Rebecca Griesbach
@greezbock.bsky.social
Education and data reporter at AL.com. Alum of NYTimes, Report for America and Alabama public schools. Send tips to 📧 [email protected]. (She/her)
Thanks again to @edwriters.bsky.social for their support on this project, which helped me carve out the time and space to build relationships with students directly impacted by these policy changes. So grateful to all who have trusted me with their stories.
December 4, 2025 at 3:00 PM
Thanks again to @edwriters.bsky.social for their support on this project, which helped me carve out the time and space to build relationships with students directly impacted by these policy changes. So grateful to all who have trusted me with their stories.
A 2024 bill, HB210, would have helped ease some of those restrictions. But it never reached a full vote.
“If we don’t change the trajectory, we will see communities that will continue to fall into poverty, that will continue to struggle,” one expert told me.
“If we don’t change the trajectory, we will see communities that will continue to fall into poverty, that will continue to struggle,” one expert told me.
December 4, 2025 at 3:00 PM
A 2024 bill, HB210, would have helped ease some of those restrictions. But it never reached a full vote.
“If we don’t change the trajectory, we will see communities that will continue to fall into poverty, that will continue to struggle,” one expert told me.
“If we don’t change the trajectory, we will see communities that will continue to fall into poverty, that will continue to struggle,” one expert told me.
But one key group remains shut out.
With DACA in legal limbo, thousands of Alabama high schoolers are left with few options. My last story in this series explores the lasting impact of HB56, a 2011 state law that bars them from public colleges in the state.
www.al.com/educationlab...
With DACA in legal limbo, thousands of Alabama high schoolers are left with few options. My last story in this series explores the lasting impact of HB56, a 2011 state law that bars them from public colleges in the state.
www.al.com/educationlab...
Alabama one of only 3 states that stops undocumented students from going to college
An Alabama law makes it especially hard for some immigrants to get a college or graduate degree.
www.al.com
December 4, 2025 at 3:00 PM
But one key group remains shut out.
With DACA in legal limbo, thousands of Alabama high schoolers are left with few options. My last story in this series explores the lasting impact of HB56, a 2011 state law that bars them from public colleges in the state.
www.al.com/educationlab...
With DACA in legal limbo, thousands of Alabama high schoolers are left with few options. My last story in this series explores the lasting impact of HB56, a 2011 state law that bars them from public colleges in the state.
www.al.com/educationlab...
Students told me they're putting their careers on hold to take care of family members or save up money, now that aid programs are limited. Others, meanwhile, are trying to rebuild what the state took apart.
www.al.com/educationlab...
www.al.com/educationlab...
Students rally around Alabama college’s first Latino fraternity
Inside the race to keep student groups alive.
www.al.com
December 4, 2025 at 3:00 PM
Students told me they're putting their careers on hold to take care of family members or save up money, now that aid programs are limited. Others, meanwhile, are trying to rebuild what the state took apart.
www.al.com/educationlab...
www.al.com/educationlab...
Latino students already lag behind in college access and completion, a problem that may get even worse amid sweeping ICE raids and a flurry of anti-DEI directives and federal cuts.
www.datawrapper.de/_/CERmF/
www.datawrapper.de/_/CERmF/
The completion gap | Created with Datawrapper
Nationwide, Hispanic students are 13% less likely than their peers to complete college on time. But some Alabama colleges are bucking that trend.
www.datawrapper.de
December 4, 2025 at 3:00 PM
Latino students already lag behind in college access and completion, a problem that may get even worse amid sweeping ICE raids and a flurry of anti-DEI directives and federal cuts.
www.datawrapper.de/_/CERmF/
www.datawrapper.de/_/CERmF/
Our CHOOSE coverage has been a huge team effort. More on tuition trends, policy questions and future outlooks here:
bsky.app/profile/gree...
bsky.app/profile/gree...
The first installment in a series of stories about private school enrollment is out today. @williesha.bsky.social and I spent a ton of time nailing down the numbers and talking with schools and parents about how Alabama’s newest school choice program is unfolding. www.al.com/educationlab...
How a new $7,000 tax credit will reshape school choice, education in Alabama: ‘Balancing act’
There has been intense demand for new school choice options, but oversight remains unclear.
www.al.com
November 20, 2025 at 3:03 PM
Our CHOOSE coverage has been a huge team effort. More on tuition trends, policy questions and future outlooks here:
bsky.app/profile/gree...
bsky.app/profile/gree...
