Good evening and welcome to Spotlight on Education Alabama Public Television's quarterly deep dive into education issues here in Alabama.

I'm Todd Stacy, host of Capital Journal here on APT.

Coming up later in the show, I'll have in-depth interviews with Trish Crane, senior education reporter at AL.com, about this week's state Board of Education meeting and the new test scores that were just released.

After that, I'll sit down with Mrs. Debra Deborah Stringfellow, Alabama's 2024 teacher of the year, as well as APT vice president of Education Services doctor Brianna Morton.

But first, here are the latest education headlines.

As I mentioned, the state Board of Education met this week.

The first order of business was to elect new leadership.

District five board member Doctor Tanya Chesnut was elected vice president of the board and district six board member Marie Manning was elected president pro tem.

Of course, Governor Kay Ivey serves as president of the board by virtue of her office, but these two will be leading the day to day business of the board.

During this week's meeting, State Superintendent Eric Mackey shared the latest test scores from around the state, which showed some mixed results.

Preliminary data from the Alabama Comprehensive Assessment Program, better known as Alcap, showed some promising gains made in reading, but some declines in math that Mackey characterized as disturbing.

Let's look at those numbers first on English language arts, which includes reading the percentage of students testing at or above proficiency increased at every level from grades two through eight.

As you can see in the percentage of second graders proficient in Ela went from 54% last year to 59% this year.

Big gains also made at the third, fourth and fifth grade levels, but it's especially encouraging if you track it by the class of the students.

Last year's second graders are now this year's third graders, so that class of students made a nine point gain in proficiency over one year.

That's significant.

There was there was a 10% gain made from last year's fourth graders to this year's fifth graders.

So overall, the numbers on English language arts and reading are headed in the right direction.

Not so much on the subject of math, it seems.

proficiency actually decreased in grades two through five, but increased slightly at the sixth, seventh, and eighth grade levels, and again tracking the classes of students year to year.

Last year, second graders and third graders slid by five points in proficiency this year.

Mackey told the board that he and his team are especially concerned about the math scores and want to dig deeper to understand the nature of the problem.

We are going to do, um, just so you know, in the August state board work session, we are planning to do a full update on the summer reading programs.

And so we should know by then not only what enrollment was, but also, um, participation and even the pass rate for the summer exam.

We'll go deeper into the test scores with Trish Crain later in the show.

An alarming announcement at the state Department of Education last week, state state Superintendent Eric Mackey said the department was targeted in a cyberattack in June.

The attack was stopped by state internet security workers, but not before some student and teacher data was breached.

Mackey said the department is investigating the scope of just how much data was accessed, and said he couldn't comment publicly about the nature of it.

On advice from legal counsel.

On June 17th, our information Services team interrupted an attempted hack on the department.

Um, they did interrupt and stop the hack, and the, um, the hackers were not able to fully access our system or to lock us out of our system.

However, before our information services professionals were able to interrupt and stop the hack, some data were breached, we believe, and we began immediately to mitigate the circumstances.

We'll be able to say, though, our services, all services have been restored.

Governor Kay Ivey last week made the issue of education central to her 4th of July message to Alabamians.

In it, she said improving education and teaching children about the history of our country is the best way to preserve the land of the free.

248 years ago, our founding fathers declared our independence from British rule, laying the foundation for a nation built upon the great American Dream.

But our responsibility to maintain our patriotic ideals goes beyond our unwavering support for the armed forces.

It extends to how we educate our children and prepare them to be informed, engaged citizens.

And that begins with us reminding our students how great our country is.

Thomas Jefferson said it best the cornerstone of democracy rests on the foundation of an educated electorate.

Folks, the message here is simple.

In order to preserve our democracy, providing our students with a proper education is key.

We must teach our students about our nation's history, the bravery of our Founding Fathers and those who fought for our freedoms and the principles that defined us life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.

This is how we empower the next generation to uphold the torch of freedom and build a brighter future.

We are the land of the free, the home of the brave and the greatest nation on this earth.

Never forget that.

Well, school will be starting in just a matter of weeks, and many teachers are already busy preparing for the new school year.

Governor Ivey and state lawmakers offered educators another pay raise this year, seeking to put Alabama teacher salaries among the top in the southeast.

Randy Scott has that story.

It started during this year's regular session.

Lawmakers take steps to help teachers and other school staff deal with the rising cost of inflation.

The plan calls for new pay raises.

So so the pay raises for teachers a 2% pay raise this year is very important, especially in the wake of even higher inflation than that.

We certainly are already talking about next year and what kind of funds might be available for next year for better benefits or pay raises and enhancements.

State Superintendent Doctor Eric Mackey says it may be summer, but his department is keeping this idea a top priority.

That pay raise will go into effect on October 1st, so teachers aren't getting a pay raise this summer unless local school districts go ahead and step up and sometimes local school districts.

And in fact, I know we do have several this year that are going to go ahead and put the pay raise in effect at the first of the school year.

School officials and state leaders are watching conditions in Alabama very carefully.

The closer we get to a new school season, and the closer we get to a new fiscal year to make sure those changes put in after the legislative session in regards to pay raises for school staff go through without a hitch.

