The mission of Anna F. Booth Elementary School is to enable each child to reach his or her educational potential by providing the appropriate academic foundation to ensure that each child will, in turn, graduate from high school fully prepared to enter the global work force or pursue higher education.

New Alba Elementary will be named after longtime educator School honoring Anna Booth.

The Mobile County school board unanimously passed a resolution Wednesday, Jan. 13, 2005 to name the new Alba Elementary school after Anna Booth, a longtime teacher and principal in Bayou La Batre.

The $6 million school, being built adjacent to Alma Bryant High on Hurricane Drive, will accommodate up to 600 students and should help alleviate overcrowding at several south Mobile County schools.

Alba Elementary was located on Wintzell Avenue, adjacent to Alba Middle School. Named after Peter Alba - a Civil War hero and philanthropist who at one time owned much land in south Mobile County - the middle school will keep its name.

The renaming of Alba Elementary came on the same day that Gov. Bob Riley was in the area to dedicate a new exit ramp of Interstate 10 that serves the growing area.

Bayou La Batre residents supported naming the school after Booth, an educator for 35 years.

The school board received letters of support from the Bayou La Batre Area Chamber of Commerce, the Bayou La Batre-Coden Historical Foundation and several lawmakers, churches and other organizations, praising Booth's work and the love she had for her students.

Booth graduated from the former Mobile County High School in 1930 and received degrees from the former Alabama College in Montevallo and the University of Alabama. She taught for 17 years, mostly in south Mobile County, before becoming an assistant principal at Alba High School. She served as principal of Alba Elementary in the 1970s. She died in 1992.

State Rep. Spencer Collier, R-Irvington, said during a presentation at the school board meeting that he can think of no other educator who deserves a school named after her.

Board member Bill Meredith, who made the nomination, said Booth was the only teacher who ever paddled him as a youngster. And for that, he said, she gained his respect.

Academic Programs include, but are not limited to, the following:

• Alabama Reading First Initiative (Grades K-3)
  
• Reading Intervention (Grades K-5)
  
• Math Intervention     (Grades K-5)
  
• On-Line Mathematics
  
• Accelerated Reader       (Grades K-5)
  
• After-School Tutoring
  
• English as a Second Language

We are Proud of our Students!

• Recognized as a National Title I Distinguished School in 2006 (one of only 52 schools in the nation for 2006)
  
• One of 27 Reading First schools to present at the 2006 National Reading First Conference in Reno, Nevada (In 2006, there were over 5,000 Reading First schools in the nation)
  
• In September 2006, Booth Elementary was awarded $46,500 in rewards for school achievement during the 2005-2006 school year as measured by state and national assessments. Booth Elementary was the highest monetary award winner in the state.
  
• Booth  Elementary was named a Torchbearer School by the Alabama State Department of Education in both April 2006 and April 2007
  
• In July 2007, Booth Elementary received the National School Change Award (one of ONLY 6 schools in the nation!)

BBSST Overview

BBSST (which stands for Building-Based Student Support Team) is a federally-mandated program that has been developed in an effort to help those students that may be struggling either academically or behaviorally.  This program allows for the teacher, administration, and/or the parent to refer the student to the local school’s BBSST committee.  Once the student’s name is referred to the committee-which is comprised of teachers, administrators, and other service professionals-the committee will then meet and begin an evaluation of the student’s grades, standardized test scores, discipline record, attendance record, and individual teacher narratives to determine the necessary accommodations that can be made to best meet the needs of that specific student.  After the BBSST committee determines the accommodations, the accommodations are then sent to selected teachers that teach the student.  The teacher will then document-over a forty (40) to fifty (50) day evaluation period, the committee will reconvene and make a professional decision as it relates to the effectiveness of those accommodations.  The committee will them determine which service option would be the most appropriate for that student.  The service options include the following:

• Continue to service the student using the same accommodations
  
• Continue to service the student but adjust the accommodations
  
• Exit the student from the program because the student has met the academic or behavioral benchmark determined by the committee
  
• Recommend the student for Special Education testing.

The BBSST program at out school is a viable option for those students who may be struggling with either their academics or their behavior.  If you have any additional questions or concerns regarding the Booth BBSST program, please feel free to call the office at 824-1740.