Linda Borg writing in the Providence Journal: Michael Lauro, the district’s new math coordinator, will discuss plans for a curriculum called FASTT Math. PROVIDENCE – Osiris Harrell, an outspoken critic of the school district’s math curriculum, has invited parents and school officials to a meeting March 22 to discuss the effectiveness of the math program. … Continue reading Providence School forum will explore fresh approach to math
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
Amy Hetzner: Even though previous years have seen more school districts hold referendums – 42 in April 2001 – never before have so many scheduled referendums asked for an increase in operating revenue, according to information from the state Department of Public Instruction. The DPI has monitored referendum results since 1990, and has recorded whether … Continue reading 23 WI Schools Schedule April, 2006 Referenda
From the Wall Street Journal‘s Opinion Journal CROSS COUNTRY Black Flight The exodus to charter schools. BY KATHERINE KERSTEN MINNEAPOLIS–Something momentous is happening here in the home of prairie populism: black flight. African-American families from the poorest neighborhoods are rapidly abandoning the district public schools, going to charter schools, and taking advantage of open enrollment … Continue reading
Kurt Gutknecht and Bill Livick pen an interesting article, published recently in the Fitchburg Star: Several teachers at area schools did not return calls asking for their opinion on the act. Administrators were less reluctant to weigh in. The principal of a Madison middle school, who did not want to be identified, gave a qualified … Continue reading NCLB Area Comments
Video and audio from Wednesday’s Math Forum are now available [watch the 80 minute video] [mp3 audio file 1, file 2]. This rare event included the following participants: Dick Askey (UW Math Professor) Faye Hilgart, Madison Metropolitan School District Steffen Lempp (MMSD Parent and UW Math Professor) Linda McQuillen, Madison Metropolitan School District Gabriele Meyer … Continue reading Math Forum Audio / Video and Links
Jamaal Abdul-Alim: The books are distributed by an Oregon-based company known as SingaporeMath.com, which counts a private school in Madison as the first of its growing number of clients. The biggest difference between math instruction in Singapore – a city-state with a population of about 4.4 million – and the United States is a simple … Continue reading “Less May be More with Math Curriculum”
These are thoughts authored by community member and MMSD parent, Beth Swedeen: The issue of children being adequately served by special education services is a challenge playing out across the country. Certainly, as someone who works with families of children with disabilities and as a parent of a child with disabilities myself, I know the … Continue reading A Larger Conversation about Quality Inclusive Education
Marcia Standiford: A class of sixteen high school juniors and seniors is meeting everyday in the Doyle building to learn video production and journalism skills. This district-wide High School Video News Production class is being offered for the first time thanks to the efforts of Mary Ramberg, Director of Teaching and Learning and Gabrielle Banick, … Continue reading Students Form Video News Team
Madison school politics make for some strange bedfellows. Take the case of the Feb. 21 primary race for the School Board, in which three candidates are vying for the seat left open by incumbent Bill Keys’ decision not to seek re-election. The marketing manager of a Madison-based biotechnology giant has been endorsed by the powerful … Continue reading Alliances Are Unconventional In School Board Primary Race
This message was sent to me by Mazie Jenkins an MMSD employee. This trend needs to STOP. I’m committed to changing this. I need your support on Monday nights and every single day!!! If there is not major intervention in the next 25 years, 75 percent of urban young men will either be hopelessly hooked … Continue reading AFRICAN-AMERICAN BOYS: THE CRIES OF A CRISIS By E. BERNARD FRANKLIN
Videos of the Performance and Achievement committee meetings of January 30 and February 6 are available in the Performance and Achievement blog. The topics of these meetings were heterogeneous vs. homogeneous classroom instruction. Professor Adam Gamoran, Director of WCER, made a presentation at the January 30 meetng. His Powerpoint presentation and a research paper are … Continue reading Performance and Achievement Videos available.