You know, this is a series of pay raises.

I think we've had four in a row.

As I said, we're already talking about whether there'll be capacity to do another raise next year.

My big concern on the pay raise is that we stay ahead of inflation.

We we need our teachers to not only obviously make more, but we need them to make more compared to private industry, may make more compared to the other states around us.

And we need them to make more than inflation so they can stay ahead of it.

Doctor McKee emphasizes this move will positively affect the schools and the people who work within them.

The 2% pay raise applied to all education personnel across the across the state, and then it also applied to state employees.

So our department employees will get it too.

For Spotlight on education, I'm Randy Scott.

Governor Ivey said her top legislative priority this past session was to pass a school choice proposal offering families education savings accounts for their children to attend private schools.

The law won't go into effect until next year, but lawmakers are eager to see the law implemented correctly.

Jeff Sanders has more.

Providing parents with more choice when it comes to where they send their children to school was a top priority among Republican lawmakers in the most recent legislative session, and that priority became a reality when the legislature passed and Governor Kay Ivey signed into law the Choose act.

If you look at our society today, everything is about customization and flexibility.

And and yet we want to have the same education model we've had in place over 100 years.

Representative Danny Garrett chairs the House Education Trust Fund Committee.

Along with passing a record $9 billion Education Trust Fund budget, Garrett says the time is now to give parents more school choice.

The education model is changing and parents are demanding more and are expecting, and this would give the parent the ability to take their child and put them into a school situation that might be better for that child.

The Choose act, which stands for creating Hope and opportunity for Our Students Education, provides parents with up to $7,000 to help cover the cost of private or public schooling.

Additionally, homeschooling parents can receive $2,000 per student and a maximum of $4,000.

Despite opposition from Democrats who questioned the need for the program.

The act is now in the hands of state agencies to implement it because.

Technically that's not an education bill.

It was a revenue bill and the Department of Revenue has set up a dedicated, um, web landing page for the Choose act.

Uh, but to my knowledge, it's not there are no specific updates that are available right now.

That flexibility and customization that we see in every other aspect of our life.

Parents can begin taking part in the Choose Act in the 2025 2026 school year.

For Spotlight on education I'm Jeff Sanders.

It's the summer of science here at Alabama Public Television DIY science time is back for a second season on APT, and it's offering more exciting educational content for students.

Mr. C and his science team have new episodes featuring home experiments, plus trips to interesting places like the Dauphin Island Sea Lab and the Mcwane Center in Birmingham.

DIY Science Time is a great educational tool for your child or your student, and it's free right here on apt.

Here's a clip from the latest show.

What time is it?

It's science time with science.

Science.

Science time.

Let's all stop and just unwind.

One.

Two.

Three.

Four.

Here we go.

Learn so much.

Your brain explodes.

Lessons so cool, so fresh.

Beat so big you'll lose your breath.

Learning facts and real cool stuff.

Scream for more.

Can't get enough.

It's.

It's science time.

It's fun.

You best believe, explore and learn new things.

Come and join me, please.

I'm Mr. C and this super smart group is my science crew.

Working together with my crew makes learning so much fun.

Actually, you should join us.

Let's give science a try with a simple DIY.

Today we're learning about life cycles.

What time is it?

It's science time.

Check out my teeny tiny caterpillar friends!

I'm so excited.

We have baby caterpillars in the house!

Woo woo woo!

These are such cool little critters.

I wanted to get some so that I could show you guys the amazing world and life cycle of butterflies.

See butterflies like the ones I have here.

These are the adults and they lay eggs on things like plants.

And when an egg is laid, it takes a little while.

But eventually we have a little baby caterpillar crawling out of the egg and they eat their egg shell and then they're hunting around eating leaves.

Eventually they eat so much food, they start to grow, and they molt their skin as they get bigger and they molt multiple times.

And finally they go from a caterpillar into a chrysalis.

And this is its home as it metamorphosizes into a butterfly.

See, this life cycle is metamorphosis.

It's when one organism goes from one living, being like a caterpillar into a different living being like a butterfly.

Isn't that amazing?

See, it's different than you and I.

We're born as babies, baby humans, and we grow up to be toddler humans and then humans that are teens and then adults, and then we reproduce and we have baby humans again.

But butterflies are a little different.

They lay eggs.

Which hatch caterpillars, which then turn into this chrysalis.

Back into or into a butterfly.

That's amazing.

And what's really cool is you have an egg stage.

You have the larva stage.

This is the pupa.

And this is the adult.

And that is the life cycle of a butterfly.

Butterflies can be found all around.

Go outside.

Explore.

What types of butterflies can you find in your neighborhood?

Monarch butterflies.

Swallowtails.

Painted lady butterflies.

Like these guys?

Aren't they awesome?

Come outside.

There's so much fun.

And maybe if you're lucky, they'll land right on your hand.

It's a great show for kids.

DIY Science Time airs Saturday mornings at 930 here on APT, and it's designed for students from fourth to sixth grade.

Another popular education show here on APT is Yellowhammer History Hunt.

