PBCBA BAR BULLETINS pbcba_bulletin_February 2019 | Page 11
CDI C o r n e r
JEAN MARIE MIDDLETION
Imagine living in a school district in 2018
where the public schools are still segregated.
Well, for the residents of Sumter County,
Alabama that was their reality. That is,
until August 13, 2018, when the University
Charter School, (UCS) opened its doors for
classes to begin. For the first time, black
students and white students are getting an
opportunity to attend the same school and
learn in the same classroom. UCS is the first
truly integrated public school in a county
where more than half of the school’s 300-
plus students are black, while just under
half are white. The majority of Sumter
county’s residents are black which is why
it is currently known as the “black belt” . Mrs. J.J. Wedgworth, former Head of UWA’s
research integrity, will head UCS along with
Principal John Cameron. Her stated mis-
sion is to not only provide an integrated
school with high-quality education, but to
also integrate the community by focusing
on relationship building. The focus at UCS
during this first year is forming relation-
ships for this most diverse student body in
all of Sumter County. She believes that you
cannot maintain a high quality education
without forging trusting and lasting rela-
tionships within the community.
The opening of USC was challenged in May
just months before its scheduled August
date. However, the opening made possible
when Circuit Judge Gaines McCorquodale
ruled against Sumter County Board of
Education’s attempt to prevent University
of West Alabama (UWA), the creator of
USC, from opening. When the University
purchased the building in 2011, the bill of
sale prohibited them from using the building
for a school unless it was under the county
school board of education system. However,
because the recorded deed did not contain
the prohibition, Judge McCorquodale found
that UWA did not violate the sale agreement.
See:
https://www.tuscaloosanews.com/
news/20180713/judges-ruling-favors-uwa-
charter-school. Despite the historic Brown v. Board decision
in 1954, it wasn’t until 1969 that a federal
court mandated integration in Alabama’s
public schools. Rather than integrate, many
white families chose to create their own pri-
vate segregation academies and leave the
public schools.
These segregation academies are still in op-
eration in most counties in Alabama.
WHY DID IT TAKE SO LONG?
It wasn’t until 2015, that Alabama legisla-
ture passed a law allowing charter schools
to be operated independent of the school
board of education. A state Charter School
Commission was created to supervise these
new schools. The law was enacted in order
to pave the way for alternative education
options to the failing public school system
in Alabama and move toward integration as
Sumter County public schools had a mere
0.04 diversity score that was considerably
lower than the statewide average score of
0.33. See https:www.publicschoolreview/
Alabama/sumter-county.
With the passage of the charter school law,
J.J. Wedgworth and a team from UWA be-
gan researching whether a charter school
would be the mechanism for improving
public education in Sumter County. The
idea was widely accepted because the dual
school system required a better option for
students which led to the creation of UCS.
WHAT ARE SOME CHALLENGES THAT LIE
AHEAD?
The Charter School Commission has given
UCS five years to make the school a success
under its five-year contract. Should UCS fail
to meet the stated academic benchmarks
set in the contract, the Commission, rather
than the School Board of Education, has the
power to close the school.
Recruiting young people as faculty mem-
bers has been one of the challenges UCS
board chairman Micky Smith has articu-
lated. Now that the young families have a
better educational opportunity, bringing in-
dustry to Sumter County is more promising.
HOW CAN THE ALABAMA SCHOOL BOARD
CONTINUE TO MOVE IN A MORE POSITIVE
DIVERSE DIRECTION?
Alabama is on the road in a positive direc-
tion toward diversity in its public schools
as four charters schools are slated to open
around the state for the 2019 school year.
Those cities are Huntsville, Birmingham,
Montgomery, and Chatom. These future
charter schools along with the strong open-
ing of USC is expected to pave the way for
more diversity and quality education in the
Alabama school system.
Jean Marie Middleton is a member of the
Bar’s Board of Directors and co-chair of the
Committee for Diversity and Inclusion. Mrs.
Middleton serves as a Senior Litigation At-
torney for the Palm Beach County School
District.