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Tuscaloosa City Schools

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A school district is a special-purpose district that operates local public primary or secondary schools or both in various countries. It is not to be confused with an attendance zone, which is within a school district and is used to assign students to schools in a district and not to determine government authority.

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86-578: Tuscaloosa City Schools is a public school district headquartered in Tuscaloosa , Alabama , United States . The district's boundaries include almost all of the city limits of Tuscaloosa. There are approximately 10,000 students enrolled in Tuscaloosa City Schools. The Tuscaloosa City Schools provides instruction to more than 10,000 Pre-Kindergarten through 12th grade students throughout metropolitan Tuscaloosa, Alabama. Twenty-three schools comprise

172-454: A school board ) may be elected, appointed by a political office holder, serve ex officio , or a combination of any of these. An independent school district is a legally separate body corporate and political . Most school districts operate as independent local governmental units with exclusive authority over K–12 public educational operations and policies. The extent of their control is set by state-level law. Litigation against school districts

258-481: A "board of trustees," "board of education," "school committee," etc.. This body usually appoints or hires an experienced public school administrator to function as the district's superintendent of schools – a district's chief executive . The superintendent oversees daily operations, decisions and implements the policies of the board. The school board may also exercise a quasi-judicial function in serious employee or student discipline matters. School districts in

344-618: A 2003 ranking of 97th. In the fall of 2011, the University of Alabama Trustees approved a resolution to expand Gorgas Library by 50,000 square feet (4,600 m ), doubling the seating capacity from 1,139 to 2,278. In academic year 2014–2015, UA received $ 76 million in research contracts and grants. The Alabama International Trade Center and the Center for Advanced Public Safety are two research centers at UA. The US Department of Homeland Security has selected The University of Alabama as

430-520: A 55.6% white enrollment and 31.6% black enrollment, with 44.4% of enrollment being minority. Finally, the enrollment at Paul W. Bryant High School is 86.3% black, 6.6% Hispanic, and 5.2% white, totaling their minority enrollment to 94.8%. Former: Statewide testing ranks the schools in Alabama. Those in the bottom six percent are listed as "failing." As of early 2018, both Paul W. Bryant High School and Central High School were included in this category. But, in

516-465: A Bachelor of Arts or Bachelor of Science degree in interdisciplinary studies. The New College Review , a non-fiction cultural journal, is written, edited, designed, and published by students. The University of Alabama System's financial endowment was valued at $ 1.520 billion in the National Association of College and University Business Officers' (NACUBO) 2019 listings. UA's portion of

602-469: A GPA of 3.5 or greater and less than 3.7 (without rounding). Magna cum laude honors are conferred with a GPA of 3.7 or greater and less than 3.9. Summa cum laude honors are conferred with a GPA of 3.9 or higher. In the 2023 U.S. News & World Report rankings, UA was tied for 170th in the National Universities category (tied for 91st among "Top Public Schools"). Additionally, in

688-571: A board of trustees to manage the construction and operation of the university. The site the board chose for the campus was, at the time, outside the city limits of the erstwhile state capital , Tuscaloosa. William Nichols , the architect of the Alabama State Capitol building in Tuscaloosa, was chosen to design the campus. Influenced by Thomas Jefferson 's plan at the University of Virginia ,

774-586: A call to arms and defense by the student cadet corps, only four buildings survived the burning: the President's Mansion (1841), Gorgas House (1829), Little Round House (1860), and Old Observatory (1844). The university reopened in 1871 and in 1880 Congress granted the university 40,000 acres (162 km ) of coal land in partial compensation for war damages. The University of Alabama enrolled female students beginning in 1892. The board of trustees allowed female students largely because of Julia S. Tutwiler , with

860-603: A certain degree comparable to a school district. Other arrangements are possible: certain types of special schools in North Rhine-Westphalia are run by the Landschaftsverbände . There also exist private schools , mostly funded by the States, but run by private entities like churches or foundations. In Italy , school districts were established in 1974 by the " Provvedimenti Delegati sulla scuola " ("Assigned Laws [to

