Photo by Erin Nelson Sweeney
Lisa Gaines - HWD Chamber Mag
Homewood Middle School students go over subject-verb agreement in an English class in 2020.
The Homewood school system earned a 94 on its state report card for the 2022-23 school year, up from 93 the previous year, Superintendent Justin Hefner shared with the Homewood school board this week.
During a six-minute school board meeting Tuesday night, Hefner reported that Homewood Middle School made the largest jump on its state report card among the city’s five public schools. The middle school improved from a grade of 89 in the 2021-22 school year to a 95 in the 2022-23 term.
Shades Cahaba Elementary School improved three percentage points from 94 in 2021-
22 to 97 in 2022-23. Hall-Kent Elementary and Edgewood Elementary each improved one percentage point, from 93 to 94 and 98 to 99, respectively, while Homewood High School held steady at 93 in each academic year.
“I’m really proud of our teachers and our leaders,” Hefner said.
School board President Jill Kimbrell said it’s great to see the report card for all the city’s schools. “Everybody did well,” she said.
In other business, the Homewood school board approved a pair of contracts. First, the board approved an agreement for insurance policies with Cobbs Allen for $451,387, followed by a $25,824 contract earmarked for Microsoft licenses for education software programs in the schools.
Additionally, the Board of Education approved an expenditure of $1,550 per month for the Alabama Game Changers Now! Program, an online tutoring platform for special services students as needed. The subscription is effective Jan. 1 to Oct. 31, 2024.
The school board also agreed to continue a partnership with the YMCA of Greater Birmingham for after-school care and summer child care programs.
Hefner also congratulated Amber Broadhead, a fourth grade teacher at Edgewood Elementary School who was recently appointed to the Alabama social studies course of study committee and task force.
The next Homewood Board of Education meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, Jan. 23, at 5:30 p.m.
