By Solomon Crenshaw Jr. | For The Birmingham Times
On an overcast Wednesday morning in late November Birmingham Mayor Randall arrived at John Herbert Phillips Academy for a parent-student luncheon where his stepson Mason is a 6th-grader.
Woodfin’s arrival immediately brightened the atmosphere inside the school’s large auditorium as staff members warmly greeted the mayor while he made eye contact with everyone in sight and extended a firm handshake to those nearby.
Woodfin has been a city father since 2017 when he unseated incumbent William Bell to become the 30th mayor of Birmingham. But now Woodfin, who was elected to a third term in August, and inaugurated on Tuesday, is father to 15-month-old daughter Love as well as stepsons Mason and Aubrey
The mayor was at Phillips for the luncheon and also in his role as the Education Mayor, a moniker he wears with greater pride and determination; more so now because he is a dad.
“I look at Mason, who’s in the sixth grade … (and I) look at Love. I’m not leaving Birmingham when she turns 5 or 6,” he told the Birmingham Times in an hour-long interview that took place at his City Hall office a week ahead of his inauguration. “I want her to be able to go to pre-K and kindergarten in Birmingham City Schools (BCS). When she turns 11, I want her to go to Birmingham middle schools. And when she turns 14, 15, I want to go to Birmingham City Schools.”
“First Choice”
Woodfin said he wants BCS to be the first educational choice for more than just his family.
“It’s my job as mayor, it’s my job as a father, it’s my job as a friend to other parents who have kids to make sure we do everything we can to create an environment where Birmingham City Schools are the first choice for families to attend,” he said. “You don’t have to leave the city limits. You don’t have to homeschool if you don’t want to. You don’t have to go to private school. I believe that. I believed that before I was a father, but I believe it even more now as a father.”
Last week, Woodfin took the oath for the third time as Birmingham mayor and the first time as a husband and father. Education was at the centerpiece of his inaugural address.
“In my third term our children won’t just be a part of the agenda, they will be the ‘why’ that drives every decision we make,” he said from the stage of the historic downtown Boutwell Auditorium. “ … Every decision we make as a city, every dollar we spend, every policy we pursue, every fight we pick, really comes down to one important question, ‘What does this mean for Birmingham’s children?’
“Cradle To Career”
Woodfin’s first step into public office was on the Birmingham Board of Education where he served as president.
And while you can take the three-time elected mayor of Birmingham out of the hierarchy of Birmingham City Schools, you can’t take the drive to lift the city school system out of the 44-year-old attorney.
That is a drastically diverse stance from some elected officials who will shun talk of education, saying that’s the responsibility of the superintendent and the board of education.
“That’s deflecting and that’s not real leadership,” said Woodfin, to those who say he should stay out of the direction of the city’s school system. “Whatever is the biggest problem in any community, just because the mayor is not in control doesn’t mean the mayor shouldn’t show up. It doesn’t mean the mayor shouldn’t be concerned, involved, committed to solving the issue.”
The mayor, who remains close to Birmingham City Schools Superintendent Mark Sullivan, Ed.D, said he intends to “level up” through “Cradle to Career” a plan he introduced last week “where every child walks into school ready to thrive, where every baby born comes home to books and support, where every student sees a clear path from the classroom to college to career.”
He added, “Cradle to Career is not just an early childhood initiative or an education program but an organizing principle for our entire city. [It] means we take responsibility for our children from the moment they are born until they are launched into a successful adulthood, not just in one program, not just in one neighborhood, but as an entire community working together every step of the way.”
”Birmingham Promise”
As the education mayor, Woodfin pledged to build on Birmingham Promise, the non-profit organization, founded in 2019, that places students of Birmingham City Schools in business apprenticeships and offers financial assistance for college tuition to graduates.
Already the Birmingham Promise has transformed more than 1,600 young lives with over $11 million in tuition assistance. “This isn’t just a number on a page,” he said during his swearing in last week. “That’s 1,600 young people who walked across the stage knowing their city saw them, their city believed in them and their city invested in them.”
Woodfin added that he wants more. “This [third] term we’re going to strengthen the Promise,” he said. “We’re going to endow the Promise and we’re going to expand the Promise. We’re going to make sure students know about it earlier so they can plan their futures with confidence. We’re going to connect Promise scholars with more mentors and more internships and more career pathways right here in Birmingham.”
The mayor called his “Cradle to Career” vision “the most robust, genuine public-private partnership around educating our children since the Birmingham Promise.”
Woodfin said his focus on children is not unlike the focus of those in surrounding suburbs.
“The nucleus of those cities and communities is around what they do for their children,” he said. “Birmingham, Alabama is no different, and I am committed to doing everything necessary, everything possible for our children. It is the priority.”
