Let us end the school year with congratulations to Yolimar Maldonado, Lizbeth Fernandez and Nikki Hill, all finishing their sophomore year at Milwaukee Hamilton High School.
To Kenyon Turner, a freshman who went to Bay View and then Community High School; Myha Truss, an eighth-grader at Roosevelt Middle School of the Arts; and Tyrece Toliver, a seventh-grader at the Milwaukee Education Center. And to dozens of other students in Milwaukee Public Schools, of whom this can be said:
They made strong progress this year in improving their reading, jumping ahead more than a grade, and, in some cases, several grades.
It wasn’t easy, either for them or for their teachers.
And it wasn’t cheap – MPS spent $3.2 million for 38 teachers to work in the reading improvement program this year, and that alone comes to more than $1,500 per student.
You could have a very substantial conversation about why they each were far behind grade level in reading going into the school year. None is a special education student. And almost all of them were still behind grade level at the end of the year, even with all the progress they made.
Nonetheless, applaud their success.
A program called Read 180 was the vehicle the students rode to better reading. It offers a strongly structured program, sessions on each student’s level doing computer-led exercises in spelling and vocabulary, and strong, sometimes one-on-one involvement with a teacher.
It would be interest to compare Read 180’s costs with another program: Reading Recovery.
A possible Fall 2008 Madison School District Referendum may occur amid changes in City spending (and property taxes). Mayor Dave Cieslewicz’s Memo to City Managers includes this [PDF]:
This is the most challenging budget year I have seen in six years and it appears to be among the most challenging in two decades or more. High fuel prices combined with lagging revenues associated with the economic downturn and increases in debt service and other costs will force us to work hard just to maintain current services. Other typical cost increases in areas such as health insurance and wages will create additional pressure on our budget situation.
Based on current estimates, our “cost to continue” budget would result in an unacceptably high increase of about 10% for taxes on the average home and a levy increase of around 15%.
Madison’s budget has grown from $245,131,022 in 1998 to $367,806,712 in 2008, while enrollment has declined slightly from 25,132 to 24,268 ($13,997/student). 2008 budget discussion notes.
One would hope that a referendum initiative would address a number of simmering issues, including math, curriculum reduction, expanded charter options, a look at the cost and effectiveness of reading recovery, perhaps a reduction in the local curriculum creation department and the elimination of the controversial report card initiative. Or, will we see the now decades old “same service approach” to MMSD spending growth?
Education Week Reading Recovery, a popular one-to-one tutoring program that Bush administration officials sought to shut out of a high-profile federal reading program, has gotten a rare thumbs-up from the federal What Works Clearinghouse. “I think this is good news for all the school superintendents who kept Reading Recovery alive in their schools,” said Jady … Continue reading Out-of-Favor Reading Plan Rated Highly→
Jason Shephard: As a teacher-centered lesson ended the other morning at Midvale Elementary School, about 15 first-graders jumped up from their places on the carpeted rug and dashed to their personal bins of books. Most students quickly settled into two assigned groups. One read a story about a fox in a henhouse with the classroom … Continue reading How can we help poor students achieve more?→
Audrey Soglin & Char Gearing respond to Marc Eisen’s recent words: I think we have learned and the research supports that kids need a balanced literacy approach. The “whole language vs. phonics” wars should really be put to rest. It is an old fight. Kids don’t learn the same way so a variety of instructional … Continue reading Two Educators Discuss “My Life & Times with the Madison Public Schools”→
I happened to sit next to the Curriculum Coordinator (20+ years in that District) for a large, growing US School District recently ( north of 100,000 students). I found some of the comments interesting: They cycle through superintendents every 2 to 3 years. The Supers are paid $300K+ with “lots of benefits”. The new super … Continue reading A K-12 View from 35,000 Feet→
