Putnam Middle School
Putnam Middle School | |
Birmingham City Schools | |
Years | 1961–present |
---|---|
Location | 1757 Montclair Road, (map) Eastwood |
Grades | 6-8 |
Principal | Terrell Brown |
Enrollment | 367 (2014) |
Colors | blue and white |
Mascot | Panthers |
Website | bhamcityschools.org |
William E. Putnam Middle Magnet School is a middle school in the Birmingham City Schools system located at 1757 Montclair Road in the Eastwood neighborhood.
The design for a new elementary school was commissioned in 1960 from Greer, Holmquist & Chambers architects. It was named in honor of former Birmingham Board of Education research director William Putnam. The building, with 13 classrooms, an office and a cafeteria, was completed in 1961. It was converted into a middle school in 1980. The principal is Terrell Brown.
Under a school consolidation plan proposed by acting superintendent Barbara Allen, Putnam Middle accepted additional students transferring from Kirby Middle School in 2009.
In March 2012 the school closed for a week due to possible widespread contamination from a mercury spill in a science laboratory.
Under a consolidation plan proposed by Superintendent Craig Witherspoon in early 2013, Putnam would close with some students transferring to Ossie Ware Mitchell Middle School and others enrolled in a new program for 7th and 8th graders at Woodlawn High School.
In 2013, under the terms of the Alabama Accountability Act, Putnam Middle School was deemed a "failing school", permitting parents to claim tax credits to transfer students to another school. The school remained on the updated list released in 2016. It did not appear on the 2017 list, but fell back in 2018.
Principals
- Edward Eubank, 1961-1976
- Lillie Mae Hagler, 1976-1980
- David Newell, 1980-1997
- John Ippolito, 1997-2003
- Jeanine Bell, 2003-2004
- Michael Scott, 2004-
- Brenda Dial, -2016
- Sakema Porterfield, 2017
- Terrell Brown, 2018
References
- "Five schools to be built in local area" (August 23, 1960) The Birmingham News - via Birmingham Public Library Digital Collections
- Chandler, Kim (June 18, 2013) "Alabama Accountability Act: 78 schools listed as failing/ Current private school students not eligible for tax credits." The Birmingham News
- Phillips, Ryan (February 11, 2016) "Birmingham City Schools see staggering number of failing schools." Birmingham Business Journal