Editing Birmingham, Alabama (section)

==Education==
[[File:Woodlawn High School Birmingham.jpg|thumb|upright|[[Woodlawn High School (Birmingham, Alabama)|Woodlawn High School]], a [[magnet high school]]]]

The Birmingham Public Library administers 21 branches throughout the city and it is part of a wider system including another 19 suburban branches in Jefferson County, serving the entire community to provide education and entertainment for all ages.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.bplonline.org/ |title=Birmingham Public Library |publisher=Bplonline.org |access-date=July 14, 2012 |archive-date=July 8, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120708022702/http://www.bplonline.org/ |url-status=dead }}</ref>

The city of Birmingham is served by the [[Birmingham City Schools]] system. It is run by the Birmingham Board of Education with a current active enrollment of 30,500 in 62 schools: seven high schools, 13 middle schools, 33 elementary schools, and nine [[kindergarten]]-eighth-grade primary schools.

The greater-Birmingham metropolitan area is the home of numerous independent school systems, because there has a been a great deal of fragmentation of educational systems in Alabama, and especially in Jefferson County. Some of these "school systems" only have three to five schools. The metropolitan area's three largest school systems are the [[Jefferson County Schools (Alabama)|Jefferson County School System]], Birmingham City Schools, and the [[Shelby County Schools (Alabama)|Shelby County School System]]. However, there are many smaller school systems.

The metro area also has three preparatory schools: [[Saint Rose Academy]] located in Birmingham proper [[Altamont School|The Altamont School]], also located in Birmingham proper, and [[Indian Springs School]] in north Shelby County near Pelham.

Noteworthy institutions of higher education in greater Birmingham include the [[University of Alabama at Birmingham]], [[Samford University]] (includes the [[Cumberland School of Law]]), [[Birmingham School of Law]], [[Miles College]], the independent [[Miles Law School]], [[Jefferson State Community College]], [[University of Montevallo]] (in Shelby County), [[Lawson State Community College]], and [[Virginia College]]. [[Birmingham-Southern College]], opened in 1856, closed in May 2024 due to financial troubles.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.al.com/news/2024/04/the-long-slow-death-of-birmingham-southern-what-killed-an-alabama-college-with-168-year-old-roots.html |title=The long, slow death of Birmingham-Southern: What killed an Alabama college with 168-year-old roots? |last=Garrison |first=Greg |work=AL.com |date=April 6, 2024 |access-date=January 15, 2025}}</ref>