A story by Sol Stern posted on City Journal highlights the success of Reading First and includes striking parallels to our superintendent’s response to the program: Reading First, though much maligned, succeeds in teaching kids to read. . . . A comprehensive study by an outside evaluator will appear in 2007, measuring Reading First’s influence … Continue reading This Bush Education Reform Really Works→
Louisa Moats 324K PDF: How to Tell When “Scientifically-Based Reading Instruction” Isn’t. In this practitioners’ guide, renowned reading expert Louisa Moats (author of the American Federation of Teachers’ Teaching Reading Is Rocket Science and an earlier Thomas B. Fordham Foundation report, Whole Language Lives On: The Illusion of “Balanced” Reading Instruction) explains how educators, parents, … Continue reading Whole-language Wolves in Sheep’s Clothing→
The high school dumbing down (aka high school redesign) shows the MMSD administration’s loss of will, as well as its refusal to adopt curriculum changes needed to close the achievement gap. The gap begins in elementary school: 46% of black students score below grade level on the third grade reading test, but only 9% of … Continue reading Redesign acknowledges failure to close achievement gap→
From Nancy Salvato, a Head Start teacher in Illinois: In the Summer of 2001 Dame Marie Clay, creator of the New Zealand based Reading Recovery program, and her entourage came to the Rayburn House Office Building in Washington, DC, to speak with House Education Committee Staffer Bob Sweet. Her purpose was to ascertain whether Reading … Continue reading A different view of Reading First controversy→
The post by Ruth Robarts includes the following: The panel also will recommend some shifts in teaching techniques, said a panel member, Dr. Susan Landry of the University of Texas Medical School at Houston. These include having at-risk children spend more time in small groups that address their specific weaknesses; emphasizing skills like blending sounds … Continue reading Comment on Early Repairs in Foundation for Reading→
Tom, I’ve asked you, Neal Gleason and others, but all of you avoid the question. Let’s try one more time. Do you believe a 50%-60% success rate for Reading Recovery is about all that can be achieved because 1) some students just can’t learn or 2) no one knows how to teach struggling first graders … Continue reading A question for Tom & Neal Gleason→
Johnny Winston, Jr. provided a summary of the board’s June 19th discussion of board and committee goals. I found two of the board’s priorities particularly noteworthy. One priority under Performance and Achievement reads: Math and Literacy and Curriculum • Review the appropriateness of the goal of completion of algebra and geometry in high school in … Continue reading Board and committee goals – 2006→
According to Johnny Winston, Jr.: On June 19th the board held a brainstorming session to discuss future district directions. This included developing agenda items for the board and committees. For the 06-07 school year, the entire board will focus on: 1) Attendance, Dropouts, Truancy and Expulsions; 2) Budget Process; 3) Math & Literacy; and 4) … Continue reading MMSD board goals for 2006-2007→
Reader Reed Schneider emails this: A plan to have 40 Spring Arbor University students serve next year as “reading buddies” for struggling first-graders in Jackson Public Schools could be a win-win situation. The Jackson school board recently cut three Reading Recovery teacher positions to help trim its $1.86 million deficit. JPS will obtain the services … Continue reading University Student Reading Buddies→
Marc Eisen: Most of us have had those eerie moments when the distant winds of globalization suddenly blow across our desks here in comfortable Madison. For parents, it can lead to an unsettling question: Will my kids have the skills, temperament and knowledge to prosper in an exceedingly competitive world? I’m not so sure. I’m … Continue reading Brave New World: Are our kids ready to compete in the new global economy? Maybe not→
Active Citizens for Education offers the following recommendations for the consideration of the MMSD Board of Education in the allocation of funds for the 2006-2007 budget: (I appeared on WIBA, 1310, this evening with Brian Schimming and discussed the MMSD proposed budget and ACE recommendations) [18MB mp3]
