Birmingham Education Foundation hired Dr. Michael Froning, outgoing Dean of the School of Education at UAB, as its first executive director. The decision, announced in February 2010 by board chair Fred McCallum, represents an important next step in the process of strengthening Birmingham City Schools. 

One year before, in February 2009, the Birmingham Education Foundation began operating as a separate nonprofit organization carrying forward the work of the grassroots initiative, Yes We Can! Birmingham, supported by the Community Foundation.

Like many others across the country, BEF is a local education foundation, a nonprofit organization that will focus on supporting and strengthening Birmingham City Schools.  The Community Foundation provided multi-year startup funding for the organization in the form of a $260,000 grant from an endowment set aside to benefit local schools.

"The creation of this education foundation provides a new way for individuals and businesses to support this all-important public school system at the heart of our region," said Karen Rolen, Vice President Community Investment for the Community Foundation, who served as a loaned executive in the Yes We Can! Birmingham initiative. Rolen also continues to serve on the BEF board. 

Check the BEF website for more information about BEF and a list of current board members. 

Looking back at the process
Yes We Can! Began with a series of public meetings in July 2007 and quickly developed a broad-based support system, coordinated by Karen Rolen of the Community Foundation and Gary Grooms of Alabama Power and led by chairs Elaine Jackson and Ruffner Page.

Early sessions explained the positive changes and success stories from a similar program in Mobile County, reviewed education reform issues and acronyms and performance comparison data from the 12 largest school systems in the state.