Search Results for: "Adult employment
“an emphasis on adult employment”
Leo Koerner: IN “Gen Z’s Right Turn” (September-October, page 20), Harvard Republican Club president Leo Koerner ascribes his conversion to a conservative viewpoint to resentment over early attempts to contain COVID-19 through mask mandates, lockdowns, and school closures, despite a lack of certainty over their effectiveness. It is worth recalling the devastating toll that the […]
Literacy, politics, taxpayer funds and adult employment
Quinton Klabon It is a bit more complicated than that (dispute over when and what to fund after seeming agree), but I am excited at the prospect of moving past the partial veto and get curriculum funding to schools! ——- Legislation and Reading: The Wisconsin Experience 2004-
“An emphasis on adult employment”; the implications
Karol Markowicz The lives of our children were destroyed by lockdowns — and long lockouts — from school during the pandemic. This policy was largely forced through by Randi Weingarten, president of the American Federation of Teachers. But we now know that President Biden and his wife-teacher, Jill Biden, were the ones who overruled their own medical […]
“An emphasis on adult employment”
I think this is broadly correct, but there are strong teacher unions across Europe too. They were overruled by a political consensus in favor of kids. The US lacked this consensus. We don’t put kids first. https://t.co/OqW1XfnWa6 pic.twitter.com/H0jn2VFHUl — Anya Kamenetz (@anya1anya) May 12, 2023 Pre-pandemic test score results (blue bubbles) show enormous district-level inequality. […]
Tech change, learning and adult employment
AI means a brilliant doctor on your phone. Who can diagnose you instantly, for free, privately, using only your locally stored medical records. Do you think the doctors will be happy about that? Or the lawyers? The artists? The others that AI disrupts? They’ll fight it. Hard. — Balaji (@balajis) February 10, 2023
An Emphasis on adult employment
Given the academic and social challenges that students face, many local education agencies are planning to use #Covidrelief money to hire more staff members and beef up training, benefits and pay for those already on the payroll. https://t.co/UiT0INSU8N — FutureEd (@FutureEdGU) January 25, 2022 Mandates, closed schools and Dane County Madison Public Health. The data clearly indicate that […]
“An emphasis on adult employment”; Chicago Teachers Union 2022 edition
NEW: The Chicago Teachers Union says its planned vote tonight would see members refuse in-person work until Jan. 18 or until the city’s COVID-19 wave falls below the threshold Chicago Public Schools set last year, whichever happens first. — Nader Issa (@NaderDIssa) January 4, 2022 Maureen Kelleher: If ever there was a moment to ensure […]
Mandates, adult employment and children’s mental health
School closings and “remote learning” have caused a massive mental health crisis among teenagers. This, and the disruption to their intellectual development, will be enduring and severe.https://t.co/Q3mtWJ9MnR pic.twitter.com/ONrnYIWBPI — Glenn Greenwald (@ggreenwald) December 26, 2021 I think about whenever I (frequently) see children running around outside, masked. Notes and links on Dane County Madison Public […]
“And emphasis on adult employment” – Wauwatosa edition
Open Record: It’s a FOX6 investigation that sparked change before it even went to air. Thousands of tax dollars poured into a school program — but was it for the kids or a school leader’s relationship? In this episode of Open Record, FOX6 Investigator Amanda St. Hilaire explains how she came upon AVID and the […]
Political Posturing, interests and “adult employment” on taxpayer supported Dane County Madison public health ordering schools closed
Wisconsin Supreme Court: For the respondent, there was a brief filed by Remzy D. Bitar, Sadie R. Zurfluh, and Municipal and Litigation Group ̧ Waukesha. There was an oral argument by Remzy D. Bitar. For the petitioners Wisconsin Council of Religious and Independent Schools, et al., there was a reply brief filed by Richard M. […]
“An emphasis on adult employment “
There are no hidden complexities that could possibly explain this misalignment of social priorities. #openschools@GavinNewsom pic.twitter.com/GfPCXWEq8b — Jeanne Noble (@JeanneNoble18) April 3, 2021 Related: Catholic schools will sue Dane County Madison Public Health to open as scheduled Notes and links on Dane County Madison Public Health. (> 140 employees). Molly Beck and Madeline Heim: which pushed Dane County this week not […]
Achievement, Teacher Unions and “an emphasis on adult employment”