946-561: A decline in property tax revenues during and after the Great Recession . By 2016 there were about 13,000 school districts, and the average student population was about 5,000. Although these terms can vary slightly between various states and regions, these are typical definitions for school district constitution: These terms may not appear in a district's name, even though the condition may apply. In England and Wales , school boards were established in 1870, and abolished in 1902, with

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1032-411: A decrease of 38,127 or 35%. Many states had passed laws facilitating school district consolidation. In 1951 the majority of the school districts in existence were rural school districts only providing elementary education, and some school districts did not operate schools but instead provided transportation to other schools. The Midwest had a large number of rural school districts. Previously areas of

1118-406: A hotly-debated proposal to require more students to return to attendance zones was raised. After the association of the University of Alabama -area historic district asked the board members to consider assigning its area to majority-white schools, even though majority-black schools were closer, the board granted their request one day later, on May 3, 2007, when it voted 5–3 to establish the plan, with

1204-490: A large, four-year primarily residential university accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools . Full-time, four-year undergraduates comprise a large amount of the university enrollment. The undergraduate instructional program emphasizes professional programs of study as well as the liberal arts, and there is a high level of co-existence between the graduate and undergraduate program. The university has

1290-407: A master's degree in 1992. Later in his life, Wallace apologized for his opposition to racial integration . In 2010, the university formally honored Lucy, Hood and Malone by rechristening the plaza in front of Foster Auditorium as Malone-Hood Plaza and erecting a clock tower – Autherine Lucy Clock Tower – in the plaza. In 2019 Autherine Lucy was presented with a doctorate of humane letters, and in 2022

1376-632: A minority of secondary schools , a few primary schools, and much further education . (Most schools are neither organized geographically nor publicly managed, although the Department of Education inspects and funds them and pays teachers' salaries.) Each ETB area comprises one or more local authority areas , with city or county councilors forming the bulk of the ETB board. The ETBs was formed in 2005 by amalgamating Vocational Education Committees established in 1930, also based on local government areas. In Hong Kong ,

1462-531: A path to a Navy commission. During this time the University of Alabama had extensions in other cities including Mobile ; the University of South Alabama was opened in 1963 to replace that program. Until the 1960s, the university admitted only white students (with one temporary exception). The practice of racial segregation was common in the American South at this time and the university barred all students of color from attending. The first attempt to integrate

1548-423: A plant in Tuscaloosa because of the performance of the public schools, and by 1993 the city leadership wanted Mercedes-Benz to build a plant there. Influential politicians and influential people privately wished to create some majority-white schools fearing that the remaining white population would otherwise leave. The leaders made public statements that they wished to remove the desegregation order since it required

1634-626: A safe learning environment for her. The university was not integrated until 1963 when Vivian Malone and James Hood registered for classes on June 11. Governor George Wallace made his infamous " Stand in the Schoolhouse Door ", standing in the front entrance of Foster Auditorium in a symbolic attempt to stop Malone and Hood's enrollment. When confronted by U.S. Deputy Attorney General Nicholas Katzenbach and federal marshals sent in by U.S. Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy , Wallace stepped aside. President John F. Kennedy had called for

1720-450: A school system that is separate but similar to a town's or a county's powers. These include the power to enter contacts, use eminent domain , and to issue binding rules and regulations affecting school policies and operations. The power of school districts to tax and spend is generally more limited. For example, many school districts in New York state require a majority of voters living in

1806-706: A single school district." Noting that most modern school districts were formed by consolidating one-room school districts in the first seven decades of the 20th century, Fischel argues that "outside the South, these consolidations were consented to by local voters" who "preferred districts whose boundaries conformed to their everyday interactions rather than formal units of government" and that "[t]he South ended up with county-based school districts because segregation imposed diseconomies of scale on district operations and required larger land-area districts." In New York , most school districts are separate governmental units with

