By Jordyn Davis | For The Birmingham Times
When Birmingham City Schools open for the fall semester on August 7 parents on the city’s east side of town will have a center that will give their students an early chance for academic success.
The new center is adjacent to Martha Gaskins Elementary School and is located on the former site of North Roebuck Elementary, which closed in 2013. The two campuses will function as a unified learning community, welcoming some of the district’s youngest learners.
Herbert Blackmon Jr., Ed.D. principal of Martha Gaskins Elementary said one of the Board of Education members first initiated the idea of an early learning center, “and it just came to fruition. It’s very significant toward the need to accommodate parents on this [east] side of Birmingham wanting their children to have their early experience of academic success, instead of driving way across the county to find a home for their child — because our population is booming over here on the east side.”
Originally a 12-classroom facility, the building has been transformed into a modern, 46,000-square-foot $12 million center featuring 21 classrooms. Pre-K through first-grade students will be housed in the annex. The renovation includes sensory rooms, therapy spaces, a special education classroom, an observation room, library and a computer lab.
The cafeteria and gymnasium also have been fully renovated. Additionally, the center will feature two age-appropriate playgrounds to serve students from early learning through 1st grade.
“Some of the new programs we have in store are the science of reading, which will comply with the Alabama Literacy Act and the Alabama Numeracy Act, math skills, sounds and name recognition,” said Blackmon. “We have a technology lab where students will be allowed to participate in AI. There’s also a sensory room for our students who need that social and emotional support. We’re just thankful for the opportunities that they will be able to participate in and be exposed to at such an early age.”
“Something Great And Unique”
The renovation efforts were led by Fred Flowers of CWA Architects, the construction administrator for the project.
“The way we see it here at CWA, Birmingham City Schools is doing something great and unique. I can tell you that the neighborhood is super excited. Everyone has been seeing what’s been going on with the school and they’ve been surprised. They didn’t realize what was coming, and [Grace Tabernacle Apostolic Church] across the street, in particular, is glad to see the building.
What the church’s pastor and deacons once saw “as a blighted structure, just sitting there as an eyesore … are proud to see Birmingham City Schools turning it into something positive — not just for the community, but the whole [school] district,” Flowers said.
He added “We at CWA Architects are proud to be a part of a new venture for Birmingham City Schools with a dedicated pre-K learning center, and the fact that they are able to take one of their existing buildings — and rather than simply sell it off or having to demolish it, they are able to repurpose it.”
The [Martha Gaskins] project was first proposed in 2022 and came after members of the community recognized the need for a place for early childhood development …and because our population is booming over here on the east side, said Blackmon. “It has increased tremendously, and the need is high, so I think it’s perfect to have it here on the east side, in the Roebuck area.
Early childhood education
The original occupant of the new early learning center was North Roebuck Elementary School, which served grades 1–8 before Martha Gaskins was constructed in 2002, North Roebuck Elementary fed into L.M. Smith Middle School, which is still located on Mile Road. The new early learning center will pay homage to the building’s origins by keeping some of the original North Roebuck signs.
According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, studies find that from birth to age 5, children are highly susceptible to environmental influence. When children attend high-quality early care and education programs, their cognitive and social-emotional development is significantly enhanced.
“We know that research says about 70 percent of the students engaged in early learning have a higher percentage of academic proficiency in reading and math. They have a higher rate of finishing high school and entering college. I find all of these to be true as an administrator,” Blackmon said. “And with the Alabama Literacy Act, which was passed in 2019, where third grade students have to pass the reading subtest in order to be promoted in the state of Alabama — half of the students that start off early in pre-K really benefit from early education and will be proficient and do well because they’ve had a strong foundation.”
He added, “I’m extremely grateful to our superintendent and our school board members who fought to make this happen, and to our parents who are excited and willing to support and make this a long-lasting blessing for our students,”
