number of COVID cases within its system. In a letter to parents, Superintendent Dr. Michael Douglas said the system will transition to virtual learning starting Monday, Dec. 14. Students will remain on virtual learning through…
Standing Strong for Public Education! 