The ultimate nightmare scenario for teachers unions isn’t a case like Janus but large numbers of African-American parents rejecting them as legitimate and not viewing them as partners in a shared cause. And this is why the Warren affair is so important. — James Merriman (@JamesMerriman6) November 25, 2019 Item 10.11: $100,000 contract to WestEd […]
Money, Politics and Adult Employment/School Choice
Collin Anderson: Democratic presidential candidate Elizabeth Warren raked in tens of thousands of dollars from teachers’ unions before reversing her past support for student vouchers and education reform. In 2004, Warren argued that vouchers “relieve parents” from relying on failing public schools. Her campaign’s newly-released education plan attacks charter schools and school choice. Warren’s reversal […]
Deja vu: 2008 – 2019 Credit for non MadIson School District Courses and Adult Employment
Logan Wroge: To help students make the transition to a higher-intensity setting, two Madison School District teachers spend time at Goodman South instructing courses with solely STEM Academy students and some with a mix of traditional college and high school students. “We thought it was really important to have high school teachers be part of […]
“Rule Making”, achievement, adult employment, mulligans and the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction
Molly Beck: Tuesday’s decision overturns the court’s own ruling just three years ago when a split panel of justices said in Coyne v. Walker that Evers could write rules and regulations related to education policy on his own — without permission from then-Gov. Scott Walker and the Legislature — because the state constitution provides him with […]
An emphasis on adult employment
Luca Dellana: The fact that (almost) all degrees have the same duration regardless of the complexity of the underlying field is the best evidence that education has been built around the universities’ needs, not the students’.
Adult Employment: Bay Area teachers hold sickout to support striking Oakland teachers
ABC 7: The Albany Teachers Association is currently in negotiations with its district. Their contract expires in the fall. They feel the real battle though is with the state and plan on addressing school funding with Governor Gavin Newsom. “Because the districts can do what they can do, but the state has a lot more […]
Adult employment and the Madison School Board’s self interest
Chris Rickert: Like the rest of the board, both also voted to approve the 304-page employee handbook that replaced union contracts beginning in summer 2016. District legal counsel Dylan Pauly pointed to two board policies that include provisions related to managing conflicts of interest among board members. One says board members should “avoid conflicts of […]
Feeling the Squeeze: Pension Costs Are Crowding Out Education Spending; The Focus On Adult Employment
Josh McGee Taxpayer contributions to teachers’ retirement plans are expected to grow substantially over the next decade. But the underfunding shortfall is so large that aggregate pension debt will also continue to grow. Retirement costs per pupil are already approaching 10% of all education expenditures. Without meaningful reform, these costs, as well as the aggregate […]
Adult Employment And School District Mission
Andrew Rotherham: School districts around the country are getting ready for the 2017 school year, which for many starts in just a few weeks. Officials are thinking about transporting students to school, what they’ll feed them, health services for them, sports teams and schedules, and all the other things we call on school districts to […]
Adult Employment and Empty Milwaukee Public Schools’ Buildings
Erin Richards: Spurred by a deal gone sour between Milwaukee Public Schools and the developer commissioned to renovate one of its empty buildings — a deal that kept a private school from buying the facility — Common Council President Michael Murphy has introduced an ordinance that would position the city to take charge and sell […]
Heavy Adult Employment Focus in the Milwaukee Public a Schools
Erin Richards But after Tyson made his offer, an MPS teacher who also is a teachers’ union employee submitted a plan to reopen Lee as a district-run charter school. The School Board was said to be considering both options. It was scheduled to discuss the potential sale or lease of several empty buildings, including the […]
Deja Vu: A Focus on “Adult Employment” or the Impossibility of Governance Change in the Madison Schools
The Madison School Board discussed the renewal of Administrator contracts (500K PDF) during their June 10, 2013 meeting (video, about 50 minutes into the meeting). Listen via this 5mb mp3 audio.
