The H.I.V.E was thrilled to welcome a panel of rockstars to our August meeting focused on eduction.

Larry Lee (www.larryeducation.com) educated 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. He is a wealth of information about the topic. A more in depth look at the “spectacle” surrounding the Superintendent office can be found here on Larry’s blog.

Trisha Crain (Al.com State Education Reporter) discussed the persistent segregation of teachers and students in Jefferson County, Alabama, and the Black/White academic achievement gap. She talked about the disparities in the Jefferson County schools, a county with over 12 school districts, where several cities have broken off and formed their own districts. She stated that one in three African American students go to school with all African American students and one in four white students go to school with nothing but white kids.

Trisha also discussed the role of public education versus private education and posed the question “Is education a private pursuit or a public good?” Many people don’t seem to want to spend money to educate other peoples’ kids. What do we want our public schools to do?

Susan Remick (Adamsville Elementary School Principal) spoke to the group about her work for over 25 years in education as a special education teacher, an instructor in Mountain Brook Elementary schools and currently as principal of the Title I school Adamsville Elementary in Jefferson County. She discussed the importance of building relationships within the school as a bridge to higher parental involvement and student achievement. She also chatted about the importance of public education and the constant changes in education policy with new administrations at the local, state and national level.

A huge thank you to these rockstars who took time out of their busy schedule to educate and enlighten us. And mark your calendar for the next H.I.V.E. meeting on Thursday, September 21, 2017 at 7:00 p.m. at the Homewood Library!