Birmingham Public Schools, 2023-2026
Climate Survey Data
Four years of the district's own climate survey results for students, teachers, and caregivers, measured against the district's own goal.
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
Four numbers from Spring 2026
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. Fewer than 1 in 5 responses about district leadership were favorable.
48%favorable
Middle and high school students: School Belonging, 2026
Fewer than half of responses on School Belonging were favorable. It was 38% in 2023. Goal: 90%.
57%favorable
Middle and high school students: School Safety, 2026
More than 4 in 10 responses on school safety were not favorable. Up from 51% in 2023, and 33 points from the stated goal.
35%favorable
Teachers: Feedback and Coaching, 2026
Between 34% and 35% in all four years. About two thirds of responses were not favorable.
Source: Panorama Education reports, Spring 2026: Instructional Staff and Grades 6-12 summary pages. Earlier years from the Spring 2023 and Spring 2025 reports.
Progress toward the 90% goal, Spring 2026
How far is the district from its own targets?
The gold line on each bar marks the 90% goal.
Source: Panorama Education reports, Spring 2026: Grades 3-5, Grades 6-12, Instructional Staff, and Family Survey summary pages. The 90% goal is from the Birmingham Compass strategic plan, which says it is measured by an annual climate survey.
Student data, grades 3-5
Elementary students: modest, consistent progress
1,543 responses (2023) · 1,538 (2024) · 1,507 (2025) · 1,370 (2026)
Percent of students responding favorably in each area, all four years. Every chart uses the same 0 to 100 percent scale.
+4 pts since 2023
+4 pts since 2023
+8 pts since 2023
+4 pts since 2023
+4 pts since 2023
+13 pts since 2023
Source: Panorama Education reports, Grades 3-5, Spring 2023 through Spring 2026: summary pages and the School Climate question pages.
Student data, grades 6-12
Secondary students: serious gaps remain
2,385 responses (2023) · 2,580 (2024) · 2,377 (2025) · 2,011 (2026)
+4 pts since 2023
+14 pts since 2023
+2 pts since 2023
+10 pts since 2023
+4 pts since 2023
+6 pts since 2023
+2 pts since 2023
In 2023, the question "When the school makes important decisions, how much input do students have?" came in at 19% favorable, and the district's 2023 board presentation listed student input in important decisions as a focus area. In 2024 the question became "How often do students at your school have the opportunity to give feedback on school decisions?" It has scored 20%, 23%, and 21% since. The change in wording makes a direct comparison with 2023 difficult.
Source: Panorama Education reports, Grades 6-12, Spring 2023 through Spring 2026. BPS Climate Survey board presentation, Spring 2023.
Staff data, instructional staff (teachers)
Teacher experience: district leadership falls to 17%
317 responses (2023) · 398 (2024) · 311 (2025) · 295 (2026)
−11 pts since 2023
+1 pt since 2023
+2 pts since 2023
+1 pt since 2023 · 20th-39th percentile nationally
+1 pt since 2023
+6 pts since 2023
+2 pts since 2023
+2 pts since 2023
Source: Panorama Education reports, BPS Climate Survey - Instructional Staff, Spring 2023 through Spring 2026, summary pages.
Caregiver data, family survey
Parent and caregiver perceptions: mixed signals
746 responses (2023) · 1,290 (2024) · 327 (2025) · 657 (2026)
−6 pts since 2023
+6 pts since 2023
+9 pts since 2023
+4 pts since 2023
+4 pts since 2023
−4 pts since 2023
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, so about one in four responses was not favorable. It was 67% in 2023 and 70% in 2024 and 2025. It is 16 points short of the district's 90% goal.
Source: Panorama Education reports, Family Survey, Spring 2023 through Spring 2026. BPS Climate Survey board presentation, Spring 2025, Survey Response Rates slide.
Survey integrity
Questions about how the surveys are built and used
PAACT's FOIA #2 is designed to answer these questions directly.
- Question shifted
Student input in school decisions (6-12): "How much input do students have?" scored 19% in 2023. From 2024 on, the question asks how often students have "the opportunity to give feedback on school decisions." It scored 21% in 2026. - Changed 2024
School Belonging (6-12): "How much respect do students in your school show you?" scored 39% in 2023. In 2024 it was replaced with "Are the students at your school respectful toward you?", which scored 54%. In 2026 a sixth question was added to the topic. - Response drop
Caregiver responses dropped 75% from 2024 to 2025, from 1,290 to 327. The district's 2025 board presentation lists the counts without an explanation. Responses were 657 in 2026. - Response drop
Grades 6-12 responses went from 2,377 in 2025 to 2,011 in 2026, a 15% decline.
Source: Panorama Education reports, Grades 6-12 and Family Survey, Spring 2023 through Spring 2026, question pages and response counts.
Accountability
Questions PAACT is asking the district
All grounded in the district's own published data.
- District LeadershipTeacher ratings of district leadership dropped 12 points in one year to 17% favorable. What happened, and what is the plan to address it?
- School BelongingBelonging for grades 6-12 is at 48% in the fourth year of the survey. Your goal is 90%. What is your specific plan, with measurable milestones and a timeline?
- School SafetySecondary school safety is at 57%. More than 4 in 10 responses from middle and high school students are not favorable. What specific actions will close this gap, and by when?
- Feedback and CoachingThis 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 TransparencyWill the district publish school-level results, not just district-wide averages, so families can understand how their specific school compares?
- Caregiver Response DropCaregiver responses dropped from 1,290 in 2024 to 327 in 2025. What caused this, and how does it affect the validity of that year's data?
PAACT · paact-birmingham.com · paact.birmingham@gmail.com · Birmingham Public Schools, 2026