The program takes kids on a journey through Alabama's past, exploring the places and people that help still define us today, from archaeological sites to airfields.

Each episode features a selected site and shows why it's important, why it is an important part of Alabama and American history.

Each site also has its own hidden treasure.

Here's a clip of a recent episode.

Why did Booker T Washington say you should get an education?

Education helped Booker T Washington make an incredible life journey, leading him to become the head of the prestigious Tuskegee Institute.

His journey to a better life began when he heard some of the workers in the mine talking about a place called Hampton Institute, a school for black people.

He immediately knew that Hampton was the place for him.

So at age 16, he left home and walked 500 miles to enroll.

One of his teachers was General Samuel Armstrong.

He taught Washington writing, reading, math, and science.

Students also spent a lot of their time raising animals and learning farming, bricklaying, and carpentry.

General Armstrong showed Washington the importance of self-reliance, which means relying on one's own powers and resources rather than those of others.

Booker T Washington graduated Hampton Institute with honors in 1875.

Washington wanted to help black people in their daily lives, so he used the lessons that he had learned at Hampton to build a new school for black people in Alabama, the Tuskegee Institute.

In 1881, he arrived in Tuskegee to an empty lot.

Within a week, he had started classes using an old church as a classroom.

The Tuskegee Institute trained students to be teachers and more.

Washington taught students to learn by using their hands, their heads, and their hearts.

Educating the hand.

In addition to learning teaching skills, every student at Tuskegee was expected to learn a practical skill.

This was the education of their hands through their own labor.

Students supplied a large part of the needs of the school.

Students built a kiln, made bricks for school buildings, and sold bricks to raise money.

Within a few years, they built a classroom building, a dining hall, a girls dormitory, and a chapel.

They learned agriculture and grew their own foods.

They acquired hands on knowledge of numerous skilled trades like carpentry, furniture and cabinet making, printing, shoemaking, and bricklaying.

Another great show for kids, Yellowhammer History hunt is a digital series and you can find those episodes online@aptv.org or on Apt's YouTube channel.

Just go to YouTube and search Alabama Public Television.

There really are so many great education resources for students.

Whether you are a parent of a school age student or a teacher, there are so many great resources for education.

Just go to app Tv.org and click the education tab to take advantage of some of those great resources.

We'll take a quick break and be back with Trish Crain of AL.com.

Alabama Public Television is your place for quality educational services, free professional development for educators and child care providers, access to free, curriculum aligned videos, lesson plans and instructional resources with PBS Learning Media and all the PBS kids programs parents know and trust.

Learn something new every day with Alabama Public Television.

Visit us at aptv.

Org slash education to learn more.

My name is Jacolby Taliferro.

I'm a welder here at Austin.

I work on the EPF, the expeditionary fast transport.

It's like a pickup truck used to transfer sailors and other equipment.

Well, I got this job.

I met a recruiter at Austal.

I met him my 10th grade year.

We went through the summer internship.

It was a six week program entering my 12th grade year.

When I came back during the Pre-apprentice program, I went to school and I came to Austal Austell around 1 to 5 every day.

They paid me to come learn about what I what I love to do every day.

You had to be on time, every day you had to show up and be accounted for every day.

After I finished, I had to go through another interview and they actually offered me a job.

I'm happy to be a part of this awesome team now.

I could build a career out of this and build a living and take care of the people I love when I have a passion for it.

I love getting up, coming to work every day.

I love welding every day and I wouldn't change it for nothing in the world.

Welcome back to Spotlight on Education.

Joining me next is Trish Crain, senior education reporter for AL.com.

Trish thanks for coming on the show.

Thanks for having me Todd.

Well, there's lots I want to talk to you about lots going on in the education arena as we're really approaching back to school time, even though it's it's July, right?

Um, and we'll get to that.

But we had this state Board of State Board of Education meeting this week, a really big one.

Mhm.

Um, you were there, you reported on it.

Um, I wanted to start with these test scores.

We got the updated Acap test scores, of course, other test scores as well.

But the Acap which follows English language arts reading and math especially.

Those are been the really the focuses of the state.

So walk me through your general takeaways of what you heard from Doctor Mackey and from the board.

Okay.

Um, well, you know, I look forward to this time every year.

I like to look at test scores.

And I was number one.

I was very, um, excited about the conversation that the state board had.

You know, they were really digging into the data and they were seeing patterns and they were talking about what might this test score data mean?

What do we need to do with this?

So but overall test scores were up, you know, compared to last year.

Right.

So our Ela English language arts which reading is that subtest that we just got the third grade reading scores.

This is reading and comprehension and spelling and such.

Those scores really looked good.

You know more than I mean, it depends on your measure, right.

But compared to last year, scores are up.

Let's look at some of those scores.

Let's throw let's throw these the chart up.

And I'm seeing I mean it's it's important how you read these right.

Because you're basically going diagonal if you're grade two.

In spring of 2023, those are now grade three, in spring of 2024.

Yes.

And so just for example, that 17% at level one, which is a low level of proficiency, there's only 10%.

So so that means progress from that grade, right.

Absolutely.

