Curriculum and Instruction

Welcome to Citizens for Better Schools WHAT'S NEW: Ala Ed Budget Crisis - State Takes Fed Stimulus Funds Then Cuts State Funding Alabama School Districts Without One Month Reserve Fund Contact Citizens for Better Schools ALA'S #1 PROBLEM: TEACHER SEXUAL MISCONDUCT Blog Ala's Biggest Problem - Teacher Sexual Misconduct The Good Common School Journal NO CHILD LEFT BEHIND REAUTHORIZATION UPDATE PAGE - NOW OPEN Anniston Citizens for Better Schools FAIRFIELD CITIZENS FOR BETTER SCHOOLS Jefferson County (Alabama) School System: Sylacauga Citizens for Better Schools 2007-2008 BIRMINGHAM SCHOOL CLOSINGS (HERE WE GO AGAIN - "DOWN SIZING, RIGHT SIZING, or CAPSIZING" ) BIRMINGHAM SCHOOL CLOSING WATCH: MORE SECRET MEETINGS More Busing in Birmingham With School Consolidations BIG SPENDERS - MOST COSTLY SCHOOLS NOT SMALL SCHOOLS The late Henry Sparks made Birmingham the financial envy of the state's education system Links About Birmingham City Schools SCHOOL TAKEOVER CORNER: BIRMINGHAM * DETROIT * SAINT LOUIS Worhtless BOE Guidelines and Frame Work For Superintendent Stan Mims, Lay Citizen Advisory Task Force (BOE Policy 6170) Sabotaged Citizens For Better Schools: Despite Free Space in SomeSchools, Many Packed Classrooms(How are Birmingham Classrooms?) COMING SOON: ** THE CHOICE: SCHOOL ZONING, BIG SCHOOLS - SMALL SCHOOLS (WHICH EDUCATES THE POOR BEST?) BIRMINGHAM CITY SCHOOLS DECLINE: THEFT IN SCHOLS - INTERNAL CONTROLS LACKING Education Research on School Size: School Climate and Academic Achievement Thumbnail Facts: Birmingham Enrollment/ Teacher Loss Not Cause of $22 Million Bham BOE Losses Evidence Based Consequences of Increased School Size In Education: Big Is Not Better - Research Finds Small Schools Better for Poor and Black Students School Size and Grade Structure CLASS SIZE REDUCTION Class Size Comparison Changes For Parents - The Classroom Effects of Closing & Consolidating Schools GOLD FACULTY - BROWN PAST 50 WORKSHOP: BEYOND NO CHILD LEFT BEHIND - FULFILLING THE PROMISE OF BROWN Education Management and Leadership Curriculum and Instruction Education Finance, Economics, & Budget Monitoring Education Statistics & Thumbnail Facts: School size not saving Detroit schools form chopping blocks - Economies of scale Special, Exceptional, and Gifted and Talented Education Contact Your School, State, and Federal Representation Here! Favorite Links: Legal Resources - College Funding Opportunity ALL SPORTS Birmingham - ALL THE TIME Brown Past 50 Symposium and Education Workshops GENDER EQUITY: Public Schools, Segregated Schools? Phillips Academy - Crisis in Student School Bus Transportation Topic Index: BREAKING SCHOOL CLOSING NEWS ** Citizens for Better Schools WE ARE "HOKIES" TOO! My Photos Custom Rich-Text Page

"Teaching Today for a Better Tomorrow" - Citizens for Better Schools

Effective teaching is essential for "Good Common Schools." A USA Today newspaper study gives teachers barely passing grades in the classroom - More emphasis is needed on teaching skills. Read the complete study, on the link below: http://www.usatoday.com/printedition/news/20070330/a_art.htmelementary30.

Curriculum Matters:

"Lost Before They Start?" - Remedial Community College Students: http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2009/01/19/remedial

"Write this down - A rich curriculum pays off as well for the poor as it does the well to do." Joann Nattale, Phi Delta Kappan

"The human mind is our most fundamental resource"

2007-2008's Third Round of School Closings: When budget dumps academics - Arthur Watts, Birmingham's budget chief says we should follow Detroit's lead and close 10 more schools to “save money." Does Birmingham really want to follow and be another Detroit when it comes to our Schools? A recent Birmingham News editorial carton depicted the Birmingham schools predicament with superintendent Stanley Mims at the wheel:

Citizens for Better Schools Goes to Washington: Citizens for Better Schools Executive Director Ronald E. Jackson (second from left) and U. S. Secretary of Education Margaret Spellings (second from right) urged congress to pass NCLB reauthorization legislation.

Critical Issue: Implementing Curriculum, Instruction, and Assessment Standards for Science Education: http://www.ncrel.org/sdrs/areas/issues/content/cntareas/math/ma600.htm

Differentiating Instruction - Finding Manageable Ways to Meet Individual Needs: http://www.ascd.org/ed_topics/cu2000win_willis.html

Journal of Curriculum and Instruction: http://www.joci.ecu.edu/index.php/JoCI

Council for Exceptinal Children: Instruction for "At-risk" Students http://www.cec.sped.org/AM/Template.cfm?Section=Home&TEMPLATE=/CM/ContentDisplay.cfm&CONTENTID=7006

Curriculum and Instruction to Reduce Racial Conflict: http://www.ericdigests.org/pre-9217/racial.htm

How many classroom teachers could have been saved from the budget axe in April 2007, if administrators had stayed home?