A message to Madison School Board members from Superintendent Art Rainwater:
Attached is a press release from the Federal Department of Education in which they use our closing the gap in third grade reading as the example for Wisconsin of what NCLB and the Reading First grants have accomplished. The other interesting thing is the data they use to show how successful they have made us is the same data we used to show them why they should fund our Balanced Literacy program.
VOTE TUESDAY, APRIL 5
I support offering students the opportunity to take strings in 4th and 5th grade, and oppose the administration's proposed cuts to the program.
Fourth and fifth grade strings is a well-established, much-loved, and much-supported program. There is also significant research demonstrating a high correlation between playing an instrument and achievement. Given all of these positives, the 4th & 5th grades strings program should not be considered for cuts until the district does everything possible it can to retain or if necessary restructure the program so that strings can continue to be offered in 4th and 5th grades even in times of tight finances.
One step in this process, and a step that the community has requested, is to bring fine arts professionals and advocates to the table and work collaboratively on what the district's fine arts curriculum is and what it should be, what it costs, what ways there are to reduce or control district costs, whether there are other sources of funding, and whether services can be offered in conjunction with or through other community partners. Fine arts professionals and advocates are in the best position to look at these questions and think creatively about what and how these services can be offered.
Another step in the process is to form a community-wide task force, with a diverse group of interested parties, to establish community priorities for the programs offered by the school district, including programs such as fine arts and extracurricular sports. Instead of pitting program against program, we need to develop a community consensus on what the school district should offer and how cuts to desired programs should be made if cuts are necessary. The school board should use this community guidance -- not just administration's recommendations -- as it makes necessary funding decisions.
The school district is faced with limited financial resources and as a community we must look at ways to reduce spending. However, I do not believe it is appropriate or justified to totally eliminate an important program such as 4th and 5th grade strings based solely upon the administration's recommendation. We need to first take the steps set out above before we even consider elimination of this much-loved program.
Lawrie Kobza
Madison School Board Candidate for Seat 6
For more information about Lawrie, go to www.kobzaforschoolboard.org
VOTE TUESDAY, APRIL 5
Authorized and paid for by Kobza for School Board, Barbara Schrank, Treasurer
The District's functional analysis report from Virchow-Krause (hereafter VK) has been touted as showing how well the District is being run. But, the report's results are less than they seem. On page three of the report, VK gives the assumptions for the report. Quoting from the report:
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As Superintendent Rainwater has noted, there are several key assumptions behind the functional
analysis. These assumptions are:
· Every single thing the District does is good for kids. Long ago the District eliminated all those
things that were peripheral.
· All District staff members - teachers, administrators, custodians and food service workers –
are good at what they do.
· The District has very talented people that work very hard and that work very smart.
· Site-based teachers and administrators currently have full time jobs – and they can't absorb
more work. Functions cannot move from the central office to people at the site because sitebased
staff members are working as hard and as efficiently as possible.
With these assumptions in mind, the results of the functional analysis are presented in this
report.
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Clearly, given the assumptions of the report, VK could not have found anything but that the District is doing everything just perfectly.
Had these assumptions not been in place, VK might have been able to inform the District, Board and public of solutions not currently in front of us.
What is disturbing, however, is that the Board doesn't truly read or understand the critical material before them, that the District can make those assumptions, probably with Board acquiesence, and then have the temerity to claim they are providing leadership, and doing all that they can do.
Burmaster announces High School Task Force members
MADISON—State Superintendent Elizabeth Burmaster released a list of the members of the State
Superintendent’s High School Task Force.
The group, co-chaired by JoAnne Brandes, executive vice president, chief administrative officer,
and general counsel for Johnson Diversey Inc., and Ryan Champeau, principal of Waukesha North High
School, will hold its next meeting May 3 at the Sheraton Madison Hotel. It will look at various local
initiatives aimed at redesigning or transforming the high school experience, enhancing student learning
and engagement, and strengthening the alignment of high school with postsecondary education and
workforce needs.
Madison Participants include:
Katie Arnesen of Madison
Parent
Steve Hartley, Director of Alternative Programs
Madison Metropolitan School District
Michael Meissen, Principal
LaFollette High School, Madison
Kendra Parks, Teacher
Memorial High School, Madison
The press release and a list of the members of the task force is on-line at: http://www.thewheelerreport.com/releases/Apr05/Apr1/0401dpihstaskforce.pdf