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1892-449: A state), most American school districts operate as independent local governmental units under a grant of authority and within geographic limits created by state law. The executive and legislative power over locally-controlled policies and operations of an independent school district are, in most cases, held by a school district's board of education. Depending on state law, members of a local board of education (often referred to informally as

1978-662: A very high level of research activity and has a "comprehensive doctoral" graduate instructional program in the liberal arts, humanities, social sciences. health sciences (medical school), and STEM fields . UA began offering engineering classes in 1837. It was one of the first universities in the nation to offer an engineering degree. Over the past decade, UA has greatly expanded its science and engineering programs, in terms of numbers of students, faculty hired, and number and size of new academic/research facilities (almost one million in new square footage). UA's College of Engineering enrolls more students than any other engineering program in

2064-427: Is common and some law firms specialize in education law. Districts typically maintain professional liability insurance in order to pay its settlements and legal liabilities. As of 2023 in most U.S. states, public school districts may lay taxes to fund their operations. In others, such as Maine , some school districts are able to lay taxes and others are not. Independent school districts often exercise authority over

2150-476: Is home to several museums, cultural facilities and historical landmarks. The Alabama Museum of Natural History at Smith Hall exhibits Alabama's rich natural history. The oddest artifact there could be the Sylacauga meteorite , the largest known extraterrestrial object to strike a human being who survived. The Paul W. Bryant Museum houses memorabilia and exhibits on the history of UA athletic programs, most notably

2236-592: Is in Mary Harmon Bryant Hall. The Library Annex holds seldom-used books and journals, as well as other volumes which need special protection, that would otherwise take up valuable space in the libraries. Other libraries on campus are independent of the University Libraries. The 66,000-square-foot (6,100 m ) Bounds Law Library, at the Law Center, holds more than 300,000 volumes. Established in 1978,

2322-559: Is offered jointly by the other universities in the UA system. UA conferred 9,105 degrees in the 2023–24 academic year, including 6,604 bachelor's degrees (3,579 with Latin honors ), 1,192 master's degrees, 300 doctorates, 56 education specialist, and 153 professional degrees. Latin honors are conferred on graduates completing a bachelor's degree for the first time (including at other universities) with an overall grade point average of at least 3.5. Cum laude honors are conferred to graduates with

2408-601: The Crimson Tide ), inaugurated in 1892, ranks as one of the ten best in US history. In a 1913 speech president George H. Denny extolled the university as the " capstone of the public school system in the state", thereby establishing the university's current nickname, The Capstone . As of June 2024 UA has produced 65 Goldwater Scholars, 16 Rhodes Scholars, and 16 Truman Scholars. In 1818, the United States Congress authorized

2494-704: The Education Bureau divides primary schools into 36 districts, known as school nets, for its Primary One Admission System . Of the 36 districts, districts 34 and 41 in Kowloon and districts 11 and 12 in Hong Kong Island are considered the most prestigious. In Iranian cities school kids normal registrations are limited by school districts, register is online at my.medu.ir and the parent sees schools within range online. University of Alabama The University of Alabama (informally known as Alabama , UA ,

2580-773: The Midwest and West tend to cross municipal boundaries, while school districts in New England and the Mid-Atlantic regions tend to adhere to city, township, and/or county boundaries. As of 1951 school districts were independent governmental units in 26 states, while in 17 states there were mixes of independent school districts and school districts subordinate to other local governments. In nine states there were only school districts subordinate to local governments. In most Southern states, school systems operate either as an arm of county government or at least share coextensive boundaries with

2666-483: The NAACP Legal Defense Fund and the U.S. Department of Justice started an effort to make Tuscaloosa schools racially integrated. In 1979 a desegregation agreement was instituted by a federal judge requiring the district to have a single high school, Central High School when it previously had two; the agreement also meant the district reorganized the middle school system to have three middle schools. After

