Birmingham City Schools
Booker T. Washington Elementary School in Birmingham marked a historic day with the unveiling of a new monument that details the school’s history.
The marker is now located next to the front doors of the school, which was first established in 1909 before moving to its current building a hundred years later.
The school is named after Booker T. Washington, a man born enslaved who went on to establish Tuskegee University.
As part of the unveiling, the school held a special ceremony involving students and staff, alongside a reading of the new marker.
Absenteeism Down Across BCS
Over the past two years, Birmingham City Schools has reduced chronic absenteeism by nearly 50%, down to 14% this year versus 29% in 2023.
Superintendent Dr. Mark Sullivan talked about the improvements on attendance as well as the on-going Winter Intersession.
“Kids can’t learn if they’re not in school, and I think part of the reason why we’ve seen great improvements academically in our system is because we are making sure that our kids are in school,” said Sullivan.
The trend in decreasing chronic absenteeism is also reflected in attendance for Winter Intersession, with approximately 6,000 out of more than 20,000 enroll students showing up for the optional school period.
