August 2026 Newsletter
School starts in a few weeks. PAACT is heading into this year with more information, more relationships, and more engaged parents than we had when we launched in April. This year can be a great one for our schools, and the work below is how we help make it one.
Back to School Community Meeting
Tuesday, August 18 | 7:00 to 8:45 PM
Jeanne Lloyd Room, Baldwin Public Library
300 W. Merrill Street, Birmingham
This meeting is built around what parents want to know walking into a new school year. April Imperio, Assistant Superintendent of Student Learning and Inclusion, will join us as a resource presenter with a short presentation on how curriculum is vetted and adopted in Birmingham Public Schools.
From there we will work through the curriculum questions parents ask most, and spend real time on how families can communicate with our district in ways that get answers. If you have ever wondered who to email, when to escalate, or what you are entitled to know, this is the meeting for you. Bring your questions and bring a neighbor!
Staff Surveys Are Out
This summer we built three surveys, one each for teachers, paraprofessionals, and secretaries, asking about working conditions, support, and what staff need to do their jobs well. The people in our buildings every day know things about our schools that no data set can show, and no one has been asking them.
We had hoped these surveys would go out through association channels. After months of conversations, that path never came together, in part because of concerns about how staff participation might be received. That hesitation says something on its own. So we sent the surveys directly to staff at their school email addresses, building by building. Responses are anonymous.
If you know a BPS teacher, paraprofessional, or secretary, please encourage them to look for the email and take ten minutes to respond. Their voices are the whole point.
The PAACT Website and District Devices
In recent weeks the PAACT website became inaccessible on district devices and stayed that way for several days. The district confirmed in writing that a block was in place and has since been removed, attributing it to a spam report on a forwarded email.
What that explanation does not cover is how the block was applied, whether the site's content was reviewed before it was blocked, and whether the district's usual process for handling these reports was followed. Rather than speculate, we asked for the records. More on that below.
FOIA Update
The safety and bullying records request, FOIA 4, is back. It was our most expensive request to date, funded by this community, and it came back almost completely redacted. We have filed an appeal with Superintendent Dr. Roberson and will report what comes of it.
Three new requests are now on file. FOIA 8 requests the district's legal services expenditures. FOIA 9 requests MSU Extension contracts, services, and payments. FOIA 10 requests records related to the website access restrictions described above. As always, every request and every response is documented, and everything we publish traces back to the district's own records.
A Communications Hiring Search and a New App
The district is searching for a communications position, and a new BPS mobile app is expected this fall. Parents across this district have been raising communication concerns for a long time, and we believe that feedback, including ours, played a part in the decision to hire. That is a step in the right direction, and we will be watching what the role delivers.
The app raises different questions. What does it cost, and what problem does it solve? The communication challenges families describe are about content and consistency, not about needing another place to check. A new channel does not fix what is missing from the message. We will be asking both questions, and we will share what we learn.
This school year can be a great one, and PAACT can make a difference in almost every part of how this district works. That only happens because parents like you stay engaged the way you have been. Come on the 18th, bring your questions, and keep paying attention.
The board held a study session last night covering the phone ban rollout at the high schools, a proposed early childhood partnership with the Community House, and the social studies textbooks coming back for a vote on August 25. We attached our full recap so you can read what was discussed and what to watch for.
Thank you,
Betsy McDaniel
paact-birmingham.com | paact.birmingham@gmail.com
