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Alabama high school football is back

Alabama high school athletes take to the field Thursday to open the 2020 high school football season, despite coronavirus fears. The season opens on Thursday with 22 games, followed by 122 on Friday and four games on Saturday. There was speculation early on that the global pandemic would halt high school football. Arizona has delayed … Continued
August 20, 2020

Slight decline in number of Alabama graduates attending college, report shows

The number of Alabama high school graduates enrolling in college has slightly decreased over the last five years, according to a report published by a nonpartisan research group based at Samford University. The Public Affairs Research Council of Alabama (PARCA) has a tradition of reporting college-going rates for Alabama and its local systems and schools. … Continued
April 9, 2020

Shakespeare and today’s political climate

So much about the nature of education has changed in the last generation. Technology is more prevalent than ever. The focus on STEM has reoriented our approach to knowledge. Even elementary school math is different. Still the presence of William Shakespeare on the curricula of high school English classes remains constant.  Most Americans have a … Continued
December 6, 2019

2018 Alabama high school graduation rates released early

According to an early report, Alabama’s high school graduation rate for 2018 has increased.  The State Department of Education had planned to the public release of the 2018 graduation rates in October but the Public Affairs Research Council of Alabama, a nonpartisan research group based at Samford University, released the 2017-18 high school graduation rates … Continued
September 25, 2019

Parents and adult fans: The biggest challenge facing high school sports today

Inappropriate adult behavior at high school athletic events in Alabama is a growing concern. When more than 2,000 high school athletic directors were asked in a recent national survey what they like least about their job, 62.3 percent said it was “dealing with aggressive parents and adult fans.” The men and women who wear the … Continued
August 30, 2019

Ivey provides update on Alabama’s workforce development efforts

Tuesday, Alabama Governor Kay Ivey (R) provided an update on her efforts at improving the state’s workforce development. The Governor promises that through her ‘Strong Start, Strong Finish’ initiative, she is making improving Alabama’s education system a top priority for the state. The initiative, announced in July 2017, focuses on three stages of education: 1) … Continued
July 3, 2019

Do career interest surveys make a difference?

Do you remember taking a career interest survey when you were in high school? Did it determine your career journey, or was it just something you chatted with friends about on your way to the cafeteria? Through a partnership with Alabama General Contractors and the Alabama Workforce Council’s Region 3, a better type of career … Continued
January 31, 2019

An election with a difference

The last full month of campaigning for the Nov. 6, General Election starts Monday, and unless voters demand more of Republicans running for office, Alabamians will likely see more of what they’ve been seeing so far this campaign season: Not a whole lot. That’s too bad, because for the first time in a long while, … Continued
September 27, 2018

Will Christine Blasey Ford testify before Senate Judiciary Committee or not?

Christine Blasey Ford has alleged that she was groped by Brett Kavanaugh when they were both teenagers and that another student had to pull him off of her. That student, Kavanaugh’s Georgetown Prep classmate Mark Judge denies Ford’s account. Judge said Ford’s allegation never happened: “It’s just absolutely nuts. I never saw Brett act that … Continued
September 21, 2018

Men are pigs; yes, they are

So it’s happening again. A woman accuses a man of sexually assaulting her many years ago, this time while she and the man were in high school, and the voices, mostly those of men (but a few women, too) declare openly that she should have come forward earlier. Why wait years, even decades, before making … Continued
September 19, 2018