The Madison School Board is directly and legally responsible for the curriculum taught in their district. The WI Administrative Code, which is law, sets forth the legal requirements for public instruction. Public Instruction, Chapter PI 8.01 (Download Admin. Code Public Instruction – School Standards)says: 2. Each school district board shall develop, adopt and implement a … Continue reading MMSD School Board Says They Don’t Do Curriculum: WI State Law Says Otherwise
Recently, the Madison School Board has authorized a plethora of special committees to consider issues confronting the district and to make recommendations to the board. These committees have the potential to improve future board decisions by bringing new ideas and new information to our attention. Currently, there is a special committee to advise the board … Continue reading One of these things is not like the others: School Board Oversees Task Forces Except When Savings in Health Care Costs at Stake
“Inclusive education” is often mischaracterized as solely about educating students with disabilities in the “least restrictive environment.” Fortunately, inclusive education now means providing a supportive and quality education for all students. It is in this spirit that I want to speak to the accomplishments of our staff in making Madison one of the most inclusive, … Continue reading Madison a National Leader in Special Education
The Fordham Institutes State of Science Report for 2005 reviews the state of State Standards in Science and found 15 states scoring “F”, Wisconsin among them. The states whose Science Standards were deemed worthy of an “A” are California, New Mexico, Indiana, New York, Massachusetts, Virginia, and South Carolina. Of course, standards are one thing, … Continue reading Wisconsin Scores “F” on State Science Standards (continued)
Hi Laurie, The discussion about 10th grade English and 10th grade core continues. There will be a statement and responses to questions that have been raised by parents, community, and staff online in the form of a link from the West High website early next week. I will also submit information to MMSD School Board … Continue reading Reply from West HS Principal Ed Holmes to request for update on English 10
AP: the state Department of Public Instruction to create rules forcing Wisconsin schools to offer uniform programs for gifted and talented students. State law already requires districts to identify students who qualify as gifted and talented and offer appropriate programming. But Todd Palmer, a Madison attorney spearheading the parents’ effort, said Thursday schools have pulled … Continue reading Statewide Advocacy Effort for Gifted and Talented Education
November 17, 2005 TO: Members Wisconsin Legislature FROM: Bob Lang, Director SUBJECT: 2005-06 General School Aids Amounts for All School Districts In response to requests from a number of legislators, this office has prepared information [PDF File] on the amount of general school aids to be received by each of the 426 school districts in … Continue reading Legislative Fiscal Bureau Releases 2005-2006 General School Aids Amounts for Districts
Joanne Jacobs: After investing $1 billion in small high schools, the Gates Foundation has learned results are “mixed,” according to a study commissioned by the foundation. The study found progress in reading and language arts, but not in math. Among the most disheartening findings of that analysis — and one the researchers said also applied … Continue reading Gates Foundation Looks at Results
Here is the full text of SLC Evaluator Bruce King’s recent report on the plan to implement a common English 10 course at West HS. Evaluation of the SLC Project at West High School The 10th Grade English Course M.Bruce King, Project Evaluator 608-263-4769, mbking1@wisc.edu 2 November 2005 The development and implementation of the common … Continue reading Evaluation of the SLC Project at West High School
Some 70 parents were in attendance at Monday evening’s PTSO meeting to hear about West High School’s plans for 10th grade English. This was the largest turnout for a PTSO meeting in recent history. Approximately one-third of those there were parents of elementary and middle school students who will be attending West at some point … Continue reading Report from West High PTSO Meeting
Schools to take closer look at equity Task force could lead to budget war By Matt Pommer, The Capital Times November 1, 2005 The Madison School Board created an “equity” task force Monday, setting the stage for a possible budget war over programs like elementary school strings and foreign language instruction in middle schools. President … Continue reading Board Votes to Create Equity Task Force
Dear La Follette Parents & Taxpayers, I am writing because I am greatly distressed about conditions at La Follette High School under the 4-block system. I strongly believe that as parents and taxpayers you have the right to be included in the debate about your child’s education. Because I believe the future of the 4-block … Continue reading I am Greatly Distressed About La Follette High School’s Four Block System
Wisconsin students stayed above national averages in test results released Wednesday, but a Journal Sentinel analysis of the data shows that the gap between black and white students was among the largest in the nation. In eighth-grade reading and in fourth-grade math, the gaps were larger than in any other state in the country. By … Continue reading State’s learning gap still vast
From Education Week, October 12, 2005 By Christina A. Samuels A new provision of federal law taking effect this school year allows, and in some cases requires, school districts to focus some of their federal special education money on reducing the enrollment of minority students in such programs. The provision, contained in the 2004 reauthorization … Continue reading Minority Overrepresentation in Special Ed. Targeted
A gift of nearly $3 million is being used to boost teacher training at the UW-Madison in a special, reading program. But that program, Reading Recovery, has critics, who say it’s not worth the necessary investment. Training at a new UW-Madison Reading Recovery Center will involve videotaping teachers, as they instruct young children, in a … Continue reading UW Center Established To Promote Reading Recovery
I believe that virtual education initiatives could help with some of the concerns raised by parents and community members regarding Advanced Placement courses. Please check out this website http://www.digitaldistricts.org/ and let me know what you think.