As we know, curriculae like Everyday Math, Core Math, Reading Recovery, Balanced Literacy and the Literacy Collaborative are based on the constructivist theory of education. Indeed, the Literacy Collaborative (a trademarked name for Balanced Literacy) states that its framework is based on the theories of Vygotsky, Bruner and Clay. For an interesting exercise, do a … Continue reading Constructivist Theory of Education→
The Northside Coalition sponsored a Candidate Forum on March 30, 2006 at the Warner Park Community Center. The video of the forum is 170MB and 1 hour 50 minutes long. Click on the image at left to watch the video. The video will begin to play almost immediately so you can watch the forum as … Continue reading Northside Candidate Forum of 30-Mar-2006→
This is very long, and the link may require a password so I’ve posted the entire article on the continued page. TJM http://www.tcrecord.org/PrintContent.asp?ContentID=11566 Standards, Accountability, and School Reform by Linda Darling-Hammond — 2004 The standards-based reform movement has led to increased emphasis on tests, coupled with rewards and sanctions, as the basis for “accountability” systems. … Continue reading Standards, Accountability, and School Reform→
To provide some additional information to the budget discussions. Since 2000-01 the Board has eliminated 15 administrator positions from downtown, as follows: 3 FTE (Assistant Superintendent, Title 1 Coordinator and Staff Development) were combined into one – Coordinator of Government Programs Registrar 2 FTE Community Relations Contract Compliance 5 FTE in Business Services (4 in … Continue reading 15 Administrators Downtown Cut Since 2000 – 4 More Next Year→
Reed Schneider emails on recent posts regarding a School Board’s role in curriculum policy: I agree that the school board should be responsible for the district’s curriculum. In fact, it is the most important thing they are charged with. 10 or more years ago, before widespread internet availability, the non-edu-estab person on a board would … Continue reading Reader Reed Schneider on Curriculum and School Boards→
$1.74 – Move all employees in Curriculum Research and Staff Development into classroom teaching and school administrative positions that will be vacated through normal attrition. $0.40 – Replace Reading Recovery with Read 180 $0.15 – Move Associated Alternatives to Doyle. (Plenty of room with Curriculum Research & Staff Development leaving. Use UW facilities for gym. … Continue reading Program & staffing changes in my $100 budget exercise→
Jason Shepherd writing in the December 29, 2005 Isthmus: Superintendent Art Rainwater: says the “most frustrating” part of his job is knowing there are ways to boost achievement with more resources, but not being able to allocate them. Instead, the district must each year try to find ways to minimize the hurt. Board member Lawrie … Continue reading 2006-2007 MMSD Budget Comments→
On Monday, October 31st, the Madison School Board voted to establish an equity policy task force even though a board equity policy exists – http://www.madison.k12.wi.us/policies/9001.htm. The existing equity policy goals are twofold: (1) that all students will be provided an equitable educational opportunity in a diverse setting and (2) that all students will achieve in … Continue reading MMSD Equity Policy Exists – Board Not Overseeing Policy→
Several writers have mentioned the positive news that the Madison Board of Education has reviewed Superintendent Art Rainwater for the first time since 2002. I agree that it is a step in the right direction. In my view, the first responsibility of the Board and Administration, including the Superintendent is curriculum: Is the Madison School … Continue reading A Few Notes on the Superintendent’s Evaluation & Curriculum→
The expenditure side of the MMSD budget appears to be organized around departments – general administration, business services, student services, elementary education, etc. Within each department, expenditures seem to be organized according to an accounting structure, which I believe is dictated by DPI requirements. Ed Blume has been asking questions about library and other program/services … Continue reading Budgets and Account Structures – How Can We Find Out What a Budget is for a Curriculum, Service?→
The MMSD’s “data-driven” administration provides plenty of numbers and authoritative sounding assertions. Take none at face value. The facts are often riddled with incomplete data, and the assertions are usually unsubstantiated.
