There have been times when I was optimistic that – at last! – Milwaukee leaders were coming together to take on the city’s reading crisis in a meaningful and energized way. Last September was one of those times, when key figures across Milwaukee’s often-fractious education scene appeared together at a meeting of the Greater Milwaukee Committee to say that they were committed to action.
Now is not one of those times. Two reasons stand out:
One is that there is just too little happening to implement the Wisconsin reading reform law passed almost three years ago, and even what is happening seems to inch ahead. Compared to other states, some of which have serious progress to show for their commitment, Wisconsin seems to be slow-walking its way through reading improvement.
The other is the dispute between the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction and the Milwaukee Reading Coalition, a still-new group of dozens of civic and educational leaders. The dispute focuses on whether and how to use public money for training a large number of teachers in Milwaukee schools about effective approaches to getting children in early grades on track for reading success. The dispute is a prime factor in why the reading coalition work is pretty much at a standstill.
An entire school year has passed since that Greater Milwaukee Committee session. There has been a lot of behind-the-scenes work on launching what was envisioned at that point. But it has not brought agreement or significant progress. Public money, controlled by the state Department of Public Instruction, hasn’t been made available. A good amount of private philanthropic money has been raised, but to make this a true citywide reading campaign, open to all schools and teachers, the private money isn’t enough.
Reading Coalition leaders – including Mayor Cavalier Johnson, Greater Milwaukee Foundation CEO Greg Wesley; influential philanthropic leader JoAnne Anton of Herb Kohl Philanthropies, and long-time education leader Howard Fuller – have gone public with their frustration with dealing with the DPI and Jill Underly, the elected state superintendent of public instruction. Exchanges of letters in recent weeks between the two sides have underscored how much things are at a standstill.
I’m not going to focus here on the specifics of the dispute, except to say the reading coalition leaders clearly have been willing to try different routes, including seeking fresh state legislation, to make this effort go forward, and the DPI has not gone along with them. The civic leaders say that they were led on for months by DPI leaders to think that things could be worked out before progress stopped entirely. At this point, it seems almost certain that nothing will change until after the fall elections, when there will be a new governor and when it is likely there will be changes in the balance of power in the legislature.
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2026-2027 Madison K-12 $pending continues to grow, fueled by a 9.7% (!) property tax increase. Total spending will be at least $706,000,000 for 25,003 students, or $28,236 per student.
May 2026 Madison School District Presentation: 7,095 adults for 25,003 students (3.52 students per adult!)
Early Literacy Screener Map.
Map: Foundations of Reading Results: 2015–2024
Where have all the students gone?
3,887 Madison 4 year old to third grade students scored lower than 75% of the students in the national comparison group.
Madison taxpayers have long supported far above average k-12 tax & $pending. This despite our long term, disastrous reading results. May, 2026: 7,095 Staff for 25,003 students; $pending > $26k per student!
Madison Schools: More $, No Accountability
The taxpayer funded Madison School District long used Reading Recovery…
The data clearly indicate that being able to read is not a requirement for graduation at (Madison) East, especially if you are black or Hispanic”
A.B.T.: “Ain’t been taught.”
My Question to Wisconsin Governor Tony Evers on Teacher Mulligans and our Disastrous Reading Results
2017: West High Reading Interventionist Teacher’s Remarks to the School Board on Madison’s Disastrous Reading Results
Madison’s taxpayer supported K-12 school district, despite spending far more than most, has long tolerated disastrous reading results.
“An emphasis on adult employment”
Wisconsin Public Policy Forum Madison School District Report[PDF]
WEAC: $1.57 million for Four Wisconsin Senators
Friday Afternoon Veto: Governor Evers Rejects AB446/SB454; an effort to address our long term, disastrous reading results
Booked, but can’t read (Madison): functional literacy, National citizenship and the new face of Dred Scott in the age of mass incarceration.
When A Stands for Average: Students at the UW-Madison School of Education Receive Sky-High Grades. How Smart is That?