Angela MorganAlabama State Board of Education
District 6

I am Angela Morgan and a retired Alabama educator. I spent my career working in Alabama public schools and I witnessed education change over time. I experienced it from inside the classroom and alongside families and teachers.After retiring, I stayed involved in schools and continued to pay close attention to the direction of public education in Alabama and the nation. What I saw and continue to see concerns me. So, I chose to try to make a positive difference by running for the State Board of Education District 6 position.There are many areas where improvements can be made but I am choosing to focus this campaign on three: communication, student well-being, and making the school environment welcoming for everyone.I am not someone to sit idly by and offer lip service or to make promises I know that I cannot keep. I know that positive change is a result of action which is why I am prepared to work to bring clarity, compassion, and common sense back to public schools.

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Clear Communication & Understandable Curriculum

As a retired educator, I know parents want to support their children's education, but ineffective communication leads to distrust.After revisiting the Alabama Course of Study, I realized that much of it is written on a doctoral reading level. It also isn't organized on the Alabama State Department of Education website so that parents can easily find everything their children will learn in a specific grade. This makes it difficult for parents and students to understand what is being taught and that can lead to confusion which fuels distrust.Curriculum should be clear, accessible, and written using terms that most Alabamians understand. Information should be easy to find. I believe improving communication will strengthen trust between families and educators and I am committed to making curriculum easier to read and to find.

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Student Well-being

I've seen a troubling shift in public schools: the loss of unstructured recess for many elementary students.
4th, 5th, and 6th grade students are still children. Kids that are 9, 10, and 11 years old need brain breaks. They need time to process what is being learned, to laugh loudly and make friends, and to practice basic skills like cooperation and conflict resolution with their peers.Many schools now limit recess to kindergarten, 1st, and 2nd grades. This creates overly structured school days where the only opportunity for movement is during structured PE. This is one factor that leads to stressed out students and that increases negative behaviors in classrooms.I believe all students through the 6th grade need unstructured recess. Even if it is only 15 minutes, it is needed for their mental, social, and educational well-being. I am committed to working to restore recess for all elementary students.

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Safe & Welcoming Schools for Every Student

Feeling safe at school isn’t only about trying to prevent gun violence. It is also about feeling seen, heard, and included. As adults, we often debate values in schools, but too often fail to model kindness, compassion, and respect. That contradiction creates confusion and weakens a sense of security.I’ve witnessed trust break when students and even educators felt like they didn’t have a say in what was happening around them and when expectations constantly changed moving success beyond reach. When trust was lost, fear grew and families took their children out of public schools. Teachers that felt ignored, isolated, or fearful left too.When problems like security and trust are not addressed, a culture of negativity develops and students and educators become the scapegoats for those who actually made the decisions to start with. I believe that has happened with Alabama public schools and our children and educators deserve better.Ensuring that every person in Alabama public schools feels safe and welcomed isn’t an easy task but it is a vital one. I believe it begins by understanding that families don't value standardized tests in the same way educators and legislators do. Most families value what students produce and see that as evidence of learning. For example, try to remember a single standardized test score you or your child received. Now, think of a project that made you or your parents proud. Which was easier to recall? Which one actually mattered to you?When leaders don't value the same thing as those doing the work, it's hard to feel included. It's time to put the value on what students produce rather than standardized test scores. I am committed to exploring new avenues to evaluate schools and learning and I am open to suggestions from teachers, students, parents, and community partners.

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