Session schedule
| Session | Content | Presenter |
|---|---|---|
Session 1: School Funding 101April 18, 2024, 3-4 pm CST | Session 1 will provide attendees with an introduction to school funding structures, including what goes in, what comes out, and why it matters. Additionally, attendees will learn how state education funding formulas compare across the country, and several ways to evaluate their adequacy and fairness. This session will lay a foundation for future sessions, ensuring attendees can examine the many dimensions of school funding in Alabama. | Qubilah Huddleston The Education Trust Ivy Morgan The Education Trust |
| Pre-Readings Notes, Agenda, & Decks: Agenda | Pre-Reading | Watch the video | Download the Deck | ||
Session 2: Cracking the Code: Alabama’s Funding FormulaMay 2, 2024, 3-4 pm CST | Session 2 will provide attendees with a close examination of Alabama’s funding formula, including its history, structure, how it works in practice, and its impact on key drivers like salaries and staffing, instructional programs, and learning supports for students. We’ll discuss how the current formula funds and impacts rural and urban districts, and the challenges local counties face in funding the remainder of district needs. | Corinn O’Brien and Jason Meadows Every Child Alabama Coalition |
| Pre-Readings Notes, Agenda, & Decks: Agenda | Deck | Pre-Reading | ||
| Pre-Readings Notes, Agenda, & Decks: Agenda | Deck | Pre-Reading | ||
Session 3: Political reality: What are the politics at play?May 16, 2024, 3-4 pm CST | Session 3 will provide attendees with an understanding of the national and state actors, constituencies, and policies at play in education finance. We’ll discuss the role of different sectors, governmental agencies, and litigation in the school funding landscape in Alabama. | TBD |
| Pre-Readings Notes, Agenda, & Decks: Agenda | Deck | Pre-Reading | ||
Session 4: What are the Stakes?May 30, 2024, 3-4 pm CST | Session 4 will provide attendees with an understanding of the latest research on the impact of school funding on achievement, student outcomes, and economic mobility. We’ll also take a look at the impact of ESSER dollars on state and local budgets, and the potential for long-term effects as it winds down. | Gini Pupo-Walker, Education Trust Tennessee Chris Candelaria Peabody College, Vanderbilt University |
| Pre-Readings Notes, Agenda, & Decks: Agenda | Deck | Pre-Reading | ||
Session 5: Data & Solutions- Let’s Think BigJune 13, 2024, 3-4 pm CST | Session 5 will provide attendees with an analysis of a possible alternative to Alabama’s current formula, which is a resource-based funding model. What is a student-weighted formula? What is the best design to meet the needs of Alabama’s students? We’ll explore model policies and a set of principles that we believe will work for Alabama. | TBD |
| Pre-Readings Notes, Agenda, & Decks: Agenda | Deck | Pre-Reading | ||
Session 6: Funding Reform Advocacy - What Works?June 27, 2024, 3-4 pm CST | Session 6 will provide attendees an opportunity to hear from advocates and leaders in other states about their ability to change their funding formula. We’ll examine the Tennessee story and discuss what worked, lessons learned, and how the public will was changed in order to achieve a new formula. | Corinn O’Brien and Jason Meadows Every Child Alabama Coalition Gini Pupo-Walker, Education Trust Tennessee |
| Pre-Readings Notes, Agenda, & Decks: Agenda | Deck | Pre-Reading | ||
Session 7: Leading from Your Seat: Advocacy Skill BuildingJuly 11, 2024, 3-4 pm CST | Our final session will provide attendees with tangible skills to advocate and communicate on school finance and the funding reform necessary to create durable change in Alabama. We’ll offer strategies in communications and messaging, storytelling, and utilizing social media and data to make a compelling case for change. We’ll also offer strategies for meeting with policymakers and leaders who have the power to change our funding formula in our state. | Ed Trust RALLY |
| Pre-Readings Notes, Agenda, & Decks: Agenda | Deck | Pre-Reading | ||