I have been trying for weeks to get a handle on how much the MMSD spends on various programs. As I’ve exchanged e-mails with Roger Price and Superintendent Rainwater, it has become clear that the MMSD cannot (or will not) provide figures on how much was budgeted for any particular program in the previous year, … Continue reading Superintendent Dismisses Call for Transparent Budget→
I’ve twice sent the e-mail below, and I have received no acknowldegement or response. From: Ed Blume To: rprice@madison.k12.wi.us Cc: jwinstonjr@madison.k12.wi.us ; arainwater@madison.k12.wi.us ; ccarstensen@madison.k12.wi.us Sent: Thursday, June 23, 2005 9:26 PM Subject: Program spending Roger, Can you please tell me the amount the MMSD budgeted and spent in the 2004-2005 fiscal year on the … Continue reading Board & Administration Don’t Respond to Request→
Robert Slavin of John Hopkins reports on current educational models that are supported by scientific evidence, and makes recommendations. Despite some recent improvements, the academic achievement of American students remains below that of those in most industrialized nations, and the gap between African American and Hispanic students and White students remains substantial. For many years, … Continue reading Evidence-Based Reform Report→
This article, by Madison School Board President Carol Carstensen, appeared in Isthmus‘ May 12, 2005 edition: Over the last two years, Isthmus’ articles on the Madison school district, especially its approach to teaching reading, have reminded me of a favorite quote from Adlai Stevenson: “These are the conclusions upon which I base my facts.” The … Continue reading Carol Carstensen on Isthmus’ Recent Madison Schools Coverage→
I came across an interesting review by Joseph K. Torgesen in the American Educator that is relevant to recent discussions on Reading Recovery and Direct Instruction. You can find the article online, but I will limit myself to quoting just a few lines from the paper. “Instruction for at-risk children must be more explicit than … Continue reading Preventing Early Reading Failure→
I believe that our community strongly supports high quality schools. I know that the state and federal governments do not provide sufficient funding for the programs that we want. I am willing to pay higher property taxes to make up the difference when necessary. However, before I commit to higher taxes, I must have a … Continue reading Think about the School Board that you want, Vote on April 5→
Barb Williams wrote: I’m glad Jason Shepard questions MMSD’s public display of self-congratulation over third grade reading test scores. It isn’t that MMSD ought not be proud of progress made as measured by fewer African American students testing at the basic and minimal levels. But there is still a sigificant gap between white students and … Continue reading Barb Williams: Letter to the Isthmus Editor on 3rd Grade Reading Scores→
MMSD District Administration will be making a presenation on the MMSD Literacy Program Research tomorrow during the Performance and Achievement Committee meeting. I hope significant time is spent discussing a) results and next steps for MMSD’s Balanced Literacy approach to learning to read and write b) an analysis of alternative reading interventions and c) analysis … Continue reading A Parent’s Thoughts on Learning to Read – Next Step Considerations→
Superintendent Rainwater told MMSD board members Monday December 6, 2004 that some of the District’s goals are directed to educate teachers to do the right thing…support and train teachers…provide various levels of interventions for students that are not successful with the core curriculum. In the case of reading, Balanced Literacy is the core curriculum and … Continue reading MMSD Theory of Action for Change and Continuous Improvement→
Madison Schools Superintendent Art Rainwater sent me an email today regarding this paper. Here’s his email: Dear Jim I received a copy of your email to Diane Mayerfeld regarding reading in the Madison Schools. I would like to set straight the misinformation that is contained in the document that you included with your email. First … Continue reading Art Rainwater’s Email regarding Reading First→
The Madison School Performance Series of issue briefs will offer parents and others accessible information and analysis of critical school program and funding issues. The first paper on Reading Instruction is attached. In a question and answer format it discusses the failing Reading Recovery program and how the District�s commitment to the program is costing … Continue reading Madison School Performance Series: Reading Instruction→
The WSJ Editorial page published a very useful editorial this morning on the Madison School District’s rejection of $2M in federal Reading First funds for reading improvement programs: Taxpayers have the right to ask why the Madison School District would turn its back on a $2 million grant. Read a number of other articles on … Continue reading WSJ Opinion: Reading between the lines of rigidity→
Monday, December 13 5:00pm – Peformance & Achievement, Doyle Admin Building, Rm 103 Research-Base Underlying MMSD Classroom Reading Programs Alternative Programs Apparently this committee meeting comes as a response to the Isthmus article on the failures of Reading Recovery.
This week’s Isthmus includes a damning internal assessment of Reading Recovery, “a remedial first-grade reading program considered a cornerstone of Madison’s school iteracy efforts.” “The district would be ‘well-served to investigate other methods’ to reach struggling reaaders, says the report.” One of those other methods will be presented Sunday, at 1:00 p.m., at the Madison … Continue reading Reading program not worth cost; Rainwater pledges that it will continue→