And that 10% that you're seeing there at level one in spring of 2024, in third grade are the kids that we were worried about right there.

The kids who might end up being held back.

Mhm.

Um, and that percentage was 9%.

So like I said, you know reading is a subtest of this within Ela.

So that was those scores that we saw a few weeks back were just reading.

Um, but yeah, I mean that's that's a huge improvement if 70.

We don't want any kids at level one, right?

I mean, that's the bottom line.

We really want to be, you know, just happy looking at the the kids who are at level three and level four.

But when you can see that the percentages have been reduced from one grade to the next, that's great.

And looking also at just the overall proficient level three, level four.

This is at the very end of the of the chart here.

You want to see those numbers going up right?

Right.

You want to see these are your proficient readers from you know from 54% to 63%.

That's that's that's a big jump.

That's exactly what people wanted to see.

Right.

Absolutely.

And most of those numbers going in the right direction.

So it sounds like some positive direction on on reading.

Absolutely.

Yeah.

And that's that was the big, you know, discussion.

You get good news and then you get some worrisome news.

You know, Doctor Mackey shared with board members some of his concerns about the L.A. data, what he saw, you know, he was if you look back at this data and you look at the fourth grade and you see that 19% of the students that's 1 in 5 are at level one, that's fourth grade.

These are the kids who were in third grade last year, right.

Or year before last?

Because now.

And they just tested in the fourth grade this past year.

So he said, you know, it bothers me to look at the fourth, fifth, sixth, seventh, eighth grade numbers of percentages of kids who are at level one, because those are the kids that are going to struggle, right?

You know, at at grade four, you start reading to learn instead of learning to read.

Well, isn't that why he's been requesting more budget, more money in the budget for getting those beyond third grade caught up?

Because we know what all what's being invested in the Literacy Act in the grades leading up to three.

But he wants some more revenue and funding for those grades beyond for, you know, to catch them back up.

Right.

And there are two pieces to that.

Right.

So what I'm told is that fourth grade teachers really don't.

And beyond don't really it's not that they don't know how to teach children to read, it's that their schedule is full, right?

They're teaching content.

They're teaching stuff that kids are reading about.

Right.

So the question is, do the teachers need some help?

Right.

Maybe some coaching like they're doing in K through three.

That's really showing to be working.

And or do they need interventionists to work with kids individually or do they need both?

And if so, how much will that cost.

So Doctor Mackey said he would bring that back before the board.

They're about to start talking budgets for fiscal year 26.

You know it's a long process.

So he will bring that back.

Interesting.

Well let's move on to math okay.

Okay?

Because not so rosy, uh, news on the math front, at least.

That's kind of was my takeaway from your reporting and some of his quotes in your story about really some, like you said, worrisome statistics on math.

What's your big takeaway?

Well, math is not ever been our strong suit or our students.

Maybe our students just don't test well.

Right.

But math has always been kind of a weakness, particularly in the middle school grades sixth, seventh and eighth grade.

And that shows up here, you know, on math, he doctor McKee described two trends that that made him worry.

He called them disturbing.

And this was the second and third grade.

You can see the percentages of kids who were scoring proficient dropped a little.

Right?

I mean, you know, how how much is that like how how worried should you be?

We haven't done the statistical test.

Yeah.

And again, this is on, um, far right, the far right of your screen, just as we were talking about the gains made from, you know, that diagonal down from, from, you know, you want to see that number would go up, you want to see that 48% go up instead it goes down.

That's what you're talking about.

Is that that not so not so good news on the math front.

Right?

So the second and third grade, you know, he said we don't really know why that is.

They're going to examine it.

They're going to try and figure out, you know, maybe what happened.

Um, and then the the percentages of kids at the seventh and eighth grade level, it's always been lower than the percentages of kids who are proficient in the earlier grades.

But he said, you know, we have to think about this.

These are the kids who are getting ready to go into high school math, algebra one, algebra two.

Those are my tough years.

Sure.

Um, and they obviously have some gaps in their knowledge, so they need to figure out how can they best support those students.

Do the teachers need some help?

You know, one of the things, the trends that we've been seeing for years now is the willingness to for lawmakers to invest money in teachers and teachers professional development in their training.

You know, the resources that they need, not just classroom materials to hand out to kids, but, you know, everybody needs on the it's on the job training, but things change, you know?

Well, it is I mean, I guess that's why we have assessments is to provide these numbers.

And it is a little bit alarming.

I'm glad to see at least a 1% increase, you know, from seventh grade to eighth grade in math proficiency.

But I flipped that number around and think, gosh, that's what, 78%?

Um, are not proficient in math.

Eighth graders.

That's an alarming number.

Right?

And, you know, I have not taken that test, right?

I mean, there's some practice tests online that you can access to see at each grade level and each subject level.

I, I'm sure that the math gets harder, right?

I mean, it's one of those things kindergarten through fifth, you're learning the order of operations, the, you know, addition, subtraction, multiplication, division.

Then you get, I'm told.

Then you get into this concept of moving things around and distributive properties, and I'll stop there before I get to.

You've already you've already gone over my head.

So.

Yeah.

