Oliver Elementary School
Oliver Elementary School | |
Birmingham City Schools | |
Years | 1959–present |
---|---|
Location | 6871 6th Court South, (map) Oak Ridge Park |
Grades | K-5 |
Principal | Selena Florence |
Enrollment | 482 (2015) |
Colors | black & gold |
Mascot | Lions |
Website | bhamcityschools.org |
Henry Jefferson Oliver Elementary School is an elementary school in the Birmingham City Schools system located at 6871 6th Court South in the Oak Ridge Park neighborhood. It was built in 1959 and is named for Henry Oliver, a former principal of Patterson Elementary School.
Under the school consolidation plan proposed by acting superintendent Barbara Allen and approved by the Board, Oliver Elementary was to have closed in the Summer of 2008 with students transferring to Gate City Elementary School. [1]
Under a revised construction plan approved by the Board in April 2008 Oliver Elementary School was demolished and rebuilt at the same site to accommodate an influx of students from Gate City Elementary, which closed. The merging of the schools brought together students living in both the Harris Homes and Marks Village public housing communities.
In the Fall of 2015 Ann Marie Corgill, reigning Alabama Teacher of the Year, transferred to Birmingham City Schools from Mountain Brook Schools and was assigned a second grade classroom at Oliver Elementary. She was excited for the opportunity to contribute to efforts by the Woodlawn Innovation Network to improve educational opportunities in the schools associated with Woodlawn High School. She found herself, however, unprepared for the challenges of working with children burdened by severe stresses and shortages in their home lives. Within a few weeks principal Selena Florence transferred Corgill to a fifth grade class whose teacher had accepted a promotion to curriculum development. Soon later she was found to lack certification for teaching above 3rd grade and was singled out to seek additional qualifications (even though other teachers without state certification were employed at the school). Corgill immediately resigned from the system.
Principals
- Irene Hunter, -2008
- Allen Lewis, -2013
- Selena Florence, 2013-
References
- Leech, Marie (November 2, 2015) "Alabama Teacher of the Year Leaves Classroom. Here’s Her Story" BirminghamWatch
- Sutton, Marie A. (May 26, 2016) "An Alabama Teacher of the Year left. Birmingham’s Oliver Elementary School made national headlines. What happened? What does that say about a path to better schools?" BirminghamWatch.org