Author

Larry Lee

The “United” States of America. Really?

We’ve all had it pounded in our heads virtually from birth that we live in a united country of 50 different states. Truth is, few things could be farther from the truth. If it were, we would all be pulling in the same direction at the same time, striving for common goals. This has seldom … Continued

Larry Lee

August 5, 2020

Opinion

Coming to the end of the road

How do you figure out when your fastball ain’t as fast as it once was? Or that it takes you longer to run from home plate to first base than a few years ago? In other words, what makes you face the reality that you have far more yesterdays than tomorrows and that your usefulness … Continued

Larry Lee

June 16, 2020

Opinion

Woodland Prep. Fake charter school lives on

Drive by any school in Alabama (during more normal times) and what do you expect to find? Classrooms. Students. Teachers. Textbooks. Computers. A curriculum. Someone in charge. But nearly two years after the Alabama charter school commission gave the go ahead to Woodland Prep charter in Washington County there is no school facility, no classrooms, … Continued

Larry Lee

April 14, 2020

Opinion

Meanwhile, back in Washington County

The South Oak Grove Baptist Church has been a fixture in southwest Washington County since 1880. It doubled as a school for nearly 60 years, until a school was built in nearby Fruitdale. Today it is a staging site for volunteers working to provide meals for local students prevented from attending school by the virus … Continued

Larry Lee

March 31, 2020

Opinion

A lesson in civility

As already mentioned here, Sunday afternoon Feb. 9, I participated in a League of Women Voters forum in Dothan to debate the pros and cons of Amendment One. I opposed the measure. Senator Greg Albritton from Atmore supported it. I had done my homework and so had he. We both spoke with passion and conviction. … Continued

Larry Lee

February 12, 2020

Opinion

Praise The Lord. Woodland Prep gets bad news from charter commission

Finally. Thankfully. Mercifully. The colossal mishmash of an attempt to open a charter school in Washington County has now been taken off of life support and left to flop, flounder and gasp its last breath by the state Charter School Commission. The application to open Woodland Prep was approved in May 2018 by the commission … Continued

Larry Lee

February 4, 2020

Opinion

North Carolina mother sheds light on Alabama Charter School mess

Editor’s note: Alyson Ford is a mother in the Charlotte, NC area. It wasn’t long after she enrolled one of her sons in a charter school that she began to feel something was amiss. Soon she was attending board meetings of the school and digging into financial records. What she found was disturbing and even … Continued

Larry Lee

January 27, 2020

Opinion

National campaign features west Alabama teacher

In an effort to focus attention on the opportunities in rural schools across the country, the Rural Schools Collaborative has launched its “I Am a Rural Teacher” campaign. And the first teacher to be featured is Haley Richardson, a native of Pickens County, a graduate of the first cohort of Black Belt Teacher Corps from … Continued

Larry Lee

January 16, 2020

Opinion

An open letter to Senator Del Marsh

Senator: While you and I could not disagree much more on what we need to do to help Alabama schools and educators, I have never questioned that you are a successful politician and businessman. You could have tremendous impact on education in this state–if you would listen to real educators and teachers instead of latching … Continued

Larry Lee

January 13, 2020

Opinion

The colossal charter mess in Montgomery

It is nigh impossible to figure out what is going on with charter schools in Montgomery. Whether it is by design, deception or a bushel of inaptitude, the situation is clearly defying sections of the charter law and thumbs its nose at what is legal and what is not. The charter law was passed in … Continued

Larry Lee

January 6, 2020