Fall Education Forum, November 9--What is Tenure? REGISTER HERE

Citizens in Huntsville, Madison and Madison County will have the opportunity to learn more about school employee tenure on November 9 in a special Education Forum organized by The Schools Foundation.

Noted expert Woody Sanderson, board attorney for both Madison and Madison County Schools, will be the keynote speaker at this event that begins at 7:00 p.m. at Redstone Federal Credit Union on Wynn Drive.

Admission is $5 for Schools Foundation members and $10 for non-members. Registration and more information is available by clicking here.

Fall Education Forum

Speak Up Results!!

Click here to view the data analysis results of the Speak Up community engagement initiative. Results are posted by system. Please note that it is not too late to join the ongoing online Community Conversation--see below!!

Speak Up! Let us hear your voice!

Join the ongoing online Community Conversation--Click here! Add your thoughts and vision on public education to the voices of over 1400 who have already participated in the Speak Up community conversations.

Speak Up is a community engagement effort designed to bring people together to talk about what we want for our community and for our schools. Speak Up is an initiative of the Schools Foundation: www.theschoolsfoundation.org.

At the end of April 2011, we concluded our real time community conversations. With over 100 conversations, we heard the voices of over 1400 people across Huntsville, Madison City, and Madison County. We heard from teachers, from students, from the retired, and from some not even in school yet. We met in churches, homes, community centers, and subdivision clubhouses. We heard about curriculum, technology, communication, and community involvement.

We're not finished! We need to hear YOUR voice.

Participate in the conversation by clicking here. Let us hear from you as we move forward as a collective community voice in support of public education in Huntsville, Madison City, and Madison County!

Pouncey: Immediate action needed to solve schools' deficit

Friday, January 07, 2011 on AL.com

By Crystal Bonvillian, The Huntsville Times

Pouncey

Dr. Craig Pouncey, deputy state superintendent of education, speaks to the Huntsville city school board Thursday night about the system's financial crisis.

HUNTSVILLE, AL -- Huntsville's school system is in the tightest financial bind it's ever been in, and immediate action needs to be taken to solve the problem.

That was the message that Dr. Craig Pouncey, deputy state superintendent of education, delivered to the city's school board Thursday night. Pouncey, who heads the state Education Department's finance division, was in Huntsville to talk about the school system's $19.5 million in debt...(continue reading)

Speak Up Huntsville City, Madison County, Madison City! is a grass-roots initiative designed to bring individuals and organizations together to talk about public schools. This process brings citizens together in large and small groups to identify strengths, weaknesses, and wishes, and will result in a unified plan to enhance the quality of our three public education systems.

Are we . . .

... where we should be? ... postured for growth? ... ready for more students? ... supporting schools properly?

The Speak Up Huntsville, Madison, Madison County process invites citizens to talk about education, develop a shared vision, identify shared responsibilities, and provide resources necessary for success. This work will take place over a 12-18 month period through a series of large and small group conversations that seek input and opinions about education from individuals in the community. The Schools Foundation is the organizational lead for this effort.

To support this effort or to volunteer: fill out this form or email This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

A Call To Action

The Schools Foundation accepts the challenge to lead this community engagement process to build unified support for public schools. Healthy communities need strong public schools, and schools are most effective when they work in partnership with the communities they serve. Strong schools are the best economic development tool for our community.

Speak Up Huntsville, Madison, Madison County provides the forum for citizens to voice opinions about education, build a network to strengthen public schools, and sustain educational improvement. Speak Up is tailored to each individual school system.

This approach to assess and improve education has never been attempted locally but other communities have successfully used this process to bring about school reform and improvement. This initiative is intended to prompt change, promote school improvement, strengthen our local economic community, and ensure public accountability.

Speak Up is a process, an opportunity, a way to move our schools forward from good to great.