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Longtime education advocate Larry Lee to seek Montgomery School Board seat

By Chip Brownlee Alabama Political Reporter Longtime Alabama education advocate Larry Lee, who writes weekly columns and publishes a blog on education policy, is running for a seat on the Montgomery County School Board. Lee announced Monday that he would be seeking the seat for District 2. Five of the seven elected seats on the … Continued
January 30, 2018

An answer to API

Education Matters Larry Lee According to its website, The Alabama Policy Institute “is a non-profit, non-partisan research and education organization dedicated to influencing public policy…We do this by providing fact-based, objective analysis of key issues.” However, when you dissect the following op-ed written by Taylor Dawson about the recent defeat of an amendment to the Alabama … Continued
June 12, 2017

A teacher named Wendy

Education Matters By Larry Lee Wendy Lang is a longtime elementary school educator in Decatur, AL. She left the classroom a year ago to work for the Alabama Education Association. In 2016 she was asked to be a part of a fund-raising event for the Carnegie Visual Arts Center. She shares the wonderful story of … Continued
April 3, 2017

Survey says: No one trusts the Governor, State Superintendent, School Board

Education Matters By Larry Lee At this writing, nearly 700 have responded to the survey we posted on Friday, March 17, 2017. Results basically track the last survey made in December which showed little confidence among educators in State level entities charged with helping public schools. You can see all results here. Respondents were 69 … Continued
March 23, 2017

Fake news, alternative facts

Education Matters By Larry Lee Just to prove they understand “alternative facts,” the Alabama Federation for Children sent out a news release and a study proclaiming that the Alabama Accountability Act is saving taxpayers millions of dollars. The report, done by Auburn University Montgomery, contends that every time we divert money from the Education Trust … Continued
February 17, 2017

Big splash to UWA

Education Matters By Larry Lee At its heart, education is more about hand-to-hand combat than about ballyhooed plans and initiatives. Sure, we love the big splash, but at the end of the day it’s all of the little splashes that make a difference. And that’s what just happened at the University of West Alabama, tucked … Continued
February 2, 2017

More questions on “smear sheet” investigation: Who knew what when?

By Larry Lee Education Matters More than 40 years ago, the late Tennessee Republican Senator Howard Baker asked during the Watergate hearings, “What did the President know and when did he know it?” I was reminded of that yesterday, January 18, 2017, as I listened for nearly two hours while Senators Gerald Dial, Quinton Ross, … Continued
January 19, 2017

Something fishy about “failing schools” list

By Larry Lee The State Department of Education just released the latest “failing schools” list, an annual ranking is required by the infamous Alabama Accountability Act. The Legislature decreed that the bottom six percent of all public schools are “failing” and should be identified annually. So lists were distributed in June 2013 and January 2014, … Continued
January 17, 2017

The irony of righteous indignation

Education Matters By Larry Lee When State Superintendent of Education Mike Sentance told the State School Board Dec. 8, that the Office of Inspector General of the US Department of Education had determined that the State’s high school graduation rate was inaccurate, reaction was swift and true to form. Members of the Legislature who consistently … Continued
December 16, 2016