The timing and length of administrator contracts along with substantive reviews is not a new subject:
February, 2006: Are Administrators Golden?Lawrie Kobza pointed out last night that 2-year rolling administrative contracts may be important for some groups of administrators and that the School Board should consider that issue. Otherwise, if the annual pattern continues, extensions will occur in February before the School Board looks at the budget and makes their decisions about staffing. Even though the Superintendent has indicated what positions he proposes to eliminate for next year, when the School Board has additional information later in the budget year, they may want to make different decisions based upon various tradeoffs they believe are important for the entire district.
What might the School Board consider doing? Develop criteria to use to identify/rank your most “valuable” administrative positions (perhaps this already exists) and those positions where the district might be losing its competitive edge. Identify what the “at risk” issues are – wages, financial, gender/racial mix, location, student population mix. Or, start with prioritizing rolling two-year contracts for one of the more “important,” basic administrative groups – principals. Provide the School Board with options re administrative contracts. School board members please ask for options for this group of contracts.
Ms. Kobza commented that making an extension of contracts in February for this group of staff could make these positions appear to be golden, untouchable. Leaving as is might not be well received in Madison by a large number of people, including the thousands of MMSD staff who are not administrators on rolling two-year contracts nor a Superintendent with a rolling contract (without a horizon, I think). The board might be told MMSD won’t be able to attract talented administrators. I feel the School Board needs to publicly discuss the issues and risks to its entire talent pool.
Mr. Nadler reported that MMSD might be losing its edge in the area of administration. He gave one example where there more than a few applicants for an elementary school position (20 applicants); however, other districts, such as Sun Prairie, are attracting more applicants (more than 100). The communities surrounding Madison are becoming more attractive over time as places to live and to do business. If we don’t recognize and try to understand the issues, beyond simply wages and benefits, the situation will continue to worsen. I feel the process in place needs to change in order to be a) more responseive to the issues, b) more flexible for the School Board in their decisionmaking processes, especially around budget time.Administrator Contracts – School Board Adds to Agenda
Questions that are not clear to me include: a) is a two-year rolling contract required for all administrators, b) what is the difference between non-renewal and extension of a contract – is the end of January date really an extension?, c)is there a Board policy – if not, does one need to be developed, d) are there options open to the School Board to hold on one-year contract extensions due to upcoming cuts to the budget, e) how can changes be made by moving/retraining staff if needed, and f) can grant money being used to pay for administrators be used in other ways (not including grant oversight/accounting? We’re in the same spot as the past two years – not talking about administrator contracts until one week or so before a deadline.
I feel this information needs to be clear and to be transparent to all employees, the board and the community. I believe a multi-year staffing strategy as part of a multi-year strategic plan is important to have, especially given the critical nature of the district’s resources. This idea is not proposed as a solution to the public school’s financial situation – not at all, that’s not the point.Retired Ripon Superintendent Richard Zimman on the “adult employment focus”.
Additional administrator contract links, here.
It is ironic, in my view, that there has not been much change in the District’s administration from the Rainwater era….
An Emphasis on Adult Employment
This week, President Obama called for the hiring of 10,000 new teachers to beef up math and science achievement. Meanwhile, in America, Earth, Sol-System, public school employment has grown 10 times faster than enrollment for 40 years (see chart), while achievement at the end of high school has stagnated in math and declined in science (see other chart).
Either the president is badly misinformed about our education system or he thinks that promising to hire another 10,000 teachers union members is politically advantageous-in which case he would seem to be badly misinformed about the present political climate. Or he lives in an alternate universe in which Kirk and Spock have facial hair and government monopolies are efficient. It’s hard to say.Related: Madison School District 2010-2011 Budget Update: $5,100,000 Fund Balance Increase since June, 2009; Property Taxes to Increase 9+%, and Ripon Superintendent Richard Zimman:
“Beware of legacy practices (most of what we do every day is the maintenance of the status quo), @12:40 minutes into the talk – the very public institutions intended for student learning has become focused instead on adult employment. I say that as an employee. Adult practices and attitudes have become embedded in organizational culture governed by strict regulations and union contracts that dictate most of what occurs inside schools today. Any impetus to change direction or structure is met with swift and stiff resistance. It’s as if we are stuck in a time warp keeping a 19th century school model on life support in an attempt to meet 21st century demands.” Zimman went on to discuss the Wisconsin DPI’s vigorous enforcement of teacher licensing practices and provided some unfortunate math & science teacher examples (including the “impossibility” of meeting the demand for such teachers (about 14 minutes)). He further cited exploding teacher salary, benefit and retiree costs eating instructional dollars (“Similar to GM”; “worry” about the children given this situation).
