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Graduate and PTA leader urges board to center student voices and investigate record‑keeping concerns
Summary
Phaedra Carson Foster, a Montgomery Public Schools graduate and PTA leader, told the school board the Portrait of a Graduate process sidelined student and family voices and urged investigation of fraudulent school records she had previously reported.
Phaedra Carson Foster, a Montgomery Public Schools graduate and volunteer leader, used the public comment period to criticize the district’s Portrait of a Graduate process and to urge the board to follow up on allegations about fraudulent school records.
Foster identified herself as a proud MPS graduate (class of 1987), a PTA leader and a faculty member at Alabama State University. She said she served on the Portrait of a Graduate committee but felt the process amplified business and community leaders’ views rather than those of students and families. “The problem isn’t that MPS hasn’t produced excellent graduates. The problem is that we keep starting over, and the system refuses to see us,” Foster said.
Foster also told the board she has repeatedly asked them to investigate circumstances surrounding “fraudulent school records.” She said past scandals do not excuse present issues and described her repeated requests that record irregularities be investigated. The board chair interrupted Foster at the three‑minute mark and indicated she could follow up with the superintendent for additional comments.
What it means: a longtime graduate and parent volunteer publicly urged the board to ensure student and family voices shape district vision work and to pursue investigations into record keeping she described as problematic. The board advised Foster to follow up through the superintendent’s office for additional information.
