This is a guest opinion

As Governor Kay Ivey mentioned in Wednesday’s State of the State Address, Alabama families have more educational choices than ever, including a growing number of non-traditional opportunities.

Charter, virtual, and blended schools are opening across the state, even though traditional public schools still enroll the bulk of Alabama’s high school students. Aside from new options, homeschooling networks are popular, and magnet schools remain a solid choice for many. Additionally, the Alabama Accountability Act allows low-income students attending failing schools to transfer to successful public schools or apply for scholarships to private schools.

I work at the Alabama School of Mathematics and Science (ASMS), a specialized public residential high school for sophomores, juniors, and seniors seeking advanced studies in math, science, computer science, and the humanities. Our 255 students live on campus and attend college-level classes taught by instructors with master’s degrees and doctorates. We recruit from all 67 counties, first serving students with limited educational opportunities. We are celebrating the school’s 30th anniversary, meaning we were a STEM school before STEM was a buzzword for science, technology, engineering, and math.

When I think about school choice for Alabamians, I recognize that ASMS is a life-changing option for students. And we’re not the only publicly funded specialized high school in Alabama.

In Birmingham, the Alabama School of Fine Arts (ASFA) specializes in creative writing, dance, music, theatre, and visual arts. The Alabama School of Cyber-Technology and Engineering (ASCTE) opened its doors in Huntsville in 2020, and the school specializes, as its name suggests, in cyber technologies. Although ASMS focuses on math and science, its humanities programs are vital. Likewise, ASFA emphasizes the arts but offers strong math and science courses, and ASCTE specializes in cyber technology and engineering but offers an array of other classes. This is necessary because all Alabama students need 24 core curriculum courses to graduate, including math, science, physical education, history, English, and foreign language.

Governor Ivey also mentioned possibly creating a “health sciences” high school in Demopolis. She and other state officials are working hard to solve tomorrow’s problems by educating a workforce that can meet future demands.

When it comes to school choice, students and families need to know that they actually have them. Although ASMS is not the right choice for everyone, it provides an incredible experience for many Alabama families, as it has for three decades. We typically seek students who are hard-working and mature enough to leave home early.

The school is nestled in Mobile’s Old Dauphin Way Historic District, which sits just west of downtown and is lined with moss-draped oak trees and historic homes. The 13-acre campus used to be a church but has been extensively renovated to accommodate students. Students often say that our auditorium, formerly a sanctuary, looks like something from a Harry Potter movie.

Just as students at Hogwarts belong to different houses, ASMS has four unique halls for students to be sorted into. On campus, “hall spirit” is fiercer than a Quidditch match. Being a residential school means we offer a completely immersive education to Alabama high schoolers. The boarding school component of ASMS uniquely prepares students for the independence of college, especially since they must do their own laundry, wake themselves up in the morning, and learn how to live away from their families. Our graduates easily transition to college life because they are accustomed to making their own decisions and managing rigorous academic schedules.

ASMS does not charge for tuition, room, board, or textbooks. We offer a specialized and rigorous curriculum that aligns with what is taught in college. Our classes are small, and students can even help instructors develop specialized or advanced courses which augment regular course offerings – including Flight Studies, Organic Chemistry, and Paleontology.

The advanced nature of our school sometimes makes students think they have to be a genius to apply. However, our process is holistic and quite similar to applying for college. Students can apply during their 9th or 10th-grade year in high school, and most students have good grades when they apply. We ask candidates to take the ACT only to indicate what courses they might need to start with at the school. Top applicants are also given a personal interview with our admissions team.

The conversation about school choice ultimately goes back to answering the question: “What works in education in Alabama?”

I answer the question like this: ASMS is what works. The school has a successful record of educating motivated students. Throughout its history, all 67 Alabama counties have been represented by students. Moreover, 100 percent of ASMS graduates attend college, and our graduating ACT composite is 30, well above the Alabama average of 19.

We have seen this firsthand through our successful ASMS graduates. An education from ASMS prepares students for promising futures as leaders in their field. It leads to careers in computing, engineering, medicine, and other high-paying science-based jobs.

ASMS has produced roughly 3,000 outstanding graduates since its first class in 1991. Of those, nearly 66 percent work in science and math fields, while 65 percent live and work in Alabama, giving back to the state that supported them. We are a turbocharged STEM pipeline.

I often wonder how ASMS can be such a life-changing school for so many students yet so unknown in our state. We are working to spread the good word about our school, and our state leaders are the reason why that is possible as they prioritize expanding the educational marketplace.

This expansion will help students learn more effectively, strengthen education-to-career pathways, and facilitate a competitive environment that continuously forces traditional and non-traditional schools to improve.

My school and the others like it offer many solutions for education in Alabama and are data-backed as being successful for students who choose them. Yet, there is room in Alabama for traditional, non-traditional, and specialized schools to coexist because what ultimately matters is that Alabama’s students should have access to the educational experiences they deserve.

The homework assignment for Alabama families is to explore the available choices to make informed decisions.

John Hoyle, Ph.D., is President of the Alabama School of Mathematics and Science in Mobile.