Dan Carsen

First-grade teacher Euginia Miller reads to her class at Avondale Elementary School in Birmingham, Ala. In this crucible of the civil rights movement, the city's schools are being reintegrated, as a handful of middle-class parents ignore the school district's poor reputation and enroll their kids in the city's public schools.

National

New Wave Of School Integration In Birmingham, Ala.

Dan Carsen

As a handful of middle-class, white families send their kids to Birmingham's public schools, where students are predominantly black and poor, the uncommon trend raises issues about diversity, integration and gentrification.

National

Alabama School Strife Strikes Outside Of Class

Dan Carsen

Alabama is near the bottom of the country's academic rankings. The state has problems with test scores, school improvement ratings and dropouts. But the district in Birmingham has a different kind of issue. The state recently took over the school board because of infighting on the board. The move has triggered cries of racism.

National

Ala. Ethics Law Restricts Gifts To Teachers

Dan Carsen

In Alabama, a teacher who takes a Christmas ham as a gift from a student could get jail time. That's because of a new ethics law the governor wants changed. The new law severely restricts gifts to teachers.

<p>Monica Hernandez of the Southeast Immigration Rights Network addresses a Know Your Rights meeting at Tarrant Elementary School, just north of Birmingham, Ala.</p>

National

A Rush To Calm Alabama's Frightened Families

Dan Carsen

Activists and educators are reaching out to Hispanic families in Alabama who are worried about what the tough new law will mean for them. The measure requires schools to record the immigration status of all newly enrolled students, prompting more than 2,000 Hispanic children to vanish from schools early last week.