None of these schools get much, if any, oversight from the state department disbursing the dollars. That means vetting of curricula and school quality comes down to two groups: parents, and a patchwork of private accredited, all with different rules.
www.al.com/educationlab...
www.al.com/educationlab...
New private schools are opening in Alabama, with few rules: ‘Anybody’s guess’
Alabama is sending schools taxpayer dollars with limited oversight and vetting.
www.al.com
November 20, 2025 at 3:01 PM
None of these schools get much, if any, oversight from the state department disbursing the dollars. That means vetting of curricula and school quality comes down to two groups: parents, and a patchwork of private accredited, all with different rules.
www.al.com/educationlab...
www.al.com/educationlab...
Earlier this fall, I took a look at one of many new schools cashing in on the program. Here’s what it was like inside:
www.al.com/educationlab...
www.al.com/educationlab...
Inside one new school cashing in on Alabama’s CHOOSE Act: ‘Changed our world’
Peach City Academy is one of at least a dozen private and microschools that have opened in Alabama recently.
www.al.com
November 20, 2025 at 3:01 PM
Earlier this fall, I took a look at one of many new schools cashing in on the program. Here’s what it was like inside:
www.al.com/educationlab...
www.al.com/educationlab...
Thank you friend 🫶
September 30, 2025 at 3:39 PM
Thank you friend 🫶
So what's next?
Parents, teacher friends: I'd love to hear if y'all have questions about any of this, or if there's other data you'd like us to dig into.
Reach me on here or at [email protected].
Parents, teacher friends: I'd love to hear if y'all have questions about any of this, or if there's other data you'd like us to dig into.
Reach me on here or at [email protected].
August 19, 2025 at 6:12 PM
So what's next?
Parents, teacher friends: I'd love to hear if y'all have questions about any of this, or if there's other data you'd like us to dig into.
Reach me on here or at [email protected].
Parents, teacher friends: I'd love to hear if y'all have questions about any of this, or if there's other data you'd like us to dig into.
Reach me on here or at [email protected].
@trishcrain.bsky.social has expertly detailed the gaps within school populations, both at the state and district level. For the first time, Alabama is parsing out scores between kids who live in poverty and those who don't.
And the results aren't pretty.
aldailynews.com/alabama-acap...
And the results aren't pretty.
aldailynews.com/alabama-acap...
Alabama ACAP scores rise statewide, but gaps remain: See district, school results
Alabama Daily News reviewed the spring 2025 ACAP results - and built interactive charts so you can look up results by district and by school.
aldailynews.com
August 19, 2025 at 6:12 PM
@trishcrain.bsky.social has expertly detailed the gaps within school populations, both at the state and district level. For the first time, Alabama is parsing out scores between kids who live in poverty and those who don't.
And the results aren't pretty.
aldailynews.com/alabama-acap...
And the results aren't pretty.
aldailynews.com/alabama-acap...
It's been interesting to witness Alabama's growth -- and its persistent challenges -- since schools shut their doors during COVID. In many ways, the state has bucked national trends. But there's a long, long road left ahead.
www.al.com/educationlab...
www.al.com/educationlab...
Alabama students are improving in math, reading. What’s next?
Many of the state’s middle schoolers still struggle with math and reading skills.
www.al.com
August 19, 2025 at 6:12 PM
It's been interesting to witness Alabama's growth -- and its persistent challenges -- since schools shut their doors during COVID. In many ways, the state has bucked national trends. But there's a long, long road left ahead.
www.al.com/educationlab...
www.al.com/educationlab...
Who are the outliers, making big scores and big gains while met with high rates of student poverty?
We wrote about some standouts in the stories above (like Webb Elementary in Houston County), but I'd love to hear from educators: What are you doing that's moving the needle?
We wrote about some standouts in the stories above (like Webb Elementary in Houston County), but I'd love to hear from educators: What are you doing that's moving the needle?
August 19, 2025 at 6:12 PM
Who are the outliers, making big scores and big gains while met with high rates of student poverty?
We wrote about some standouts in the stories above (like Webb Elementary in Houston County), but I'd love to hear from educators: What are you doing that's moving the needle?