University of Wisconsin Psychology Professor [Language and Cognitive Neuroscience Lab] Mark Seidenberg recently gave a lecture on reading education at the University Club: Whole Language was a massive, uncontrolled experiment, with millions of children as unwitting subjects. How it’s done: Someone gets an idea Often a Guru. Many Gurus in reading instruction. Guru has brilliant … Continue reading Seidenberg’s Recent “Informal Talk on Reading Education”
Daniel Henninger: She went to the Public Education Foundation of Little Rock. The Foundation had no money for her, and the Little Rock system’s budget was a non-starter. So the Foundation produced a private, anonymous donor, which made union approval unnecessary. Together this small group worked out the program’s details. The Stanford test results would … Continue reading Thinking Different: Little Rock Principal and Teacher Incentives
This is Elizabeth Burmaster’s weekly message for October 9-15. Gifted Education Week is Oct. 9-15 Wisconsin’s observance of Gifted Education Week reinforces our commitment to educating gifted and talented children to their full potential, Through education, today’s young people who are highly capable intellectually, academically, creatively, artistically or through leadership will become tomorrow’s inventors, leaders, … Continue reading State Superintendent Burmaster’s Message for the Week
A year’s worth of Connected Math textbooks and teacher guides are on the left while the equivalent Singapore Math texts are on the right. Friedman’s latest ,where he demonstrates how other countries are “eating our kid’s lunch in math” is well worth reading, as are these www.schoolinfosystem.org math posts. UW Math Professor Dick Askey has … Continue reading Math Curriculum: Textbook Photos
More than half of eighth-graders fail to achieve expected levels of proficiency in reading, math and science on national tests.
No doubt that the Madison Schools would benefit from revenues that might come through increased advertising, as recently proposed by Johnny Winston Jr., chair of the Board of Education’s Finance and Operations Committee. On the other hand, increasing advertising to our students is undesirable for many reasons. Schools should not treat students as consumers, but … Continue reading Why not target school ads at adults, not students?
Amy Hetzner: “We don’t have a lot of proof that this works,” said Neah Lohr, the former director of the informational media and technology team for the state Department of Public Instruction. “Certainly students like the technology. That’s not the question.” Research results are mixed. But most studies conclude that for computers and other technology … Continue reading Technology and Schools
Mark Chediak: When students in Leslie Chernila’s English class at the Art Institute of Washington write an essay about the work of Garrison Keillor, she has them send it off to a critic halfway across the country before turning it in. The paper soon returns, complete with comments about structure and word choice. The service, … Continue reading Online Tutoring Part of Growing Web Education Tools
The Madison School Board had several interesting discussions Monday night. The first was a proposed 3rd party evaluation of the District’s Business Services Department. This discussion is somewhat in response to the complaint that, given budget choices, the Madison School District lays off teachers rather than accountants. Watch This Discussion – Quicktime MP3 Audio The … Continue reading Madison School Board Workshop: Evaluate Business Services?