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2752-671: The Unorganized Borough of Alaska were not served by school districts but instead served by schools directly operated by the Alaska Department of Education and by Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) schools. The state schools were transferred to the Alaska State-Operated School System (SOS) after the Alaska Legislature created it in 1971; that agency was terminated in 1975, with its schools transferred to

2838-442: The county council and county borough councils becoming the local education authorities . In France, the system of the carte scolaire was dismantled by the beginning of the 2007 school year. More school choice has been given to French students; however, priority is given to those who meet the following criteria: In Germany , schools and teachers are predominately funded by the states of Germany , which also are in control of

2924-580: The liberal arts , fine arts , and sciences . It is the largest of the university's 12 colleges, with approximately 7,900 undergraduate students and 1,100 graduate students. Most core curriculum classes and majors and minors are part of the college. There are 11 other academic divisions at the University of Alabama (see the table above). Eight divisions (Arts and Sciences, Business, Communication and Information Sciences, Education, Engineering, Human Environmental Sciences, Nursing, and Social Work) grant undergraduate degrees. Degrees in those eight divisions at

3010-441: The "mega" high school into three separate schools would create a segregated school system featuring an "all-black" high school. The report states "Thus, having a nearly all-black high school could be seen as a temporary expedient toward a future fully integrated system." However, this temporary expedient seems to have become a permanent one. In 2007 district officials felt alarmed as 22% of the total number of students were white, and

3096-427: The "real world" because of how diverse its student population was. However, former City School Board Member John Gordon argued that Central was only a success because of its top students, and they were carrying the rest of the student population along statistically. He argues that the separation of the "mega high school" exposed this weakness in the school system and that it needed to be addressed. White students made up

3182-427: The 2018–2019 school year, Central High School was removed from the failing school list. School district In the U.S., most K–12 public schools function as units of local school districts. A school district usually operate several elementary , middle , and high schools . The largest urban and suburban districts operate hundreds of schools. While practice varies significantly by state (and in some cases, within

3268-566: The 2020 PRWeek Awards. It was the department's ninth recognition as a finalist for the award and first selection as the top program. As of 2021 The Princeton Review ranked University of Alabama first in the nation as a party school and first for having lots of Greek life . The university was also ranked the eighth-most LGBT unfriendly school in the nation. The University of Alabama has 2.9 million document volumes, along with nearly 100,000 uncatalogued government documents in its collection; of these, 2.5 million volumes are held by

3354-582: The 2023 U.S. News rankings, the law school was tied for 35th in the nation, the business school was tied for 55th, the education school tied for 56th, and the engineering school was tied for 99th. In 2016, Business Insider ranked the UA law school as the third-best public law school in the nation. In August 2020, the UA Department of Advertising and Public Relations was named the Most Outstanding Education Program by PRWeek during

3440-763: The 9,500-square-foot (880 m ) Sloan Y. Bashinsky Sr. Computer Center. The Eric and Sarah Rodgers Library for Science and Engineering, in the Science and Engineering Quad, is named after two popular, long-time professors of engineering and statistics, respectively. It opened in 1990, combining the Science Library collection in Lloyd Hall and the Engineering Library collection in the Mineral Industries Building (now known as H.M. Comer Hall). Rodgers Library

3526-857: The Allen Bales Theatre, the Marion Gallaway Theatre, the English Building auditorium, and the Frank M. Moody Music Building, which houses the Tuscaloosa Symphony Orchestra as well as three resident choirs. The UA Opera Theatre performs in Bryant-Jordan Hall. The University of Alabama is an autonomous institution within the University of Alabama System and governed by the Board of Trustees of The University of Alabama and headed by