So but that happens in middle school and that's where, um, you know, kids begin to struggle.

Sure.

Um, but it's important to share these numbers, especially with lawmakers who are watching to talk about.

All right, let's get the conversation started about how to move forward.

Because we've talked a lot about, you know, Stem jobs and tech jobs and things that are probably going to require some some math.

Absolutely.

It's important.

And I want to say this to, you know, kids start to check out in math.

This is what teachers tell me, you know, if you're not doing well in the sixth and seventh and eighth grade, you're probably not going to think of yourself as, I want to go into a math field, you know?

But these kids may still have the propensity to do it.

They're just struggling at the time, you know, and you don't want to turn them off too quickly, right?

Because you might not find that engineer that you need.

So it's really important to keep kids engaged in middle school.

Yeah.

Really interesting data.

Um, I encourage folks to go to the Department of Education website to check it out for themselves.

But, um, thank you for sharing some of that.

A couple other issues I want to talk to you about this.

Got discussed at the board meeting as well.

This year the legislature passed this teacher teachers bill of rights has to do with discipline in the classroom.

Um, you know, the rules for expelling students from the classroom.

Pretty complicated and, you know, sensitive stuff.

But I know Doctor Mackey talked about it today, kind of rolled out a proposed process for how that works.

How did that go?

Right.

So, you know, the law is in effect now.

It was one of those that immediately went into effect or maybe on the first day of the third month sort of thing.

But it's in effect for this school year.

And what this whole teacher Bill of rights is about is it gives teachers a process that, number one, they have to follow right before you can exclude a child, which means, you know, send them out into the hallway, send them out to the principal.

It gives them a process for okay, I need to go through my own classroom management plan first.

If that doesn't work, then, you know, maybe I can send them out.

And then the principal is required to handle that right to do something.

Some exert some sort of discipline before they return the child to the classroom.

Because those five behaviors, there are five very, you know, clear, clearly defined, but somewhat subjective behaviors, things like, um, you know, defiance or disorderly conduct, you know, what is that?

What is disorderly, what you might think is disorderly, I may not.

So, um, those these five groups of behaviors, teachers can send them out into the hallway or to the principal's office.

Excuse me, but don't send them out into the hallway.

They'll just roam around.

Right?

I got sent down the hallway a couple of times.

Okay?

Okay, so.

But this would be if the principal returns the child too soon, or the teacher doesn't believe that the principal exerted enough discipline.

Right?

Then the teacher can actually appeal that to the local board of education, right?

I mean, that they kind of go around the principle, the process that is outlined in the model policy talks about going to the superintendent and then appealing to the local board of education.

If that teacher feels like the discipline wasn't sufficient.

Right.

That's interesting.

And so they did not adopt this, right, um, policy, but they have a chance to vote on it next time, I guess.

Yes.

So what this is this is a model policy in local boards.

It's really on the local boards of education to adopt a policy so that everybody knows what to expect.

Right?

I mean, this is really about laying it out.

It's a bureaucratic process, but it's about laying it out so everybody knows what to expect.

And, you know, time is ticking, the clock is ticking.

School starts and, you know, a couple of weeks for people and it takes a little while to pass a policy, a board policy.

Usually they, you know, propose it one month and then they vote on it.

But what the board will do next month, they said they would put it on their agenda.

They will adopt a resolution that says, here's our model policy.

And you know exactly what schools do with it.

I don't know, obviously, I'll be following it carefully.

Yes.

Well, when you're our way of following it, because you're going to dig into all the details, which you do so well at Aol.com.

Um, you mentioned back to school, I mean, back to school in August, some first week of August, second week of August.

I mean, to me that just seems like so early because it was always around Labor Day.

I know there are reasons for this, but what are some of the reasons behind that?

And what are some of the challenges of starting school that early, especially considering it's so hot?

Oh, absolutely.

I think the heat is always the first thing that comes to our mind.

Right?

Is not all of our school buses have air conditioning.

I mean, it's hot, especially when the drivers first get on, you know, they get on.

And in the afternoons.

I've been sitting.

On the sun all.

Day.

Absolutely.

So, you know, that is that's a challenge.

The challenge also is we always hear these reports about air conditioning not working.

You know, kids get into buildings that have maybe been closed for a month, maybe three months.

Uh, we this year, you know, we kind of extended the and we've been doing it for the last couple of years.

We kind of extended the school year with elementary kids doing the reading camps and the math camps.

So some teachers just finished teaching last week.

Right.

And and then they will be back.

Teachers typically come back at least one day.

Most of them probably two days.

But they start taking their stuff back to their classroom.

Right.

And it's it feels early.

It feels earlier and earlier you asked about why is that?

What I have found is that.

School.

Boards typically look at when is Memorial Day, and then they kind of work their way backwards.

Okay.

Um, and so, you know, Memorial Day shifts, you know, it's not a set day every year.

It's just the last Monday.

So if it's May 25th, that's a little early, right?

You're right.

If it's May 31st, it's a little bit late.

But yeah, it is.

It feels very early.

I looked at my calendar and I thought, you know, you start to plan your coverage.

