Darwanette Levingston, a third-grade teacher at Oxmoor Valley Elementary School, at podium, with Principal Dr. Melvin Love, to her right, during a Tuesday press conference at the Board of Education building. (Sym Posey, The Birmingham Times)
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By Sym Posey | The Birmingham Times
Darwanette Levingston, a third-grade teacher at Oxmoor Valley Elementary School, knows why the school’s grade increased from a C to a B on the most recent Alabama State Department of Education (ALSDE) annual report card.
“It was hard work, but the first thing we had, we had a vision, then we set goals. We tried to set obtainable goals, and we bought into those goals,” said Levingston, during a press conference on Tuesday. “The main thing we did is mix a little old school with the new school with the strategy we have.”
And it worked. Not just for Oxmoor Valley Elementary but for the Birmingham City Schools district which maintained an overall C, moving from a score of 72 last year to a 74 on the state’s report for 2023-24.
Said Dr. Mark Sullivan, BCS Superintendent, “We’ve seen an increase in our test scores. We are not satisfied with a 74, but it’s the highest grade that BSC has ever made since we had an academic report card in the state of Alabama.”
Levingston, who has spent 27 of her 30 years teaching third-graders, had more good news to report. More than 80 percent of students in third grade were at reading proficiency. The Alabama Literacy Act requires all third-grade students to show sufficient reading skills before moving on to the next grade.
“It’s just a testament to the work that the teachers are doing, the work that the administrators are doing, and our students, as well as our community who come together to make sure our school system is number one,” Sullivan said Tuesday.
In addition, Birmingham City Schools say the number of schools receiving an A on the report card increased. Arrington Elementary, Wylam Elementary, and Inglenook K-8 improved its scores from a grade of F to C while both Oxmoor Valley Elementary and South Hampton K-8 improved their grade from C to B.
“We’ve had a lot of schools that have made A’s and B’s and typically these are magnet schools, but this year we had two schools score a level B, South Hampton, and Oxmoor Valley, and what that says is that no matter where you students come from, your students can achieve high levels,” said Sullivan.
Last year, 15 schools received a grade of an F. This year that number was cut in half to seven. “Seven schools are far too many, our goal for next year is to have zero schools receiving a letter grade of F,” said the superintendent.
Sullivan said his focus is to continue to make sure that high school students are college and career ready once they cross the stage in May.
“We are trying to ensure that our high school students are graduating college and career ready,” he said. “We’ve invested a lot in our post-secondary success, particularly targeting our ninth graders. In our middle schools we are trying to make sure that those students are doing math and literacy at grade level.”
Sullivan said a number of programs are underway to prepare students for the future.
“[We] are now introducing algebra one to middle school, so that those students are prepared for high school math. For our elementary schools, making sure that kids are not needing to be remediated in those early grades, teaching kids how to read in grades K-3, so that that they can read to learn in upper grades,” Sullivan told The Times.
BCS administrators said they will continue gathering data through assessment programs such as i-Ready in grades K-8, which will be conducted during December before the holiday break and will also continue offering programs that provide support for students recovering from learning loss, as well as opportunities for enrichment. Tutoring initiatives and programs will also continue throughout the school year.
