Tuscaloosa city schools superintendent talks failing schools list

TUSCALOOSA, AL (WBRC) - Tuscaloosa city schools superintendent is speaking out about this year’s recently released failing schools list.

There were some big improvements made last year in Tuscaloosa city schools that took two high schools off of this year’s list.

Central High School and Paul W. Bryant High School met the state’s standard this year versus in 2018 when they landed on the failing schools list.

Superintendent Mike Daria said they’ve made some significant strides academically, not just in these two schools but most of the schools district wide.

One example of what’s been working is providing additional resources for students, that might mean a student taking a support class with their English class so they can be successful readers.

West Lawn Middle School however made this year’s failing schools list. “We don’t want anybody on the list. We don’t want any school on the list but not getting on that list is not our sign of success. Our sign of success is every school being successful, every student being successful. We’ve got to make sure every student without exception is reading before third grade, said Daria.

The superintendent said they still have a lot of work to do and he hopes to continue with their strategic plan but also encourages more parent involvement so it’s more effective.