BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – As National School Choice Week draws attention to education options outside traditional neighborhood schools, much of the conversation focuses on private schools. Less often discussed is the wide range of choices already available within Alabama’s public school system.
Those public options include specialized charter schools, career academies, magnet programs, virtual schools and selective statewide campuses – all designed to allow students to pursue different academic paths without leaving the public school system.
Jefferson County’s public school system offers one of the most expansive public school choice models in Alabama.
Four years ago, district officials there began offering incoming high school students a choice among a wide range of career and technical pathways through the district’s Signature Academies. The academies are spread among the district’s 13 high schools and are geographically divided into four regions: North, South, East and West.
Students can apply to any of the academies within the region where their home high school is located. Transportation to the academy – where students take their specialty course – is provided by the district, while students take all other courses at their home school.
Academies offer everything from agricultural science to cybersecurity to special effects, along with automotive technology, engineering and music technology. Students can also choose Junior ROTC academies for two branches of the military – the Marines and the U.S. Army.
Deputy Assistant Superintendent Laura Ware, who leads the Educational Options section, said some of the more popular academies include the Academy of Biomedical Science, Culinary Arts, Special Effects, and the two JROTC programs. A full list of offerings by zone is posted on the district’s website.
The Special Effects Academy in Jefferson County Schools. (Courtesy Jefferson County Schools)
Jefferson County Superintendent Walter Gonsoulin, who was named National Superintendent of the Year in 2025, said he believed the district’s students would greatly benefit from having more choices.
“We were convinced several years ago that when the whole school choice conversation came up as a school district, that with 57 schools and over 30,000 students, we could provide a quality school choice model,” Gonsoulin told Alabama Daily News. “And we embraced it.”
“I don’t believe that a child should be limited by the zip code that they live in,” he said.
Ware said a key part of their school choice model is making sure students know what their options are – and that they understand they can make a choice.
“A lot of times, kids hear about things and they think, well, that’s not for me,” Ware said. “And it’s important that we present it in a way so that they understand, regardless of where you go to school or where you live in our district, these opportunities are for you.”
The application portal for Signature Academies opened Monday and closes Feb. 16.
Students entering the ninth grade are given priority, but 10th graders can apply as well, and may attend if space is available. The first year the academies opened, Ware said more than 2,000 students applied. Since then, the program has averaged about 500 incoming academy students each year.
The Automotive Academy in Jefferson County Schools. (Courtesy Jefferson County Schools)
This kind of choice isn’t limited to Jefferson County. Both Mobile County and Birmingham City offer similar choices.
Mobile County Schools, the largest district in the state with 49,000 students, also offers Signature Academies at their 12 high schools, though under a slightly different model. In Mobile, each of the high schools offers a set of courses with students across the district able to apply to any of the district’s 12 academies.
Birmingham City Schools offer various academies across their seven high schools, including engineering, law, health sciences and culinary arts.
Choice beyond Signature Academies
Signature Academies are not the only options available to students, Ware said. The district also offers Advanced Placement courses and dual enrollment opportunities – choices beyond the state-required curriculum.
Jefferson County also operates an International Baccalaureate (IB) magnet program for students in sixth through 12th grade. Ware said the district hopes to add an IB Primary Years Programme in the future, which would serve students from pre-K through fifth grade.
Magnet schools are not new. They were originally developed during the years following school integration and were designed around specialized academic themes to draw students from across a school district rather than a single neighborhood zone.
The district is also working to expand its magnet offerings beyond IB. While the structure for those programs is still being developed, Ware said the district is considering a STEAM magnet program serving multiple grade levels, along with magnet programs focused on teacher education and pharmacy.
Other Alabama school districts also offer magnet programs. Districts in Decatur, Huntsville, Mobile, Birmingham, Tuscaloosa and Montgomery operate magnet schools that are either academically advanced or focused on themes such as math, performing arts and world languages.
School choice statewide
Alabama also operates three statewide specialty schools: the Alabama School of Fine Arts, the Alabama School of Mathematics and Science, and the Alabama School of Cybertechnology and Engineering. These schools have residential components and have earned strong academic reputations.
Because of their specialized nature, the schools serve a limited number of students – about 1,000 total across all three campuses – and they are more costly to operate, costing anywhere from $35,500 to $42,200 per student.
A fourth specialty school – the Alabama School of Healthcare Sciences – is set to open in west Alabama this year and when fully completed is expected to enroll about 400 students in grades nine through 12.
Public charter schools are also part of Alabama’s school choice landscape. Lawmakers authorized public charter schools in 2015, though growth in the number of charter school operators has been gradual.
At the start of the current school year, 16 start-up charter schools were operating across 23 campuses statewide, enrolling about 7,500 students. Charter school enrollment has continued to grow, increasing by roughly 1,000 students each year over the past five years.
Virtual schools – where students attend school entirely online – have also grown in popularity, particularly since COVID-19 school closures introduced many families to virtual learning options. All Alabama public school districts are required to offer an online-only option for students in grades nine through 12.
Some districts operate standalone virtual schools, which are funded in the same way as in-person schools. About 22,000 students are enrolled in online standalone virtual schools statewide.
Some virtual schools, such as the 8,800-student Alabama Connections Academy in Limestone County, accept students from across the state, while some districts limit enrollment to students who live within their boundaries.
Jefferson County’s Ware said she hopes families will take a closer look at the options available in public schools.
“It’s important to note that school choice is not just about private school choice,” Ware said. “It’s about school choice overall, and our public schools can offer just as much choice as a private school can – if not more.”
When students enroll in Jefferson County, she added, they are offered a wide range of options.
“I don’t want that to be overlooked in the school choice discussion,” Ware said. “It’s one of the most important pieces of the school choice conversation.”
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