Thanks much for taking the time from your busy schedule to respond to our letter below. I am delighted to note your serious interest in the topic of how to obtain middle school teachers who are highly qualified to teach mathematics to the MMSD’s students so that all might succeed. We are all in agreement with the District’s laudable goal of having all students complete algebra I/geometry or integrated algebra I/geometry by the end of 10th grade. One essential component necessary for achieving this goal is having teachers who are highly competent to teach 6th- through 8th-grade mathematics to our students so they will be well prepared for high school-level mathematics when they arrive in high school.
The primary point on which we seem to disagree is how best to obtain such highly qualified middle school math teachers. It is my strong belief that the MMSD will never succeed in fully staffing all of our middle schools with excellent math teachers, especially in a timely manner, if the primary mechanism for doing so is to provide additional, voluntary math ed opportunities to the District’s K-8 generalists who are currently teaching mathematics in our middle schools. The District currently has a small number of math-certified middle school teachers. It undoubtedly has some additional K-8 generalists who already are or could readily become terrific middle school math teachers with a couple of hundred hours of additional math ed training. However, I sincerely doubt we could ever train dozens of additional K-8 generalists to the level of content knowledge necessary to be outstanding middle school math teachers so that ALL of our middle school students could be taught mathematics by such teachers.
One year into the Oneida Reads program, reading proficiency among Native students in Brown and Outagamie Counties has improved
Richelle Wilson: Recent test scores show that only about half of Wisconsin students are proficient in reading. Those numbers are even more stark for Native American students. In 2022, only 5 percent of Native third graders in Brown County were reading at grade level. “To find out that 95 percent of our children were struggling — […]
notes on Mississippi’s literacy success
Quinton Klabon: Is the Mississippi Miracle in reading real? Yeah! If anyone ever debunks it, it will not be people who cannot read a ranking chart. “To their credit, when I reached out to the authors about this mistake, they acknowledged it and reached out to get it fixed before publication.” Kelsey Piper: All right, […]
Wisconsin Early Literacy Screener Report: 2024-2025
Developed by Barb Novak, PhD Director, Office of Literacy: School and District level data (.xlsx). Act 20 annual reporting. —— Chris Rickert: Nearly 44% of Madison School District 4K through third graders scored below the 25th percentile on an early literacy screener required under a 2023 state law, the state Department of Public Instruction reported Monday, […]
Renaming process for taxpayer funded Madison schools slows to a trickle
Chris Rickert: Folger explained the delay in getting to Elvehjem and Lindbergh by saying that the process last school year to pick a name for the former Southside Elementary — now Lori Mann Carey Elementary — took longer than expected. “We are now on track to start the process for two schools this year,” he […]
has many more details about how and why public education quality has collapsed in America.
Noah Smith: Rice’s article is very long and has many more details about how and why public education quality has collapsed in America. The basic story is that the education reform movement spearheaded by George W. Bush, which focused on improving test scores, collapsed in the mid-2010s. After that, public schools across the country began […]
“choose among 16 Cal State campuses that are trying to fill classroom seats”
Joanne Jacobs summary: The most selective schools — San Jose State, San Diego State, Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, Cal Poly Pomona, Cal State Fullerton and Long Beach State — are not included. Cal State schools have higher graduation rates than community colleges. But students who wouldn’t apply if they had to fill out an […]
The signs of educational decline are now impossible to ignore
Megan McArdle: UC San Diego report shows students are not prepared for college, especially in math. Progressive educators watered down curriculums, gutted gifted and talented programs, and weakened admissions standards for honors classes and magnet schools. Colleges dropped standardized testing requirements, in part because that made it easier to diversify their student body. None of […]
“how do you capitalize in cursive?”
