Birmingham Education Foundation

The Birmingham Education Foundation (Ed) is committed to ensuring that Birmingham students and schools are equipped with the educational resources needed to be globally competitive both academically and professionally. Ed recognizes that this is a mighty task, so we need your help; we need you to raise your hand for Ed! Your investment in Ed is not only an investment in improving our schools to better educate our students, but also in the communities in which we live and work. We hope that you will join us, and raise your hand for Ed!

The mission of the Birmingham Education Foundation (BEF) is to bring the voice of the community to Birmingham City Schools’ leadership and to work with that leadership to provide a range of support to allow the system to fulfill its mission and vision.

We do this with a vision that the children of Birmingham will be fully prepared for success in the work and life.

We believe unequivocally that current circumstances should not be a barrier to future success.

Ed has identified four key areas or strands where significant change will result in improvement - large, meaningful, visible improvement - the sort of improvement that transforms a community on a fundamental level. Each strand is interwoven. As a whole they support the ultimate goal of every student graduation, prepared to enter the workforce or college. Progress toward that goal will begin with a graduation rate that increases from 65% to 70% by 2013, and then to 80% by 2016.

First, Ed is working with the school system to create a program to involve parents and families more deeply in the academic success of their childring, recognizing full well that the good habits and attitudes that make good students start early, and in the home.

Second, Ed is supporting the creation of career academies within high schools so that all students have a clear path for becoming a contributing member of society whether or not they choose to attend college immediately after high school.

Third, Ed is helping to develop a multi-point program of professional development for principals, assistant principals, and teams of teacher leaders, that emphasizes a data-based science of management as well as the visionary art of instructional leadership.

Also, Ed is assisting in systemic curriculum changes to better prepare BCS students for Advance Placement classes once they reach high school that will help them compete in a world that might otherwise leave them behind.