What do you want to do when schools open.

And I think I better have this under better control because school is just around the corner.

Just around the corner.

And we will be following that reporting that you do so well at AL.com.

Trish, thanks again for coming on the show.

And, uh, you know, helping our audience understand some of this really important data.

Happy to help.

Thanks for having me.

We'll be right back.

Most children in Alabama don't have access to formal pre-K programs to help them prepare for school, but all children in Alabama have access to the children's programming on Alabama Public Television, and these programs are proven to help children start school better prepared to succeed.

Just watching programs like Sesame Street, Super Why, and Curious George can have a profound impact on how well kids do from kindergarten all the way through high school.

APT also provides training and resources to parents and child care providers throughout the state to help them make the most of these great programs.

Its on air pre-K every day on Alabama Public Television, and APT encourages parents to watch these valuable programs with their children.

My son's name is Nathan.

Nathan is a welder.

He enjoys it, loves it.

So my plan that he would graduate from private high school and go on to Auburn University, which is where everyone on his dad's side of the family goes to college.

It's very obvious now that I have the ability to step back.

He does much better.

Hands on learning.

Nathan had taken a tour at a local career technical school and was very interested in the welding program.

My initial reaction about a career technical school was probably the farthest from the truth.

You know, I was projecting my thoughts onto him and my expectations onto him, and it really took a lot of mom maturity to step back and just step up and be there for him.

After high school, Nathan found a welding job very quickly.

I would say within three weeks of graduation, he was working for a local contractor.

I remember having a conversation with my own mother and she said, is there really any money in welding?

What exactly do welders do?

So as a 19 year old, he's making $47 an hour, right?

So I thought I was raising a CEO and as it turned out, I was raising a welder.

Who knew?

Nathan knew.

What time is it?

It's science time.

Hi, I'm Mr. C, and today I'd like to introduce you to my new series, DIY Science Time.

In partnership with Alabama Public Television, we've created a show that is dedicated to science, technology, engineering and math.

DIY science Time gets students and families excited about learning and encourages viewers like you to give science a try with a simple DIY.

I've been an educator for 19 years and I know one thing always holds true learning science is fun and can be done by everyone.

A little bit of guidance mixed together with a DIY activity is the perfect recipe to inspire all of us to explore science in our everyday lives.

Fridays at 2:30 p.m. and Saturdays at 9:30 a.m..

Welcome back to Spotlight on Education.

Joining me next is Deborah Stringfellow, Alabama's Teacher of the year, and Doctor Briana Morton, vice president of education for Alabama Public Television.

Ladies, welcome.

Good morning.

Good morning.

Well, um, Deborah, congratulations.

What an honor.

We reported on your special honor as Alabama's teacher of the year, I guess a couple of months ago.

And I guess since then, you've been traveling the state as the newest ambassador for the teaching profession.

How has it been?

It's been a great honor to represent all the teachers in Alabama.

I've got to already meet a lot of different teachers from a lot of different schools throughout the state, and see all the fabulous things that are happening in classrooms.

Um, we'll talk about that because when you become teacher of the year, it's not just an honor, it's a responsibility.

You become, like I said, the ambassador for the education profession.

So what goes into that?

What are those responsibilities?

Well, I'll spend a lot of the school year out of the classroom, and I'll be presenting at different conferences.

So most recently, I was at the AA conference in Huntsville as a guest speaker, and in about two weeks, I'll be at the mega conference in mobile, presenting workshops and also speaking as a keynote speaker.

Throughout the year, I'll visit different universities throughout the state.

I'll be going to Huntington to Troy State, speaking to teacher candidates.

And my platform this year is sowing seeds, growing teachers.

So the main focus of my journey this year will be recruiting and retaining the best teachers that Alabama has to offer.

Mm.

Well, I think speaking of inspiring educators, we just happen to have a former student of yours, Brianna Morton.

I thought this was so cool because as you as the word came out that you were being honored as teacher of the year, our vice president of education and who is herself a career educator, said, hey, that's my former was it third grade, third grade teacher?

I mean, how special is that?

Sabrina, talk about how, um, special it was for you to learn that your former third grade teacher is the teacher of the year?

Well, it's Deborah just said sowing or planting the seeds and growing teachers, and so she was one of those teachers who inspired me growing up and taught me how to how to educate in a fun and engaging way.

And as I previously mentioned, Deborah, I did not want to become an educator, and I've mentioned that on this show before.

But as I was really thinking about what I wanted to do with my future, I reflected back on those educators that had such an impact on me and why they had an impact on me and what I wanted to do to contribute to society.

And it's teachers like Deborah Stringfellow who made that impact.

Wow.

What's that feel like to hear a former student who's become an educator talk like that?

Well, it's such a blessing.

It lets you know that all the time you've invested and the efforts and the lessons that you've taught.

Children are listening and they're learning and they're succeeding.

And so it really just makes my heart full at this point in my career, to know that I'm still having an impact on other students and that might impact will be a legacy once I'm not no longer teaching.

Absolutely.

Well, take me back to when you made the decision to become a teacher.

What went into that?

What what inspired you to say you want to do this?

