One City Schools was mentioned in the United States Congress during the House Appropriations Committee hearing today! Dr. Holly Lane, Director of the University of Florida Literacy Institute (UFLI), highlighted the groundbreaking partnership we are forming with UFLI, Project Read AI, and others during her testimony. She also referenced the highly successful and impactful Own It: Building Black Wealth program, which was launched at One City by audacious organizers Sara Alvarado, Tiffany Malone, and others. Check out the video below!
Here’s why this matters:
Last year, One City “Exceeded Expectations” on the Wisconsin State Report Card for the second year in a row. Our middle schoolers’ rate of academic growth in reading was at or better than 98.7% of ALL middle schools in Wisconsin and #1 in Dane County. Our elementary school performed at or better than 75.8% of all elementary schools statewide in academic growth.
We accomplished this while serving a student population that is 94% students of color (68% Black), 70% low-income, and 17% special needs. No public school or school district in Dane County comes close to serving a population this diverse. Proof that it can be done, and we continue to get stronger.
We expect even greater academic growth this year, given the interventions and strategies we’ve implemented over the last five months. And stay tuned for a major announcement about partnerships we’ve formed that will benefit all schools in Wisconsin and accelerate reading growth in Dane County!
I returned home in 2010 to partner with other innovators, advocates, professionals, and parents to eliminate Wisconsin’s awful and longstanding achievement and opportunity gaps, and to lift up all of our children across the Badger State who need and deserve our support and encouragement, regardless of their race, surname, or the zip code they live in. Fortunately, the mission has taken root, and our shared vision is coming to life and spreading.
I am grateful for everyone who has been a part of the mission, vision, and work along the way. We are just ramping up. Onward!
Note: The comments about One City start at 1:30:00 of the video but I encourage you to watch the entire segment if you are into teaching/tutoring children in reading or want to learn more about our nation’s reading crisis and how to solve it.
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222 4k – 3rd grade One City students (2024-2025) scored lower than 75% of the students in the national comparison group.