For Your Information
Vol. 20, No. 11
May 9, 2008
Click here for past issues of the For Your Information newsletter.
STATE BOARD: ADVANCED ACADEMIC DIPLOMA IS NOW THE STANDARD
Class of 2008 seniors who have passed the reading, math and one other section – science, social studies or language – of the Alabama High School Graduation Exam can graduate with a diploma.
At an emotionally charged K-12 meeting Thursday, the state Board of Education unanimously voted to revise Alabama’s graduation requirements.
The revisions included a credit-based endorsement to the Alabama High School Diploma that requires passing for three of the five sections of the grad exam, including reading and math. That endorsement replaced the old Alabama Alternate Adult Diploma. The existing Alabama High School Diploma with or without its variety of endorsements and the Alabama Occupational Diploma are the two remaining diplomas. Other than the credit-based endorsement, all other versions of the Alabama High School Diploma require students to pass all five sections of the graduation exam.
In addition, the advanced academic diploma endorsement is now the standard diploma for all high school students unless opted out by a parent or for individualized education program reasons. School systems could voluntarily implement these changes by fall or wait until 2009-2010. Students are also required to take at least one online or technology-enhanced course in high school.
Credit recovery for students who need to master a portion of a course and academic flexibility for those who can demonstrate content or skill mastery are now allowed, but not mandated, under the new rules.
Schools facing extenuating circumstances could request a one-year delay in implementing the requirements.
During the public hearing, Dallas County civil rights activist Rose Sanders and several parents spoke in favor of the revised graduation and diploma rules. Parents described how their children, some with mild learning disabilities and others who have been accepted into colleges, took one section of the grad exam six and seven times. One father’s story moved some listeners to tears.
Echoing the sentiments of a parent who testified, board member Betty Peters explained how the grad exam provides a score but doesn’t provide feedback a student could use to improve or seek tutoring – an issue state Superintendent of Education Dr. Joe Morton said he will ask staff to address.
Sanders said the changes are a result of a “progressive Alabama on the move” that is working “to bring about true quality, excellent education for every child in Alabama.” Sanders also asked the board to make the credit-based diploma retroactive, which Morton said would be unmanageable.
Morton said the credit-based endorsement offers hope for an estimated 3 percent of the 8 percent of the state’s seniors who can’t seem to hurdle the grad exam. Most seniors, about 92 percent, pass all five sections of the grad exam.
“What happened today,” Morton explained, “will help increase the graduation rate, and it will help reduce the dropout rate. It is a plan that really speaks to raising the rigor of coursework, but also targeting assistance to students who need it.”
Board members Dr. Ethel Hall and Ella Bell commended Morton and his staff for devising the First Choice Graduation Plan.
“Dropping out should just not be an option,” Bell said. “We have too much industry coming in for our children not to be able to meet that need.”
Though ex-officio state board President Gov. Bob Riley couldn’t attend the meeting, a statement from him supported Bell’s sentiments. Riley said First Choice is additional mortar on a foundation that has taken several years to build – one that includes the Alabama Reading Initiative, the Math, Science and Technology Initiative, ACCESS distance learning program and the budding First Class Pre-K effort.
On that foundation, Riley said, the state is working to “establish a world-class education system that will prepare our students to compete in the global economy” and attract industries from across the nation and the world.
“By raising the bar and providing increased support to high school students across the spectrum,” Riley said, “we will increase the strength of our work force and provide our children with a better future.”
The board also created two committees Thursday. One will develop guidelines for implementing and communicating the new graduation and diploma rules and will report to the state board in September. The other will create a framework for a statewide Middle School Initiative that it will report to the board in November.
The state board meets in a work session in Montgomery, May 22 at 10:30 a.m. Its next regular K-12 meeting is June 12.
ALABAMA HONORS TEACHER OF THE YEAR
Shades Valley High School theater teacher Roy Hudson as been named the 2008-2009 Alabama Teacher of the Year. The alternate, Regina L. Everett of Saraland Elementary School, will serve as 2008-2009 Alabama Elementary Teacher of the Year. At Thursday’s K-12 state Board of Education meeting, Hudson, Everett and the other state board district-level teachers of the year were honored with resolutions for their commitment to excellence in the teaching profession.
AASB WELCOMES NEW STAFFER
LuAnn Bird has been named AASB’s director of board development. Bird is charged with linking school board member training with student achievement, coordinating meeting planning and overseeing AASB’s School Board Member Academy. She knows firsthand what school board service entails. Bird, who is relocating to Montgomery after serving as board governance consultant for the Wisconsin Association of School Boards, served on the Oshkosh School Board. Her expertise includes governance training, teambuilding, facilitating board retreats, strategic planning, goal setting and Iowa Lighthouse training. She began her new job May 5.
AASB’S PROGRESSIVE DISCIPLINE
WORKSHOP
SET FOR JUNE 4 & 5
AASB is hosting a workshop on “Progressive Discipline: Disciplining and Dismissing Employees in Today’s Legal Climate” from 9:30 a.m. until noon in Montgomery at the RSA Plaza on June 4 and again on June 5 at Spain Park High School in Hoover.
At both events, veteran school board attorney R. Kent Henslee will explain how progressive discipline can be used to give employees an opportunity to change unacceptable behavior and strengthen the board’s legal position should dismissal become necessary. You will learn what arbiters expect to see in an employee’s personnel record in order to uphold termination, how to make a termination case stick and how the case will be analyzed.
Attendees may stay for a 1:30 to 2:30 p.m. review of the AASB Policy Reference Guide — a resource for policy development that includes policy samples, Alabama laws, attorney general’s opinions and other guidance materials on CD. Call AASB at 800/562-0601 for additional details and registration information.
BOOK ROOMS FOR SUMMER CONFERENCE
Set for July 27-30 at the Perdido Beach Resort, AASB Summer Conference 2008 will feature the theme “Surf the Wave of Success” and an opportunity to gain skills to not only plan for and manage successful initiatives but to celebrate school successes. The Alabama Council of School Board Attorneys will also gather for its annual conference July 28-29.
There are a limited number of rooms available at regular prices at the host hotel (800/634-8001) in Orange Beach near the Alabama Point Bridge. Discounted rooms have sold out, but overflow reservations can be made at area condominiums (800/634-8001) and the Island House Hotel (800/264-2642). For details, visit Conference Information.
NSBA CALLS FOR STUDENT PERFORMING GROUPS
FOR 2009 CONFERENCE
Only a handful of high school musical groups of 30 members or less are invited to perform at the National School Boards Association conference. To compete for the coveted spots, a group must represent a public school or group of public schools and have school board approval. Audition videos and applications are due Aug. 31, 2008, to be considered for the April 4-7, 2009, conference in San Diego. Send materials to: Alyssa Martin, 185 Prince George Street, #1, Annapolis, MD 21401. In addition, NSBA is calling for proposals for 75-minute breakout sessions that focus on topics of critical interest to school board members. The deadline is June 6, 2008. Visit www.nsba.org for details.
MAGNA AWARD NOMINATIONS DUE OCT. 15
Now through Oct. 15, nominations are being accepted for the Magna Awards 2009, a program the American School Board Journal initiated in 1995 to recognize school boards willing to take bold innovative steps to improve educational programs. A $3,500 cash prize will be awarded to three grand prize winners. Visit www.asbj.com or call 703/838-6739 for details.
— Denise L. Berkhalter
publicrelations@alabamaschoolboards.org
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