Four letters to the editor in response to Michael Winerip’s recent article on teaching to the test: Ms. Karnes learned all sorts of exercises to get children excited about writing, get them writing daily about what they care about and then show them how they can take one of those short, personal pieces and use … Continue reading Study Great Ideas, But Teach to the Test
Susan Black on the “Trouble with Classroom Competition”: How much competition is too much? I asked myself that question some years ago when I was appointed director of curriculum and instruction for a Midwestern city school district. Making the rounds of the district’s 12 schools I found competition everywhere. In a 10th-grade English class, I … Continue reading The Evils of Excellence
In his letter to a Sherman parent, Michael George, Director of Content and Learning Team wrote: “The requirements for regular instruction in 121.02(1)(L) are to be scheduled within the regular school day which is defined as “the period from the start to the close of each pupil’s daily instructional schedule.” Times of the day or … Continue reading DPI Letter – Optional Class Hours are NOT Part of the Regular School Day
Sandy Cullen’s article in the June 28, 2005 WI State Journal Sherman’s curriculum riles parents notes: On Friday, the state Department of Public Instruction ruled that under Wisconsin law, instrumental music instruction must be available to all students in grades seven through 12 during the regular school day. “It is unusual to pull students from … Continue reading Sherman’s Curriculum Riles Parents
Much afoot at Sherman Middle school. MMSD will look at developing a district-wide middle school curriculum. While that might improve the mess at Sherman, it might also mean watering down the curriculum, eg. math, throughout the district. http://www.madison.com/wsj/home/local/index.php?ntid=45223 “School Board President Carol Carstensen, who made it one of her priorities to examine how the district’s … Continue reading Middle School Curriculum
Original URL: http://www.jsonline.com/news/state/jun05/336091.asp NOTE: THIS LINK LEADS TO A PAGE THAT INCLUDES A CHART THAT IS NOT REPRODUCED HERE From the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel Does state’s method inflate graduation rate? Wisconsin says 92% finish high school; report estimates 78% do By SARAH CARR scarr@journalsentinel.com Posted: June 23, 2005 A new report lambastes states across the … Continue reading Does Wisconsin’s method inflate graduation rate?
How far can schools stretch their dollars? Education funding is central to budget debate in Madison By ALAN J. BORSUK and AMY HETZNER, The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel aborsuk@journalsentinel.com Posted: June 18, 2005 Let’s say your parents base your budget for gasoline for the year on $1.75 a gallon. The next year, Mom and Dad say, … Continue reading Milwaukee Journal Sentinel on WI Budget Debate over Funding Public K-12 Schools
Little solid evidence is available to gauge whether the federal government’s multibillion-dollar Reading First initiative is having an effect on student achievement, but many states are reporting anecdotally that they are seeing benefits for their schools. Among those benefits are extensive professional development in practices deemed to be research-based, extra instructional resources, and ongoing support … Continue reading States Report Reading First Yielding Gains, Some Schools Getting Ousted for Quitting
A reader forwarded this article: Jay Mathews, writing in the Washington Post: So when I found a new attack on the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM), the nation’s leading association for math teachers, by a group of smart advocates, I saw a chance to bring some clarity to what we call the Math … Continue reading More on Math
The current music education upheaval at Sherman Middle School is about what Madison values for our children’s education, such as academic music education during the school day and who makes those decisions. It is not about money, because teacher allocations will be needed to teach the 8th hour same as during the school day. Making … Continue reading Sherman Middle School Principal Mandates Change by Fiat – Renames Afterschool an 8th hour and Kicks Academic Performance Music Out to Afterschool
I would like to be perfectly clear. I want a Madison Metropolitan School District strings program in elementary schools. I have been very clear about this since my first televised board meeting last year, where I exclaimed, “I want a strings program in the budget!” However, with unfunded mandates, revenue caps, additional academic testing requirements … Continue reading Strings Program – A Response
I agree whole heartedly with Mr. Pay’s comments to Johnny Winston Jr., that the MMSD School Board is not taking a long-term financial or educational look at elementary strings that shows increased numbers of middle and high school children taking orchestra and band will save money for the district while providing immeasurable personal and educational … Continue reading Cutting Elementary Strings Will Cost MMSD Millions – Not Save Money
Several interesting letters to the editor in Sunday’s NYT in response to this article: The Schools Under Bloomberg: Much Tumult, Mixed Results, including this comment: Too many have held low expectations for Harlem’s children. We have a mayor who not only seems to care about reforming the schools, but also is holding himself accountable for … Continue reading NYT: School Reform: How Fast, How Far?