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3612-621: The Capstone , or Bama ) is a public research university in Tuscaloosa, Alabama , United States. Established in 1820 and opened to students in 1831, the University of Alabama is the oldest and largest of the public universities in Alabama as well as the University of Alabama System . It is classified among "R1: Doctoral Universities – Very high research activity". The university offers programs of study in 12 academic divisions leading to bachelor's, master's, education specialist , and doctoral degrees. The only publicly supported law school in

3698-571: The College of Arts and Sciences in 1996, the New College's stated objectives were to "create an opportunity for a highly individualized education that enables students to draw from the resources of all University classes and faculty" and to "serve as an experimental unit with the expectation of exporting successful innovations to other sectors of the University". The college allows undergraduate students flexibility in choosing their curriculum while completing

3784-574: The College of Communication and Information Sciences is in Reese Phifer Hall and holds more than 10,000 volumes. The School of Social Work Reading Room in Little Hall contains around 200 volumes. UA is one of the 126 members of the Association of Research Libraries , which yearly compiles internal rankings. In 2011, the University of Alabama ranked 56th among all criteria, a marked improvement over

3870-527: The Erosophic and the Phi Beta Kappa societies, which often had lectures by such distinguished politicians and literary figures as United States Supreme Court justice John Archibald Campbell , novelist William Gilmore Simms , and professor Frederick Barnard . The addresses to those societies reveal a vibrant intellectual culture in Tuscaloosa; they also illustrate the proslavery ideas that were so central to

3956-546: The Government] about the school"). Each district must contain a minimum of 10,000 inhabitants. The national government attempted to link the local schools with local society and culture and local governments. The school districts were dissolved in 2003 by the "legge finanziaria" (law about the government budget) in an attempt to trim the national budget. In the Republic of Ireland, 16 Education and Training Boards (ETBs) administer

4042-775: The Health Sciences Library, at the University Medical Center, serves students at the College of Community Health Sciences. Its 20,000-volume collection includes clinical medicine, family practice, primary care, medical education, consumer health, and related health care topics. Located in Farah Hall (home of the Department of Geography) the Map Library and Place Names Research Center holds over 270,000 maps and 75,000 aerial photographs. The William E. Winter Reading Room of

4128-475: The Nichols-designed campus featured a 70-foot (21 m) wide, 70-foot (21 m) high domed Rotunda that served as the library and nucleus of the campus. The university's charter was presented to the first university president in the nave of Christ Episcopal Church. UA opened its doors to students on April 18, 1831, with Alva Woods as president. An academy-style institution during the antebellum period,

4214-517: The State of Alabama dictates the board's makeup and requires the board to include three members from the congressional district that contains the Tuscaloosa campus and two members from every other congressional district in Alabama. Board members are elected by the board and are confirmed by the Alabama State Senate . The president of the University of Alabama is the principal executive officer of

4300-459: The United States tend to be different from the demographics of the students. This difference is "most pronounced in majority nonwhite jurisdictions and school districts with the largest racial achievement gaps ." There were 130,000 school districts in the country in 1930, with an average student population of 150. From 1942 to 1951 the number of school districts declined from 108,579 to 70,452,

4386-467: The University Libraries. The University Libraries system has six separate libraries. The Amelia Gayle Gorgas Library, which sits on the Main Quad , is the oldest and largest of the university libraries. Gorgas Library holds the university's collections in the humanities and social sciences, as well as the university's depository of U.S. government documents. The library opened in 1939. A seven-story addition

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4472-625: The campus, including the President's Mansion , Denny Chimes , Foster Auditorium (a National Historical Landmark ), the Gorgas–Manly Historic District , and Maxwell Observatory . A cemetery next to the Math and Science Education Building includes the graves of two enslaved persons who were owned by faculty members before the Civil War. Both men died in the 1840s, and their graves went unmarked until 2004. Campus culture facilities include

4558-427: The chancellor of The University of Alabama. The state legislature created the board to govern the university's operations. Its responsibilities include setting policy for the university, determining the university's mission and scope, and assuming responsibility for the university to the public and the legislature. The board is self-perpetuating and composed of 15 members and two ex officio members. The Constitution of