To be your journey, your career?

Well, early on, both my parents came from coal mining families in Virginia and were very poor.

And as I've said on previous occasions that I spoke that my father had to quit school in the sixth grade and my mother had to quit in the seventh.

Luckily for our family, my father was able to enlist in the army without an education.

And through that, I've watched that journey.

And when we were stationed at Fort Rucker, what was formerly known as Fort Rucker outside of Daleville City Schools, the school I went to at that time, Mixon Elementary, I had some really phenomenal teachers who made me feel secure, gave me a refuge from all that was going on at the time.

My dad was gone for two years at a time to fight for the United States.

And so at that time, education was really important to me.

I didn't get to go to kindergarten.

And so once I entered school, I really never wanted to leave.

I just loved it.

And then when we moved to Daleville, I had several teachers, Mr. Cardwell, Miss Burch that poured into me, and one of my fondest memories was I took vegetable cans and emptied them out and cleaned them, covered them with construction paper, and brought them to school to set up my teacher desk in my classroom.

And Miss Birch fully embraced that.

And she even allowed me to do a bulletin board, and she would allow me to take on some responsibilities as a as a fifth grader.

And that really just kept planting the seed to.

Later, when I came back to Delval after being in Germany with my father stationed there, Miss Birch was still there and I had her in high school.

And so again, I just felt back, welcomed, nurtured.

It was a place I really never wanted to leave.

And so at that point, I was already helping my brothers learn to read.

At 10th grade, I helped my mom get her GED.

As I shared with you earlier, I wanted 100 kids and I've had thousands.

Now that I've been able to teach besides my own and children that I've fostered.

But I knew leaving high school, that's what I wanted to do.

And so I worked my way through college as a young married person and was able to go to Troy and get my undergraduate and come back to my alma mater.

And Miss Burch was still there, and I was able to work alongside her in the elementary part, while she worked in the high school and teach there and teach special ed, and also got my master's in special ed and then taught third grade.

So it was just that innate love of learning, I loved it.

It was nurtured by wonderful teachers along the way and encouraged.

In.

A special how we still can name the teachers that meant so much to us.

You just listed off and of course the the especially special Mrs. Burch.

Um, we'll talk about how the teaching profession has evolved in the years since you've I mean, I'm assuming it's evolved quite a bit.

Yes, it has evolved quite a bit.

At home, I have a little cabinet where I have all my little teacher figurines and things over the years, and in it I have this tool that we use to draw lines on the chalkboard, and I'll often pick it up when someone comes to my house and say, do you know what this is?

I used this my first year of teaching and they'll have no clue because I started with a chalkboard and I'm now on a smart board or interactive technology.

So I was an immigrant to technology as it came along.

Not a native, but did embrace it.

But technology has been by far the biggest change in education.

I often laugh.

When I went to Troy, um, technology for the elementary teacher included loading a film strip and a projector and turning it.

That was big technology back then and waiting for the click.

But now my students, when I taught seventh grade, could do an interactive open heart surgery dissect a frog on the computer.

My students now can engage on games online all across the world, with students learning games that are monitored and provide immediate progress.

And I think also it's going to be a.

Challenge, though to to for all that technology as an educator to keep up with.

It.

Right.

It is a challenge.

And, you know, luckily, you know, you have school systems that support that or you just have to be a self-directed learner, you know, you may have to employ.

Even when I remember moving, I went from first grade to seventh grade overnight.

And when I did that, I actually had to rely on some of my students.

I could come up with the ideas like I wanted to make a book jacket project, but I really had no idea how to implement that on a computer.

And so I used the technology support of the school and of the students.

It's okay to ask your students for help, for things like that, and to just to know that you're going to be a lifelong learner.

And I think most what's changed from even when, which was a long time ago when I had you, was that it's not as much teacher directed, you know, it's not as much lecture, not as much whole group.

It's more student driven.

A lot of small groups even.

We did small groups for reading, but we have small groups for math.

It's more collaborative and the day to day is more data driven.

I'm constantly taking data on growth areas, areas of weakness, um, where you're making the advances so that I know each day that I'm giving you exactly what you need.

So the change has been great, but I've kind of evolved with it.

I've not been forced into it.

And so that's really helped me.

Yeah, I can imagine.

Well, Brian, I talk about the importance of having a teacher of the year.

Having that ambassador apt in your department works really closely with educators throughout the state, providing them resources.

We can talk about that, but how important is it to have an ambassador, to have someone who is kind of the shining light and an example for new educators, ones maybe, you know, first couple of years in the classroom, even.

Veteran educators, it's so important to have that representative that showcases what teaching is all about and how difficult and challenging teaching is, but how special and rewarding it is as well.

And Mrs. Stringfellow is a prime example of someone who is committed to students, committed to teachers, committed to the community, and I think is going to be a great representative for Alabama during the national program that's coming up.

And so, uh, Mrs. Stringfellow, as I mentioned, she had such an impact on my life.

And even when I did become a teacher, I realized that I did like kids enough.

Um, and I became a teacher.

I really reflected back on those practices that my favorite teachers had.

