Leading Policy Change

By working with policymakers and opinion leaders, we are driving change in local and state policy so that every student has the opportunity to succeed academically.

Standards, Assessments and Accountability
The key to spurring and sustaining improvements in public education is setting high standards for students, developing assesments to measure progress, and holding schools and school systems accountable for the progress of all students.

• For an overview of Alabama's standards, assessment system, and accountability measures, download Chapter 2 of the Alabama Education Policy Primer
• For detailed student achievement data, visit the Alabama State Department of Education's Accountability Reporting System

Governor's Congress on School Leadership Our staff and board members are involved with the management of this initiative to develop new policies and practices for recruiting, preparing, supporting, evaluating and retaining highly effective prinicpals and superintendents. Read the Governor's Final Report.

Alabama Commission on Teaching Quality
We play a key role in efforts to improve teaching quality. We are working with Alabama's 2003 National Teacher of the Year Dr. Betsy Rogers as she leads Alabama Commission on Teaching Quality through excercises to identify and recommend strategies for:

• retooling teacher preparation programs to ensure that future graduates are well-prepared to teach all students
• creating the working conditions that will allow the state to recruit and retain caring, capable teachers
• supporting the teaching of current and future educators
• rewarding them for making progress with all students

Updated information will appear on this site.

Exploring Aligned Teacher Compensation
Published in September 20043, this policy brief suggests ways to allocate scare resources to appropriately compensate teachers while supporting improvements in teaching quality. View report and download for free.

Become a member of the A+ Action Network
The A+ Action Network is a grassroots effort to keep policymakers informed on key education-related issues. As a member of the team, you periodically may be asked to contact your state senator or representative to advocate for or rally against legislation that affects the state of education in Alabama. Join today!