Garry Trudeau arrives (finally) in 2025…. —— Did taxpayer funded Wisconsin DPI Superintendent Underly Juice Test Scores for Reelection? ——- Only 31% of 4th graders in Wisconsin read at grade level, which is worse than Mississippi. ——- Madison taxpayers have long supported far above average (now > $25,000 per student) K-12 tax & spending practices. This, despite long […]
This is all you need to know: “Wisconsin DPI’s report cards measure poverty, not quality”
Quinton Klabon: ——- Poverty explains 50% of Forward Exam scores and 36% of ACT. So, control for poverty, and you can accurately rate and rank schools! best: Wauzeka-Steuben (small), Fond Du Lac (medium), Sheboygan/Janesville (big) ——- large districts’ Forward: Sheboygan: mid 4Janesville: mid 4Elmbrook: high 3Waukesha: mid 3Middleton: mid 3Wausau: mid 3Eau Claire: mid 3Appleton: […]
Taxpayer funded Wisconsin DPI: Governance and Outcone Inquiries
By Jim Bender & Patrick McIlheran Accused of gutting academic standards, manipulating report cards, slacking on fiscal oversight and bungling oversight of sexual misconduct among teachers, the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction is facing a crisis of confidence — and new questions about whether it is capable of handling myriad key functions. The latest blow […]
200 Madison teachers haven’t finished state mandated early literacy training
Erin Gretzinger: Asked by the Cap Times this month about the school district’s progress on fulfilling the requirements, district officials said 703 teachers had enrolled in the training as of the 2025-26 school year. Out of those enrolled, about 524 educators — or 75% — had completed the training. The district said 25 teachers hadn’t […]
Civics & K-12 Climate: The Fate of Empires
Sir John Glubb: Education undergoes the same gradual transformation. No longer do schools aim at producing brave patriots ready to serve their country. Parents and students alike seek the educational qualifications which will command the highest salaries. The Arab moralist, Ghazali (1058-1111), complains in these very same words of the lowering of objectives in the […]
“We do not have the number of students in the entirety of Boston Public Schools performing at grade level in ELA and math to fill the total available seventh-grade seats across the three exam schools.”
Karen Vaites: Getting rid of public gifted education programs will accelerate the enrollment crisis hitting American public schools When Zohran Mamdani came out in favor of eliminating New York City’s gifted and talented program in the earliest grades, it represented the latest chapter in an ongoing debate about gifted and selective schooling options in our nation’s largest […]
Tax & $pending Practices: Madison k-12 edition
Erin Gretzinger: Ian Folger, a spokesperson for the district, declined to identify the individual who created the new logo or comment on why the district paid Fieldtrip the same amount of money for less work. Edell Fielder, the district’s senior executive director of communications, said the individual who created the logo wants to remain anonymous. […]
Faking K-12 District Achievement Data: “Schools with proficiency rates in reading as low as 12.70% were rated as “Exceeds Expectations””
Institute For Reforming Government “DPI’s state report cards say rich districts are worth the property taxes, even when they aren’t, and poor districts meet expectations, even when they don’t. Meanwhile, DPI underrates many of Wisconsin’s best districts,” said Quinton Klabon, Senior Research Director at the Institute for Reforming Government. “Parents should not have to play a guessing […]
Notes on an audit of the taxpayer funded Wisconsin DPI
Kayla Huynh: The state Legislature’s bipartisan audit committee on Nov. 5 ordered a review into the Department of Public Instruction’s process for removing, suspending or restricting educator licenses. The audit comes as State Superintendent Jill Underly has received criticism for her department’s handling of grooming and sexual misconduct allegations against licensed school staff. The Legislative Audit Bureau will examine the […]
The Case Against Property Taxes: Property taxes violate natural rights, distort markets, and fund overspending
Vance Ginn: Note from Adam: There is growing momentum to limit or repeal state and local property taxes, which poses an interesting dilemma for libertarians and fiscal conservatives. Advocates see property taxes as relatively efficient, transparent, and minimally distortionary, while critics argue they fuel government growth, undermine secure property rights, and make housing more expensive. The […]
Wisconsin Legislature launches audit of DPI licensing processes following sexual misconduct, grooming cases
Danielle DuClos: State legislators called both hearings this week in response to reporting by the Cap Times that uncovered hundreds of sexual misconduct and grooming investigations conducted by the department from 2018 through 2023. In a joint statement, the audit commitee’s co-chairs — Sen. Eric Wimberger, R-Oconto, and Rep. Robert Wittke, R-Caledonia — said Underly and the department “failed […]
Legislative hearing focuses on sexual misconduct allegations in the Wisconsin’s public schools
Corrinne Hess: Wisconsin State Superintendent Jill Underly announced several changes on Tuesday to strengthen student safety amid criticism of her agency’s handling of accusations of sexual misconduct by educators. Underly also announced DPI would create a new online database to expand DPI’s existing pubic license look-up tool so the public can see teacher licenses that […]
Accountability and the taxpayer funded Wisconsin DPI
Mark Treinen: I’ve been doing journalism a long time and don’t recall a public official ever demanding a “public correction” of an entire story, and then proposing a bunch of fixes to the exact problems highlighted in the @CapTimes story. Jon Styf: DPI Superintendent Jill Underly appeared in front of the Senate Committee on Education […]
New analysis compares literacy vs. poverty rates for 10,000 districts, 42,000 schools and 3 million kids. Is your school a Bright Spot?