4644-439: The city, and the loss of life. From a small campus of seven buildings in the wilderness on the main road between Tuscaloosa and Huntsville (now University Boulevard) in the 1830s, UA has grown to a massive 1,970-acre (800 ha) campus in the heart of Tuscaloosa. There are 297 buildings on campus containing some 10,600,000 square feet (980,000 m ) of space. In 2010, the school added 168 acres to its campus by purchasing

4730-402: The city. Tuscaloosa High School was for the white students and Druid High School was for the black students. The schools remained segregated racially after Brown v. Board of Education . In the segregated Druid High School, students would receive hand-me-down textbooks from the white Tuscaloosa High School, which would then cause them to fall behind academically to their white counterparts. In 1975

4816-535: The conditions that they be over eighteen, and would be allowed to enter the sophomore class after completing their first year at another school and passing an exam. Ten women from Tutwiler's Livingston school enrolled for the 1893 fall semester. By 1897, women were allowed to enroll as freshmen. During World War II, UA was one of 131 colleges and universities nationally that took part in the V-12 Navy College Training Program , which offered students

4902-456: The court order. With the new school established, the district then asked for the entire desegregation order to be removed. To convince black leaders to appear at the federal hearings so they could give support to ending the desegregation order, white leaders suggested a quid pro quo of building new schools in black areas. Judge Sharon Blackburn released the district from its desegregation agreement in 1998. The district board voted to reorganize

4988-464: The district or the local government to approval their annual budget, but school districts in Virginia have no taxing authority and must depend on another local government (county, city, or town) for funding. A district's governing body, usually called a school board , is typically elected by direct popular vote but may be appointed by other governmental officials. The governing body might also be known as

5074-481: The district, including 12 elementary schools, 5 middle schools, 3 high schools, and 3 campuses dedicated to specialty education: one for students with special needs and those receiving alternative education, a school for students studying performing arts, and a career technical facility for grades 9 – 12. In 1884 the municipal government established the district, which had 247 white students and 173 black students in its first year. Over time, two high schools developed for

5160-467: The education building in which she sheltered during the protests was renamed in her honor. On April 27, 2011 , Tuscaloosa was hit by a tornado rated EF4 on the Enhanced Fujita scale , killing six students who lived off campus; the campus grounds were not damaged by the storm, but the university canceled the rest of the spring semester and postponed graduation because of damage to approximately 12% of

5246-559: The integration of the Tuscaloosa City School System, Central High School became a powerhouse both academically and athletically. The school “snatched up National Merit Scholarships and math-competition victories just as readily as it won trophies in football, track, golf.” Many students enjoyed the successes of Central High School, regardless of their race. The current mayor of Tuscaloosa, Walt Maddox , who graduated from Central High School said that Central prepared students for

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5332-407: The integration of the University of Alabama as well. Although Hood dropped out after two months, he returned and, in 1997, received his doctorate. Malone persisted in her studies and became the first African American to graduate from the university. In 2000, the university granted her a doctorate of humane letters. Autherine Lucy's expulsion was rescinded in 1980, and she re-enrolled and graduated with

5418-688: The land formerly belonging to Bryce Hospital . It also plans to acquire more land to accommodate the continuing growth of the enrollment. The university maintains the University of Alabama Arboretum in eastern Tuscaloosa and the Dauphin Island Sea Lab on Dauphin Island , just off the Alabama Gulf Coast. In 2011, the Sustainable Endowments Institute gave the university a College Sustainability Report Card grade of "B+". UA

5504-409: The majority of the district's students around 1979. White flight began to occur towards Tuscaloosa County Schools and majority-white private schools so that in 1994 white students made up less than 33% of the total students. Between 1995 and 2000, white enrollment in the city schools went down 21%. The district had 10,300 students in 1995. Around the late 1980s/early 1990s Saturn chose not to locate

