PAACT — Birmingham Public Schools
Climate Survey Data
Background
What is the BPS Climate Survey?
Four years of data — and what it actually shows
Birmingham Public Schools has administered an annual climate survey every spring since 2023, designed by Panorama Education. The district's own strategic plan (Birmingham Compass 2022–2027) sets a goal of 90% of students feeling safe, valued, and prepared for learning, and 90% of staff feeling safe, valued, and supported. These surveys are the district's primary tool for measuring whether it is meeting those goals.
PAACT obtained four years of Panorama's published reports — covering students in grades 3–5 and 6–12, teachers, school-based staff, and caregivers — and analyzed them in full. Here is what the data shows.
Key Findings — Spring 2026
The numbers the district hasn't named
These are the findings from the district's own surveys. The goal is 90%.
17% favorable
Teachers rating District Leadership · 2026
Down from 29% in 2025. A 12-point drop in one year. Less than 1 in 5 teachers responds favorably when asked about district leadership.
48% favorable
Middle & high school students: School Belonging · 2026
More than half of BPS secondary students do not feel they belong at their school. Four years in. Goal: 90%.
57% favorable
Middle & high school students: School Safety · 2026
Nearly 4 in 10 secondary students do not respond favorably on school safety. Up from 51% in 2023, but still 33 points from the stated goal.
35% favorable
Teachers: Feedback & Coaching · 2026
Essentially unchanged for four consecutive years. More than 2 in 3 teachers do not feel they receive adequate feedback and coaching.
The district's goal is 90%. After four years of surveying and intervention, School Belonging for secondary students is at 48%. At the current rate of improvement (roughly 2–3 points per year), BPS does not reach its own goal until the mid-2030s.
Progress toward 90% goal — Spring 2026
How far is the district from its own targets?
The line at the right edge of each bar represents the 90% goal.
Student Data · Grades 3–5
Elementary students: modest, consistent progress
1,543 responses (2023) · 1,538 (2024) · 1,507 (2025) · 1,370 (2026)
Domain scores, all four years
2023
2024
2025
2026
BPS grades 3–5 students ranked in the 80th–99th percentile nationally on Teacher-Student Relationships in 2026 — a genuine strength. Elementary students are more positive than secondary students across every domain.
One buried finding: When asked whether other students' behavior helps or hurts their learning, only 36–41% of elementary students respond favorably across all four years (36% in 2023, 41% in 2024, 38% in 2025, 40% in 2026). The majority of elementary students consistently say peer behavior hurts their learning. The district has not highlighted this.
Student Data · Grades 6–12
Secondary students: serious gaps remain
2,385 responses (2023) · 2,580 (2024) · 2,377 (2025) · 2,011 (2026)
Belonging 2023
38%
baseline
Belonging 2026
48%
+10 pts in 4 yrs
Safety 2023
51%
baseline
Safety 2026
57%
+6 pts in 4 yrs
Secondary student domain scores 2023–2026
2023
2024
2025
2026
School Belonging for grades 6–12 students: 38% in 2023. 48% in 2026. Ten points of improvement in four years — but still meaning more than half of BPS middle and high school students do not feel they belong at their school. At 2–3 points of improvement per year, this does not reach 90% until after 2040.
One question the district highlighted in 2023 — asking how much input students have when the school makes important decisions — showed only 19% favorable. The question was softened in 2024. A related question remains in the 2026 report (21% favorable), but with reworded framing that makes direct year-over-year comparison difficult.
Staff Data · Instructional Staff (Teachers)
Teacher experience: the data the district hasn't discussed publicly
317 responses (2023) · 398 (2024) · 311 (2025) · 295 (2026)
District Leadership 2023
28%
District Leadership 2025
29%
District Leadership 2026
17%
−12 pts in one year
Feedback & Coaching 2026
35%
unchanged 4 yrs
Teacher (instructional staff) survey scores 2023–2026
2023
2024
2025
2026
| Domain | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 | 2026 | 4-yr change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| District Leadership | 28% | 32% | 29% | 17% | −11 pts |
| Feedback & Coaching | 34% | 34% | 34% | 35% | +1 pt |
| World Class Talent | 32% | 32% | 32% | 34% | +2 pts |
| Belonging (20th–39th %ile nationally) | 61% | 58% | 60% | 62% | +1 pt |
| Professional Learning | 38% | 42% | 40% | 39% | +1 pt |
| School Climate | 57% | 59% | 62% | 63% | +6 pts |
| Teacher Self-Reflection | 77% | 73% | 76% | 79% | +2 pts |
| Well-Being | 65% | 67% | 66% | 67% | +2 pts |
District Leadership at 17% favorable in 2026 is a crisis-level number. It dropped 12 points in a single year and 11 points over four years. Less than 1 in 5 teachers now responds favorably when asked about district leadership. The district presented this data to the board without naming it as a problem.
BPS teachers rank in the 20th–39th percentile nationally on Belonging — meaning BPS teachers feel less connected to their school community than roughly 60–70% of comparable schools nationally. This has not moved meaningfully in four years.
Caregiver Data · Family Survey
Parent and caregiver perceptions: mixed signals
746 responses (2023) · 1,290 (2024) · 327 (2025) · 657 (2026)
The 2025 caregiver response rate collapsed from 1,290 to 327 — a 75% drop — with no explanation in the district's public presentation. Responses recovered to 657 in 2026, but the 2025 data remains a statistical outlier. Any conclusions drawn from the 2025 caregiver survey should be treated with caution given its dramatically smaller and potentially unrepresentative sample.
Caregiver survey scores 2023–2026
2023
2024
2025
2026
The discipline question — "At your child's school, how well does the overall approach to discipline work for your child?" — sits inside the School Fit domain. In 2026, it came in at 74% favorable, meaning roughly one in four caregivers does not think the district's approach to discipline is working for their child. While that represents improvement from earlier years, it still falls 16 points short of the district's 90% goal.
Survey Integrity
Questions about how the surveys are built and used
PAACT's FOIA #2 is designed to answer these questions directly
Questions changed or removed mid-study
-
Question shiftedStudent input in school decisions: 19% favorable in 2023. The question was reworded in subsequent years, making direct comparisons difficult. A related question in 2026 showed 21% favorable but uses different framing.
-
Changed 2024School Belonging (6–12): "How much do you matter to others?" replaced with "Are students respectful toward you?" — different concepts, different results.
-
UnexplainedCaregiver responses dropped 75% from 2024 to 2025 with no public explanation from the district. Responses recovered in 2026, making the 2025 data an unexplained outlier.
-
UnexplainedSecondary student responses dropped from 2,377 in 2025 to 2,011 in 2026 — a 15% decline — with no explanation offered in district communications.
Accountability
Questions PAACT is asking the district
All grounded in the district's own published data
| Topic | The question |
|---|---|
| District Leadership | Teacher ratings of district leadership dropped 12 points in one year to 17% favorable. What happened, and what is the plan to address it? |
| School Belonging | Belonging for grades 6–12 is at 48% after four years. Your goal is 90%. What is your specific plan, with measurable milestones and a timeline? |
| School Safety | Secondary school safety is at 57%. Nearly half of middle and high school students do not respond favorably. What specific actions will close this gap, and by when? |
| Feedback & Coaching | This has been at 34–35% for four consecutive years without movement. Why hasn't the current approach worked, and what is different about the plan going forward? |
| Survey Transparency | Will the district publish school-level results — not just district-wide averages — so families can understand how their specific school compares? |
| Caregiver Response Drop | The 2025 caregiver response rate dropped from 1,290 to 327 with no public explanation. What caused this, and how does it affect the validity of that year's data? |