Private Christian academy bringing school choice to inner city Birmingham

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — This fall, underserved students in the East Lake and Roebuck communities of Birmingham will have another option for their education, and it comes with a familiar name.

Banks Academy, Inc. has been established by alumni of the former Banks High School, and will begin offering classes to 9th graders this August, and will add grades 10-12 in subsequent years in the original Lakewood Baptist Church building.

“Banks Academy will provide ‘school choice’ for the parents and students in the eastern section of Birmingham,” said Banks Academy’s first principal, Dr. Kathy King. “As a 1976 Banks High School graduate myself, I am encouraged to see former Banks alums and other people in the Birmingham areas to come together and support the new school. I look forward to seeing the community that provided me with an outstanding education offer the same type of opportunity for high school age children now living in the Eastern section of Birmingham.”

“Most inner city high schools have low graduation rates and failing test scores when compared to successful schools,” the school’s website says. “Parents in East Lake and the surrounding communities will now have another alternative in where to send their high school age children… Banks Academy will provide a safe and positive education experience in a Christ-centered environment. A successful school will impact the community in many positive ways. Home values will rise, crime will be reduced, Christian service will expand, churches will grow, graduates will attend college and families will be strengthened.”

Because many of the students who live in the area Banks Academy will serve currently attend failing public schools, they may be eligible for scholarships under the Alabama Accountability Act. The state’s first school choice law, passed in 2013, gives students at failing schools the opportunity to attend a non-failing public or private school by offsetting some of the associated costs.

The original Banks High School, established in 1957 and closed for good in 1989, won acclaim for its athletic and academic programs. The school will be portrayed in the upcoming film “Woodlawn,” which features a football battle between Banks and Woodlawn high schools, whose fierce rivalry was a welcome distraction during the tumultuous 1960s.

Banks High School’s famous football coach of the era, George “Shorty” White voiced his support of the new school, saying “We pray Banks Academy is a successful school that will impact the East Lake community in many positive ways. It would be a wonderful thing to see the name being used again for a good cause.”

Banks Academy is calling on alumni of Banks High School to help provide some of the services and scholarships needed to educate students beginning this fall.

To make a tax-deductible donation to the school, visit their website.