The community service money has paid for everything from clerical and custodial salaries related to community use of school facilities to playgrounds and anti-drug programming. And, while the Department of Public Instruction offers some guidance, districts have been largely on their own in determining what might qualify for community service funds.
Decisions: Adult or Student-centered? by Dr. John Benham, Music Advocate Why do I include this as an issue of music advocacy? Because, it is my observation that the lack of a student-centered decision-making process is the number one issue in education!
I submitted the following letter of endorsement for Lawrie Kobza to the local papers. Dear Editor, I am deeply concerned about the lack of commitment to school financing at the federal and state levels and I support changes in school financing. However, I am equally concerned about our local Board of Education�s tepid leadership given … Continue reading Kobza for School Board – Our Kids Deserve the Best
The inside, unsigned cover page of MMSD’s non-budget cut list that tells the public that the administration is protecting math and reading for young children. For $12,000+ per student, the administration will teach our kids to read and to do math – what happened to science and social studies? What happened to educating the whole … Continue reading Our School Board Needs a Budget: No Budget Yet We Have a Cut List that Harms Underprivileged Children’s Education and Divides Parent Groups
The Madison School District’s Administration announced a series of 2005/2006 budget changes (eliminate some programs, reduce the increase in others, eliminate some positions). The overall budget will increase by about 10M+, from 316.8M in 2004/2005 to 327.7M in 2005/2006 (via Roger Price’s recent budget presentation. [slides pdf]). Barb Schrank looks at where the money went … Continue reading Madison Schools Budget Change Information/Links
Superintendent Art Rainwater’s proposed budget cuts to balance his estimated Same Service budget forecast to expected revenues are being released to the public today. Prior to this release, the only information the school board has received relative to the budget is a macro-forecast of revenue/expenditures – assumptions about salary and wage increases, percent increase assumption … Continue reading Budget Process – Cuts and What Else is Next
What to Look for in the Next Few Weeks? Based upon the single macro-forecast of a revenue gap of $8+ million, School Board members were told a list of budget cuts would be presented to the School Board on March 7th. Without benefit of a budget, the School Board will hold public hearings, not meetings, … Continue reading School Budget – Here we go AGAIN?!
This is my first post to this blog, so I�ll start by introducing myself. My name is Bill Herman. I have two kids at Crestwood ES, and a third will start in the fall. Also, I work in K-12 education; I�m the technology director for Monona Grove Schools. I read �Paper #1,� criticizing MMSD for … Continue reading Are MMSD Programs Effective? Who Knows?
