Milwaukee Public Schools plans to add about 150 teachers and paraprofessionals to classrooms next school year.
The positions were announced Monday, one month after MPS Superintendent Brenda Cassellius said she planned to cut about 200 non-classroom staff positions.
Cassellius said external audits of the district and meetings last summer with parents both highlighted heavy staffing at central office and less resources going into classrooms.
“I can see with my own eyes how hard it is with so many students in the classroom,” Cassellius said. “So obviously, with 91 percent of our students not reading on grade level at fourth grade, it is essential that we give our kids a fighting chance where teachers have a reasonable amount of students to teach to read.”
MPS is planning to add 89 licensed classroom teachers, bringing the total number of teaching staff from 3,903 to 3,992, and 63 paraprofessionals to its schools. They will also add five school psychologists.