We wrote about some standouts in the stories above (like Webb Elementary in Houston County), but I'd love to hear from educators: What are you doing that's moving the needle?
IMO, it shouldn't be up to journalists to interpret big results like this. There should be more of an effort from state leaders to present this data in a user-friendly way -- including the gaps among and between schools.
Because the truth is, there's SO much more to explore.
For example: ⬇️
Because the truth is, there's SO much more to explore.
For example: ⬇️
August 19, 2025 at 6:12 PM
IMO, it shouldn't be up to journalists to interpret big results like this. There should be more of an effort from state leaders to present this data in a user-friendly way -- including the gaps among and between schools.
Because the truth is, there's SO much more to explore.
For example: ⬇️
Because the truth is, there's SO much more to explore.
For example: ⬇️
Education data is notoriously messy, and there's so much that goes into even the most simple analyses.
A peek behind the curtain 😅
A peek behind the curtain 😅
August 19, 2025 at 6:12 PM
Education data is notoriously messy, and there's so much that goes into even the most simple analyses.
A peek behind the curtain 😅
A peek behind the curtain 😅
This is my first go at covering ACAP scores since I took on the lead K-12 role at @al.com. Can't thank @edwriters.bsky.social enough for giving me the opportunity to learn R at Diving into Data in 2024 – I'd probably still be wrangling those 1M-row Excel files if I didn't have a script ready to go.
August 19, 2025 at 6:12 PM
This is my first go at covering ACAP scores since I took on the lead K-12 role at @al.com. Can't thank @edwriters.bsky.social enough for giving me the opportunity to learn R at Diving into Data in 2024 – I'd probably still be wrangling those 1M-row Excel files if I didn't have a script ready to go.
And growth varies widely by schools, too.
Cool to see lots of green on this dashboard -- some schools saw jumps as high as 30 percentage points in ELA and math.
But lots of high-poverty schools are still chronically underperforming.
www.al.com/educationlab...
Cool to see lots of green on this dashboard -- some schools saw jumps as high as 30 percentage points in ELA and math.
But lots of high-poverty schools are still chronically underperforming.
www.al.com/educationlab...
Most Alabama schools improve on state test scores: See how your school performed
Statewide, language arts and math scores continue to improve.
www.al.com
August 19, 2025 at 6:12 PM
And growth varies widely by schools, too.
Cool to see lots of green on this dashboard -- some schools saw jumps as high as 30 percentage points in ELA and math.
But lots of high-poverty schools are still chronically underperforming.
www.al.com/educationlab...
Cool to see lots of green on this dashboard -- some schools saw jumps as high as 30 percentage points in ELA and math.
But lots of high-poverty schools are still chronically underperforming.
www.al.com/educationlab...
Last week, we finally got a closer look at schools and systems.
On the district level, some systems saw double-digit gains in ELA, while others continue to slide in math and science.
www.al.com/educationlab...
On the district level, some systems saw double-digit gains in ELA, while others continue to slide in math and science.
www.al.com/educationlab...
Alabama school test scores are improving: See your district
More than a third of the state’s 153 traditional and charter districts saw gains across all subjects.
www.al.com
August 19, 2025 at 6:12 PM
Last week, we finally got a closer look at schools and systems.
On the district level, some systems saw double-digit gains in ELA, while others continue to slide in math and science.
www.al.com/educationlab...
On the district level, some systems saw double-digit gains in ELA, while others continue to slide in math and science.
www.al.com/educationlab...
Statewide, scores are trending up in math and English language arts -- a sign, leaders say, that current numeracy and literacy reforms are working.
But big gaps still remain.
www.al.com/educationlab...
But big gaps still remain.
www.al.com/educationlab...
Alabama students improve on state reading, math testing: ‘Good news’
Alabama has jumped from one of the worst-performing states to the middle of the educational rankings.
www.al.com
August 19, 2025 at 6:12 PM
Statewide, scores are trending up in math and English language arts -- a sign, leaders say, that current numeracy and literacy reforms are working.
But big gaps still remain.
www.al.com/educationlab...
But big gaps still remain.
www.al.com/educationlab...
AH congratulations! You did phenomenal work here and can’t wait to see what you do next.
August 15, 2025 at 2:10 PM
AH congratulations! You did phenomenal work here and can’t wait to see what you do next.