Every Child Alabama Coalition

By: Ashley Lucier My family has been in Alabama as long as Alabama has existed. On a dusty rural state route in Pike County, a traveler can still see the cemetery of the land where my family originally settled in 1807. We were farmers, preachers, and teachers who made do with what we could. When I was born, my parents lived in a single-wide trailer in Montgomery, and like my parents, I attended the local public schools. Despite our financial limitations, I was fortunate that they valued education and understood the implications of providing me opportunities that my [...]

By: John Allen Alabama is the home of rockets, research, and immense natural resources. We are also, unfortunately, one of only six states that still base funding for public schools on enrollment. This out-of-date model ignores the needs of actual students. As a North Alabama native and the CEO of the Huntsville Committee of 100, I have long recognized the importance of quality investment in education to enhance economic opportunities for the next generation, build tomorrow’s workforce and prepare our future leaders. We are a business organization committed to long-term strategies that support economic development, high-quality public education, [...]

While Alabama has made record investments and reforms over the past few years that have resulted in some student gains, the time has come to address the root cause of our opportunity gaps: our state’s school funding policy. For generations, Alabama has ranked nearly last in the nation for most educational outcomes. And still today, too many kids do not have access to the transformative education they deserve. Less than half of kids can read proficiently, and only 3 in 10 can do math on grade level, and these numbers are even more devastating for students of color and students [...]