And so when I was in Miss Stringfellow's class, she taught me my multiplication facts, and we had a game around the world contest I won.

I beat some of my top classmates.

Ever the competitor.

Yes, and I still have my certificate because she attached beautiful stickers all around it and they were too beautiful to use up.

So I still have those stickers.

I ate the candy that was on it, but I remember those things that she did in the classroom and how engaging it was.

Even back in 1989 when I had her in third grade.

But I think it's really important for new teachers, teachers who are veteran teachers, individuals who are considering to become a teacher, and for parents and community members to see what is happening in our classroom.

And there are so many great, incredibly rewarding things happening in the classroom.

And students in Alabama are blessed to have teachers like Mrs. Stringfellow absolutely concur.

Well, I know that you're you're on the circuit, like I said, speaking to teachers, speaking to all kinds of different groups.

Um, we cover a lot about the legislature, right?

We cover the legislative session.

We're out of session right now.

But there was a lot of there's always a lot of education things moving in the legislature from budgets to policies and all that.

But often I try to think back to, you know, consider the classroom, consider the teacher.

And so what might your message be to members of the legislature, the governor, about the challenges that teachers face and and how they can best understand those challenges?

And from a policy standpoint, before they make laws and make budgets and things like that.

Well, teachers in the classroom, I often, you know, we talk about the three R's reading, writing and arithmetic.

Even though arithmetic doesn't start with an R, if we say it does.

And I've often said we might want to focus on the three F's.

I know F's aren't very popular of a term, but it's the filter, the focus, and the foundation.

What I have found in education having done this for over 40 years, is that right now, teachers in the classroom are really faced with the challenge of filtering.

We are constantly bombarded with 24 hour computers, cell phones, technology, and so we have really got to focus in on what the standards are given that are given to us by the state, deconstruct those, and that's what our focus needs to be on.

We can take these other tools and weave them into our classroom, but we really need to filter out the things, excuse me, that are distracting our students because there are things that are distracting our students.

And then also with that, we need to focus on what is important.

You know, right now, really important from an early age is the moving from the school to a career.

And that can start at a really early age from career day.

Moving on to having people come in and speak.

But our focus needs to be preparing students for the world outside.

You'll hear me say often that my job is to prepare my students for the road ahead, not to prepare the road for them.

So I want them to be more self-directed, independent learning learners.

And also with that, the other F Foundation.

It is very, very important that we remember that the true foundations of learning and teaching have not changed.

What worked with Brianna still works today.

Good teaching is still good teaching.

It's just the tools that we use and the techniques that we use.

And the research has provided another level of engagement for students.

But we really need to be focused, and we need to filter and concentrate on the foundations of education.

What is important for our students to learn?

I'm going to.

Remember that the three F's I like that, um, look, we're not too far away from the start of school.

Um, it's kind of crazy to think that it starts in August these days.

Um, but, yeah, it's back to school time, almost.

Uh, and there might be some brand new teachers that maybe for the first time in their classroom, what would your message be to them about as they begin their career?

A lot of them watch this program.

You've been doing this a while.

You've you've probably had good years, bad years.

What's your message to those first starting out in this brand new school year?

Well, we often, as educators will say don't forget what your why was.

And I think that's important to remember each day when you do have a bad day or a bad interaction with a parent or a child to reflect on why you chose this profession, but also think about what if I went to see the movie if about the imaginary Friend and it really got my mind thinking, you know what?

If I did this differently?

What if I reacted this way differently?

So with the why, also think about the if, but also celebrate your small successes along the way and I will share with several different people along the way that I'm mentoring.

To start your day with three sticky notes on your desk as a new teacher, and find three things that you want to compliment a student on.

Or it could be a peer and enjoy your day that way.

Enjoy your day on a high note, because there's going to be struggles all day long, and there's going to be times where you're really wondering, you know, why did I go into this?

Why am I still here at 8:00 at night before a school day is going to start the next day at seven, and then you've left the day with a positive.

They've definitely got to set boundaries and constantly renewing themselves.

The things that need they they need to take care of themselves at the same time.

But just remember your why end on a positive note and celebrate successes along the way.

You need to glow and grow, so you need that time to grow and reflect.

But you also need to have that time to glow and enjoy the things that you have done.

So I think that's important.

Wonderful advice.

As we get close to the start of a brand new school year.

Well again, congratulations, Alabama's teacher of the year.

I know it's a big job, but you seem to be very well suited for it.

And thank you also, Brianna.

It's just a special story and I'm glad we got to to showcase it.

So thank you.

Both.

Thank you.

So much.

We'll be right back.

Since 1997, Alabama Public Television has provided programs, services and resources to child care professionals, teachers and parents.

Visit tv.org slash education to learn more.

Thank you for watching.

Spotlight on Education.

If you have ideas or suggestions about topics we should cover in the future, please let us know.

You can email me at T Stacy at qatv.org.

And don't forget, you can watch Capitol Journal every week to catch up on what's happening with Alabama government and politics.

We broadcast Fridays at 730 and Sundays at noon for Alabama Public Television, I'm Todd Stacey.

We'll see you next time.