Dr. Douglas L. Ragland
Retired Superintendent of Schools
Hello Birmingham Residents,
My name is Dr. Douglas Lee Ragland and I was officially elected on October 3, 2017, to a four-year term to serve on the Birmingham City School System Board of Education as the Birmingham Board of Education Board Member Representative for District 1! and on November 14, 2017, I was elected by my fellow board members to serve as Vice-President. First and foremost, I give the honor and glory to God to be chosen to serve in this most paramount position. I am extremely humbled and honored to be elected by the residents in District 1, which s the largest District in the city of Birmingham to serve our children and community! I have and will continue to bring honor, humility, integrity, accountability, and success during my term in office as we lead Birmingham City Schools to a level of World Class Excellence! An excellent school system does wonders for the community in terms of economic development, prosperous communities, quality of life for all citizens, and most importantly preparation for our children to access knowledge and skills that will lead to them being successful productive citizens in society and giving back to the communities, institutions and people responsible for their foundation for success.
As a product of the Birmingham City School System and a very successful educator for 34 years, I feel a strong calling, responsibility and anointing to successfully serve in this role by giving back to my school system the opportunities for others to succeed just as I was given the opportunity to succeed and did so.
My passion and very successful experience as an educator, in particular as Superintendent of Schools in two school districts statewide, as well as your current School Board District 1Representative provide me with the determination, knowledge, leadership ability, and understanding of what it takes to be successful at the highest level.
I had a very successful 4 years as your Birmingham City School Board District 1 Representative, and I am asking for you support again on August 24, 2021 so we can continue this great work. Under my tenure on the school board we have accomplished the following:
2. First-ever District Accreditation by Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (AdvancED),
3. Highest Operational Reserves ever at 177 million and 10.02 Months,
4. Highest Quality Rating Audits for 4 consecutive years, Implementation of a 5 Year Strategic Plan
5. Over 20 million awarded in College Scholarships
6. 12.5 Million approved to attain One to one technology with computers and hotspots for every child and family
7. Certified and Highly Qualified Teachers in all schools
8. 47 Million spent on Capital Improvements for all schools, 3 million spent annually for Safety Resources for all schools
9. Extensive collaborative Business, Church, Governmental, and Post Secondary Partnerships to enhance Educational Excellence
10. High Quality Professional Development Opportunities for Employees
11. My attainment of Master Board Member Certification, and Professional Certification in Elementary Education and Educational Leadership in exemplifying high standards for our employees.
This is just a brief synopsis of the excellence that has been manifested over the last four years and as I always say, “The Best is Yet to Come”. Our job is not vision and the journey has just begun.
My platform and goals remain as follows:
2. Achieve financial stability by having a balanced budget and a minimum of 10 months reserves annually,
3. Hire Professionally Certified and Highly Qualified Teachers in every single school for every single classroom and subject area with the goals being to create parity for all schools and educational excellence for each student,
4. Promote and ensure high quality Professional Development for all employees,
5. Maintain my Professional Certification in Elementary Educational and Educational Leadership,
6. Maintain State Level Master School Board Certification as a School Board Member,
7. Achieve All State Honor Roll School Board Certification as a School Board Member,
8. Ensure that every single child graduates, thus ensuring a 100% graduation rate,
9. Become a world class school system in all areas thus serving as a model for the nation to follow,
10. Provide transparent leadership in communicating to stakeholders the goals and areas of improvement of the district,
11. Make decisions strictly predicated on the best interest of children,
12. Be mindful of and avoid decisions that will lead to litigation costing the district millions, and
13. Maintain stability in leadership with the Superintendent and in our schools and at the District Level.
By accomplishing the above goals, we will attain a world class school system, second to none, thus leaving no child, no parent, no community, and no stakeholder behind!
Again, thank you citizens in District 1 for your encouragement, confidence and support in me as your Board Representative to work collaboratively to provide excellence in preparing our students to be prepared, competitive, successful and ultimately live productive lives in giving back and enhancing our community!
May God Bless you!
Dr. Douglas L. Ragland
Retired School Superintendent,
Birmingham Board of Education District 1 School Board Representative
Alabama State Commissioner Military Interstate Children's Compact Commission