The H.I.V.E. is super excited about its upcoming education meeting on Thursday, August 17, 2017 at 7:00 p.m. at the Homewood Library, room 101.

Supreme Justice Earl Warren said that “Where a State has undertaken to provide an opportunity for an education in its public schools, such an opportunity is a right which must be made available to all on equal terms”.  Please come join Al.com State Education Reporter, Trisha Crain, Adamsville Elementary School Principal, Susan Remick, and Larry Lee, Education Advocate, in a discussion about the state of educational opportunity in Alabama today and what it means for the future of our state.

-Larry Lee will educate us about the Alabama State Board of Education and the continuing controversy involving the hiring, performance and potential dismissal of the current State Superintendent of Education, Mike Sentence.

-Trisha Crain will discuss the persistent segregation of teachers and students in Jefferson County, Alabama, and the Black/White academic achievement gap.

-Susan Remnick will discuss her experience as an educator in the Mountain Brook School system as well as her tenure as an administrator in the JeffCoEd school system.

Trisha Crain is currently the statewide education reporter for Al.com.  She believes that the best way to improve education for all children in Alabama, whether they are privileged or impoverished, is to share complete, unbiased information about what is happening in the classroom, the boardroom and the halls of the legislature.  This belief was her inspiration to create the Alabama School Connection in 2009, an influential website and blog designed to help parents and teachers keep up with state legislation that impacted education.

Susan Remick is in her third year as the Principal at Adamsville Elementary (AES) a high poverty, high minority school in the Jefferson County School system.  Prior to becoming Principal at AES, she was an assistant principal at Chalkville Elementary School and a special education teacher in Mountain Brook City Schools.  She is a graduate of both UAB and UA and is also the recipient of numerous awards in recognition of her outstanding accomplishments as a student, teacher and administrator.

Larry Lee retired from a career in journalism and community development in 2011, and currently spends most of his time advocating for public education.  In 2015 he began writing a popular, respected blog at www.larryeducation.com. He is especially interested in rural development and co-authored three publications about rural Alabama and rural schools.  He was recognized by the Council for Leaders in Alabama schools with the Dr. James Street award as an advocate for public schools.

We will also be collecting school supplies to donate to the Islamic Academy of Alabama here in Homewood! They are in great need of school supplies and could use anything and everything…markers, paper, notebooks, construction paper, scissors, pencils, etc. They will also accept monetary donations to help sponsor students who do not have the resources to attend their school. Please bring any donations to our August meeting or email us to arrange drop off.

We hope you can join us!