Board hears student testimony on JAG, superintendent outlines teacher pay, certification and school-improvement priorities

The Alabama State Board of Education heard a student testimony and program presentations and heard Superintendent Dr. Mackey outline priorities including teacher pay, certification changes, autism therapy expansion and targeted supports for schools on the state’s lowest-performing list.

The board’s superintendent report opened with recognition of Career and Technical Education Month and Gifted Education Month and identified recent external recognitions for Alabama’s workforce and computer science education efforts. Dr. Mackey said the state was named No. 5 by Site Selection magazine for workforce development and cited a National Computer Science Teachers Association ranking placing Alabama in the top 10 nationally for computer science education.

Dr. Mackey also gave specific program statistics that he said underscore recent training and outreach efforts: 37,549 students participated in summer 2021 reading camps; 3,892 teachers trained in OGAP; 2,635 trained in AMSTY modules; 1,685 in the state's numbers program; and 11,828 teachers trained in LETRS, all figures he attributed to department tracking during the pandemic recovery period. He said the department is working with districts to braid ESSER and state funds to provide high‑dosage tutoring and after‑school programming.

Student testimony and JAG presentation Craig Collins introduced a group from Morgan County and invited Caleb Hopkins, a 2020 graduate and former JAG student at A.P. Brewer High School, to speak about the program’s impact. Caleb Hopkins told the board that after the death of his mother in February 2020 his JAG specialist helped him stay on track to graduate. "JAG gave me the skills to turn my sob story into a success story," Hopkins said. He described learning practical skills — balancing a checkbook, opening a bank account and managing a budget — and said JAG provided the encouragement and casework support he needed to finish high school and enter the workforce.

Brooke Hudson, Hopkins’s former JAG specialist and identified in the transcript as now serving as an assistant principal, described the program and the students it serves. "JAG is comprised of students who face five or more barriers in life as identified by the National JAG organization," Hudson said, and she emphasized the program’s ability to tailor curriculum and supports to students facing homelessness, family loss and limited work experience.

Gifted education presentation Emily Hurst, the department’s state gifted specialist, and other guests presented a short video and remarks highlighting gifted program activities across the state. The presentation noted that more than 56,000 students in Alabama receive gifted services and that gifted programming emphasizes accelerated pacing, depth and complexity and creative expression. The department said annual gifted-and-talented grants support project work in local education agencies.

Superintendent priorities and requests During his report, Dr. Mackey said the governor has proposed a 4% teacher pay increase and that the department is supporting expanded autism therapy specialists and school-based mental health positions. He said the department has circulated changes to certification to open the teacher pipeline — including a temporary special education certificate — and that superintendents responded positively. He said the department has requested additional funding to expand the Jobs for Alabama Graduates (JAG) program with the goal of establishing a JAG program in every county within approximately three years.

Dr. Mackey discussed the state accountability metric he called the "AAA Act," saying that under that statute the bottom 6% of schools by reading performance are listed as failing and that the governor has prioritized getting identified elementary schools removed from that list. He said about a dozen elementary schools are presently on the failing list and that the department will work with districts to develop intensive plans using funds the governor set aside.

Ending Board members were invited to meet with students after the meeting. The department scheduled follow-up work-session presentations from the student groups and program staff during the board’s work session.