On Evaluating Curricular Effectiveness: Judging the Quality of K-12 Mathematics Evaluations (2004) Curricula play a vital role in educational practice. They provide a crucial link between standards and accountability measures. They shape and are shaped by the professionals who teach with them. Typically, they also determine the content of the subjects being taught. Furthermore, because … Continue reading JUDGING THE QUALITY OF K-12 MATHEMATICS EVALUATIONS
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
Norm and Dolores Mishelow gave an informative presentation Sunday on their successful Milwaukee Barton School and 27th Street school reading programs. Background 3.7MB MP3 – ideal for your MP3 Player/iPod | Quicktime Video Transcripts to Follow. DVD copy is also available – email me if you’d like one: zellmer at mailbag dot com In a … Continue reading Norm and Dolores Mishelow Presentation on Milwaukee’s Successful Reading Program
Two of the nation’s leading education groups are calling for schools, teachers, and parents to assure that all middle school youngsters are in classrooms where “both equity and excellence are persistent goals for each learner.” National Middle School Association (NMSA) and the National Association for Gifted Children (NAGC) have issued a joint position statement and … Continue reading A call for greater attention to the needs of gifted middle school students
According to John Dewey, the public school system “should want for every child what a good and wise parent wants for his child. Anything less is unlovely and undermines democracy”. I think that this principle must guide the Madison Board of Education in deciding whether to permit Superintendent Rainwater to reject approximately $2M in federal … Continue reading What the School Board Should Know Before Rejecting “Reading First” Funding
On Friday, October 15, Madison School Board members received an e-mail from Superintendent Art Rainwater announcing that the district will withdraw from a federal program known as Reading First. In subsequent interviews with local newspapers, Rainwater estimated that the decision means forgoing approximately $2M in funds for materials to help students in the primary grades … Continue reading Madison Superintendent Declines $2M in Federal Funds Without Consulting the Board
“Whenever you have a reform that has been successful in some places and then it�s scaled up quickly, with a lot of people who only understand it superficially, there�s a lot of danger that some people will do it poorly and that the idea will go down in flames,” said Linda Darling-Hammond, a professor of education at Stanford University who is an expert in small-school design.
There is overwhelming evidence that gifted students simply do not succeed on their own.
Q: What is ?Fund 80?? A: A property tax that school districts may levy for ?community programs and services.? Unlike property tax levies for school operations, Fund 80 property taxes are subject to less restrictive revenue limits. Beginning in 1993, Wisconsin law has imposed limits on the increases in residential property taxes that school districts … Continue reading FAQ: “Community Service” Funds aka “Fund 80”
RESOLUTION RECOGNIZING BENEFITS AND IMPORTANCE OF SCHOOL-BASED MUSIC EDUCATION PASSED BY US HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES U.S. HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES PASSES MUSIC EDUCATION RESOLUTION On May 4, 2004 the United States House of Representatives approved a resolution supporting music education. We encourage you to send a letter to your congressperson thanking him or her for supporting … Continue reading Music Education Important – US House of Representatives Resolution
The recently approved budget was a winner for some and a loser for other MMSD Departments, most notably funding for schools. The 2004-2005 budget approved on May 17, 2004 is $308 million. A. Budget Winners – Increases Over Previous Year’s Budget Business Services 7% General Administration 6% Educational Services (spec. ed/bilingual) 1% Business Services and … Continue reading Schools Lose / Business Services Gains in 2004-2005 MMSD Budget
On Monday, May 17th, the MMSD School Board made less than $1 million in changes to Mr. Rainwater’s proposed $308 million budget for the 2004-2005 school year. These changes were made right after the Board approved more than $500,000 in salary and benefits increases to Administrators. The primary changes later made to the 2004-2005 budget … Continue reading School Board Balances Final Budget on the Backs of Some Kids
Like last year, the May budget discussions of the Madison School Board focus on a list of cuts that the superintendent recommends to balance the budget for next year. The proposed cuts represent about 3% of $308.7M budget for 2004-2005.
In an article by Vikki Kratz in the Isthmus, published on May 7, 2004, the author wonders if the MMSD is tone deaf. “Bill Keys, president of the Madison Board of Education, recently asked for a budget analysis of the popular 4th and 5th grade strings program. … The move by Keys was the last … Continue reading String ’em up – Strings Hits the Isthmus
7:00p.m. Commodore Room @ the Radisson Hotel (Odana & Grand Canyon) Active Citizens for Education (ACE) is seeking grass roots input from interested parents, teachers and others regarding the current effectiveness and future direction of MMSD curriculum, instruction, programs, services, leadership and operations. ACE believes theinformation, experiences and suggestions from those people who are living … Continue reading ACE Roundtable May 11 7 to 9p.m.