5590-530: The master's, specialist , and doctoral level are awarded through the Graduate School. The law school offers JD and LL.M. degree programs. The College of Community Health Sciences provides advanced studies in medicine and related disciplines and operates a family medicine residency program. Medical students are also trained in association with the University of Alabama School of Medicine , from which they receive their degree. Founded in 1971 and merged into

5676-478: The middle 50 percent composite scores were 1080–1370. The University of Alabama is a college-sponsor of the National Merit Scholarship Program and sponsored 189 Merit Scholarship awards in 2020. In the 2020–2021 academic year, 223 freshman students were National Merit Scholars . The University of Alabama is classified among "R1: Doctoral Universities – Very high research activity". It is

5762-465: The middle schools into four in 1999. In August 2000 they voted to establish two new high schools and carve out three attendance zones, and Central High had a much smaller attendance zone serving a majority black student body, while the other two schools, had whiter student bodies. The performance of Central High School drastically declined after the change. In a report released by the Tuscaloosa City School System in 2000, they addressed concerns that moving

5848-457: The newly created Alabama Territory to set aside a township for the establishment of a "seminary of learning". When Alabama was admitted to the Union in 1819, a second township was added to the land grant , bringing it to a total of 46,000 acres (186 km ). The General Assembly of Alabama established the seminary on December 18, 1820, named it "The University of the State of Alabama," and created

5934-540: The newly created Alaska Unorganized Borough School District, which was broken apart into twenty-one school districts the following year. In the 2022 Census of Governments, the United States Census Bureau enumerated the following numbers of school systems in the United States: School districts in the US have reduced the number of their employees by 3.3%, or 270,000 between 2008 and 2012, owing to

6020-504: The overall education policies. On the other hand, school buildings are mostly run and funded by municipal governments on different levels of the municipal system (municipalities proper, districts), depending on the size and specialization of a certain school or the population size of a certain municipality. As with other fields of government, for more specialized schools, special government bodies ("Zweckverband") can be established, where municipalities, and not voters, are members; these are to

6106-441: The power to levy taxes and incur debt, except for the five cities with a population of over 125,000 ( Buffalo , Rochester , Syracuse , Yonkers , and New York City ), where the schools are operated directly by the municipalities. The Hawaii State Department of Education functions as a single statewide school district, unique among states. According to a 2021 study, the demographics of voters who elect local school boards in

6192-414: The school system to get approval from the court for repairs and because not having neighborhood schools reduced its prestige. The district proposed establishing a new elementary school in the majority-white Rock Quarry area in 1993, and the court granted this action in 1995; the district did this to check if the federal court system, which was becoming increasingly conservative , would be pliable to lifting

6278-542: The severe discipline problem, president Landon Garland received approval from the legislature in 1860 to transform the university into a military school. Many of the cadets who graduated from the school served as officers in the Confederate Army during the Civil War . As a consequence of that role, Union troops burned the campus on April 4, 1865, only five days before Lee's surrender at Appomattox Court House. Despite

6364-498: The state as of 2016. UA's freshman engineering classes have also had the highest average ACT score among all state of Alabama engineering programs for the last several years. Ten of the university's twelve academic units (see above) offer degree programs across a combined total of 117 areas of study. Two areas, economics and health care management, are offered jointly by separate units ( Culverhouse College of Business and Arts & Sciences for both), and one area (material science)

6450-460: The state is at UA. Other academic programs unavailable elsewhere in Alabama include doctoral programs in anthropology , communication and information sciences, metallurgical engineering, music, Romance languages , and social work. The school was a center of activity during the American Civil War and the civil rights movement . The University of Alabama varsity football program (nicknamed

