Having attended Birmingham City Schools throughout my childhood, I know high-quality education leads to economic opportunity. Birmingham’s young families deserve a school system that is responsive to their needs and enables every student to succeed. Our focus on education is guided by increasing access to high-quality early learning, making students workforce-ready through vocational training, and ensuring every BCS graduate can attend an in-state college or university debt-free.
Policy Priorities
Closing the early learning gap so our children enter Kindergarten ready to thrive.
Our young families deserve access to high-quality childcare that prepares toddlers for preschool and helps parents get to work, regardless of their income. Child care is unaffordable for many families in Birmingham, especially for single-parent households and families with multiple children. As a parent myself, I know that quality child care opens doors to opportunity. By making child care more affordable and accessible for families with young children, our administration will invest in the potential of our youngest generation.
Valuing and trusting our educators.
Our pre-K-12 educators are Birmingham City Schools’ greatest resource, and we know they shape the lives of our young people every day. During my service on the Birmingham Board of Education, I visited countless classrooms observing the tireless work of our teaching professionals. Educator pay has risen by an average of 4%, but we must continue showing them the respect they deserve. That’s why I’ll continue advocating for pay parity for all educators, ensuring they can take care of their needs while reaching their professional goals.
Investing in school-based student mental health resources.
Birmingham City Schools students deserve equitable access to mental health resources like counseling and conflict resolution. Our administration is proud of the work the Common Ground curriculum is doing to prevent violent crime in our community, and we plan to build on that by further investing in conflict resolution and socio-emotional tools alongside our academic curriculum. This includes retaining licensed counselors as an essential component of our total instructional program and supporting stipends for social work interns gaining clinical experience in high-need schools.
Expanding vocational education opportunities so every graduate is workforce-ready.
Every Birmingham City Schools student should graduate prepared for their future – whether they’re attending college, starting a small business, or joining the workforce. Over the last four years, we’ve brought local unions and nonprofits into our schools to create new vocational learning opportunities. We’ll build on those partnerships by constructing a specialized, state-of-the-art campus for Career Technical Education courses available to high school students, so they can get a head start on union apprenticeships.
Growing our school-based community gardens in partnership with the Jones Valley Teaching Farm.
Access to fresh, healthy food is at the core of entering our classrooms ready to learn. Creating the conditions necessary for students, teachers, and families to succeed requires that every student is well-nourished at school. Eight school-based community garden partnerships with Jones Valley Teaching Farm are doing just that. Over the next four years, we’ll leverage community gardens as learning laboratories for our K-12 students, while supplying our schools with student-grown produce.
Guaranteeing universal early education by supporting our First-Class Pre-K classrooms.
Birmingham is proud to offer 27 universal preschool sites across the city, implementing the Alabama Department of Education’s First-Class Pre-K program, consistently ranked among the top in the nation. But we know there’s more work to be done to ensure pre-kindergarten programs are supported by wraparound services like supplemental school meals and developmentally appropriate health screenings. We’ll make sure our Pre-K sites aren’t just classrooms but community resource centers by bringing strategic partners to the table.
Investing in afterschool extracurricular and sports opportunities.
Birmingham is home to some of the best school-based sports and academic teams in the state. From competitive sports to robotics clubs to art classes, afterschool activities help our students find safety in their communities. We’ll expand access to extracurricular opportunities across Birmingham, making sure every student can explore their interests regardless of their zip code.
Accelerating economic mobility by investing in higher education access.
Each May, Mayor Woodfin shakes 1100 hands as they graduate from one of Birmingham’s eight high schools. The most inspiring moments are when graduates bottleneck on stage, giving me the chance to lean into the ear of the graduate next to me and ask what they’re doing next. The most common response: attending one of Alabama’s two- or four-year colleges and universities. Since its creation, the Birmingham Promise has invested $10.98 million in BCS graduates pursuing their goals of higher education. We’ll ensure every child enrolled in BCS today benefits from the Birmingham Promise by endowing it to operate in perpetuity.
Randall’s Record
- Invested $11 million in our BCS graduates through the Birmingham Promise, so they can attend an in-state college or university debt-free.
- Implemented a financial literacy curriculum in all BCS high schools through the Birmingham Financial Freedom Project.
- Supported 27 Birmingham City Schools classrooms offering Alabama’s First-Class Pre-K program, so every parent can access preschool near their home or work, free of charge.
- Partnered with Small Magic to promote cognitive development in young children, touching families in 70 of our 99 neighborhoods.
- Funded the RESTORE Project, a juvenile re-entry program providing at-risk youth with services and systems navigation support necessary to prevent recidivism.
- Expanded credit-bearing vocational offerings and school-to-trade pipelines to ensure every BCS student graduates ready for the workforce.
- Ensured every BCS campus could safely reopen and equitably recover from the COVID-19 pandemic.
