Birmingham City Schools is the 2026-27 Richard M. Robinson Literacy Champion. One elementary school gets 6,000-plus new library books this spring, and every student there gets 10 to keep.

Birmingham City Schools has won a national award for its progress in reading since the pandemic. The prize includes a library makeover at one of the district’s elementary schools.

Scholastic and the Council of the Great City Schools named the district the 2026-27 Richard M. Robinson Literacy Champion on Wednesday, Oct. 28, in a Scholastic press release. It is the sixth year of the award. It goes to one district from the council’s 81 big-city members. The district also announced the award on its own site.

Why Birmingham won

The council’s executive director, Ray Hart, gave these figures for the district:

  • 77.6% of third graders are proficient in reading
  • 15 schools improved by at least one letter grade on the Alabama State Department of Education report card in 2024-25
  • Chronic absence fell from 29% of students in 2023 to 14% in 2025
Bar chart: the share of Birmingham City Schools students who were chronically absent fell from 29% in 2023 to 14% in 2025, according to the Council of the Great City Schools.
Chronic absence in Birmingham City Schools, 2023 and 2025. Chart by Birmingham Local Today.
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“Our students and teachers have worked hard to make real progress in reading since the pandemic, and this recognition is something our entire Birmingham City Schools community can be proud of,” Superintendent Mark Sullivan said in the release.

What the district gets

The district picks one elementary school for the prize. Scholastic said that school will get:

  • more than 6,000 new books for its library, this spring
  • a summer pack of 10 books for every enrolled student, to take home and keep
  • a one-year license to Scholastic Literacy Pro, an online reading program with more than 2,500 e-books

The release did not name the school. We will add it when the district announces it.

The district serves about 20,000 students in 43 schools, according to the release.

What it means for you

  • If your child is at a city elementary school: one school will get the library and the free summer books this spring. Watch for the district’s announcement of which one.
  • If you are choosing a school: each school’s letter grade is on the state report card. Our Birmingham public schools guide links every school’s page.
  • If you want to help: chronic absence is still 14%, which means about one student in seven misses enough school to count. The district’s website lists who to contact at each school.