Who We Are
PAACT (Parents Allied for Accountability, Conduct, and Transparency) is an independent coalition of parents, taxpayers, and community members working to strengthen academic excellence and safety across Birmingham Public Schools. We believe a high-quality education depends on classrooms where teachers can teach and students can learn, and on policies that put the learning environment first.
why we exist
Our district is at an important moment. When teachers can't count on a consistent, enforceable response to behavior, learning suffers, and we see it in both the classroom and the test scores. PAACT exists to close the gap between families and the people making decisions, so that accountability is consistent across buildings and the district's safety and performance are something families can actually see.
OUR THREE PILLARS
Academic Integrity:
Protecting the instructional time of students who are here to learn.
Administrative Accountability:
Believing that strong schools start with clear expectations, PAACT advocates for district-wide disciplinary policies that are well-defined, consistently applied, and transparently communicated to families. When the rules are clear and enforced the same way across buildings, teachers are better supported in the classroom, students know what to expect, and families can trust the process. Our focus is on the structures themselves: the policies, the frameworks, and the communication practices that shape how discipline works across all 13 schools in the district.
Parental Partnership:
Taking ownership of our children’s behavior as a prerequisite for their enrollment in the public school system.
A Message From The Founder
As a mother of three boys in this district, I know firsthand that our children’s future depends on the quality of the environment where they spend their days. We are fortunate to have dedicated teachers and staff, but they are being asked to do the impossible: provide a high-level education in classrooms frequently disrupted by a lack of behavioral accountability.
I started PAACT because I don't think we can afford to sit back and watch our schools drift. This isn't coming from frustration. It's coming from wanting these schools to be excellent. We want to give our administration the support and the green light to hold the line on the standards our kids deserve, and to make transparency the rule instead of the exception. I'd love to see us get back to a real partnership that puts learning first.
— Betsy McDaniel Founder, PAACT Birmingham