6536-551: The state's counties. A 2010 study by economist William A. Fischel found that "two-thirds of medium-to-large American cities have boundaries that substantially overlap those of a single school district" with substantial regional and state variations in the degree of overlap, "ranging from nearly perfect congruence in New England , New Jersey, and Virginia, to hardly any in Illinois, Texas, and Florida." Older and more populous municipalities "tend to have boundaries that closely match those of

6622-501: The system's endowment was valued at $ 885.7 million in September 2015. The university uses a standard academic calendar based on the semester system with two 15-week semesters and a summer term. In fall 2021, Alabama received 42,421 applications for first-time freshman enrollment, from which 33,472 applications were accepted (78.9%) and 7,593 freshmen enrolled, a yield rate (the percentage of accepted students who choose to attend

6708-500: The tenure of football coach Paul "Bear" Bryant . Athletic trophies and awards are displayed at the Mal Moore Athletic Facility. The Sarah Moody Gallery of Art at Garland Hall hosts revolving exhibitions of contemporary art, including from the university's own permanent collection. The Jones Archaeological Museum at Moundville exhibits the history of Mississippian culture in Alabama. Numerous historical landmarks dot

6794-476: The three no votes being two black board members and Virginia Powell, a white board member who held the seat of the district including the university area. Paul McKendrick became superintendent in 2011. Dr. Mike Daria became superintendent in 2016. In 2023, he was recognized as the superintendent of year for the State of Alabama. Central High School has a 95% minority enrollment, 89.5% being black and 5% being white, in 2024. In comparison, Northridge High School has

6880-407: The university and is appointed by the chancellor with approval of the board of trustees. Stuart R. Bell became the 29th president on July 15, 2015. In fall 2023, UA employed 7,472 employees, including 2,117 instructional staff (faculty), 2,631 professional staff, and more than 2,600 office, clerical, technical and service staff. The College of Arts and Sciences is the university's college for

6966-411: The university and the state. Discipline and student behavior were major issues at the university almost from the day it opened. Early presidents attempted to enforce strict rules regarding conduct. Students were prohibited from drinking, swearing, making unauthorized visits off-campus, or playing musical instruments for more than an hour at a time. Still, riots and gunfights were not uncommon. To combat

7052-408: The university emphasized the classics and the social and natural sciences. There were around 100 students per year at UA in the 1830s. As the state and university matured, an active literary culture evolved on campus and in Tuscaloosa. UA had one of the largest libraries in the country on the eve of the Civil War with more than 7,000 volumes. There were several thriving literary societies, including

7138-429: The university occurred in 1956 when Autherine Lucy successfully enrolled on February 3 as a graduate student in library sciences after she secured a court order preventing the university from rejecting her application on the basis of race. In the face of violent protests against her attendance, Lucy was suspended (and later outright expelled) three days later by the board of trustees on the basis of being unable to provide

7224-493: The university) of 22.7%. Alabama's freshman retention rate is 88.6%, with 72.1% going on to graduate within six years. The university started test-optional admissions with the Fall 2021 incoming class and has extended this through Fall 2024. Of the 63% of enrolled freshmen in 2021 who submitted ACT scores, the middle 50 percent composite score was between 21 and 31. Of the 17% of the incoming freshman class who submitted SAT scores,

7310-523: Was built on the north side of the library in the 1970s. The Angelo Bruno Business Library , in the Business Quad, is named after the co-founder of the Bruno's grocery chain who gave the university $ 4 million to create a library focusing on commerce and business studies. Opened in 1994, the 64,000-square-foot (5,900 m ), three-story facility holds more than 170,000 volumes. Bruno Library also houses

7396-506: Was designed with help from IBM to incorporate the latest in informatics . McLure Education Library was founded in 1954 in a remodeled student union annex (across the street from the old Student Union, now Reese Phifer Hall) and named in 1974 after John Rankin McLure, the longtime dean of the College of Education. The William Stanley Hoole Special Collections Library, which holds the university's collection of rare and historical documents and books,

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