Chad Aldeman: So which schools help students get started on the right path? Last year, we set out to find the school districts that were doing the best job of teaching kids how to read. Now, we are expanding that search to individual schools — and have found 2,158 where third-grade reading scores are much higher than […]
K-12 Tax & $pending Priorityes and Politics
Quinton Klabon: We are near all-time highs in percentage of publicly funded students. And people can object to vouchers if they want. But we have the fewest -number- of publicly funded students since 1995. We can afford it! More. Did taxpayer funded Wisconsin DPI Superintendent Underly Juice Test Scores for Reelection? ——- Only 31% of […]
Findings cite lack of evidence-based teaching methods, long wait times for clinical assessments
Maggie Macintosh: Human rights investigators have found that parents of struggling readers across Manitoba are being forced to take on “a full-time job” of advocacy so their children can become literate in local public schools. The Manitoba Human Rights Commission released the long-awaited findings of its probe into literacy 101 education on Thursday — the […]
The University of Wisconsin System did not reply to requests for information about progress toward this requirement (early literacy…)
Office of Literacy, Office of the State Superintendent, Barb Novak: Reporting for Wis. Stat. §§ 115.39(4)(g) Administrators and Educators DPI is required to report (for the 2023 – 24 and 2024 – 25 school years), the number of individuals who completed the mandatory professional development training under 2023 Wisconsin Act 20, section 27 (2), which […]
Massachusetts, a bellweather blue state, is closely watching as landmark literacy legislation advances to the Senate
Karen Vaites: This week, the Massachusetts House passed legislation that would give its department of education – known as DESE – the right to mandate use of state-approved curriculum. A similar bill failed last year, yet Massachusetts outcomes have continued to slide: In October, the Boston Globe proclaimed a “Northern Nosedive” in reading scores, and finally, Massachusetts leaders are willing to touch a […]
“a cry of conscience from a parent addressed to Madison’s public schools”
Ray Mendez: We devote this blog to Mr. Ray Mendez, parent of a Madison public school student to Superintendent Joe Gothard and the school board: The head-stomping at Madison Westwas not a “fight.” It was a near-fatal attack. Madison Police arrested three teens; two are accused of first-degree reckless injury and battery, and a third faces battery and […]
On Rigor and our Education System
Gina Raimondo She also added that “a lesson we can learn from China is that they invest in the talent… whereas we don’t have an effective workforce system in this country, we incentivize attendance… we send everyone to college [and] people don’t have skills for jobs. China is incredibly intentional… There is a lot we […]
notes on the taxpayer funded Wisconsin DPI and Jill Underly’s re-election
David Blaska: All committed under the un-watchful eye of Superintendent Underly, a MAGA-hating progressive bought by the Democrat(ic) party (to the tune of $1,141,632 — 80% of her total campaign funding), supported by the teachers union, and endorsed by The Capital Times itself. As the news outlet reported: The WI Department of Public Instruction investigated more than […]
“This year’s (Madison) budget is 10% higher in both revenue and expenses compared to last year”
Erin Gretzinger: … with additional spending focused on the district’s priorities like expanding 4K options and boosting staffing, which went up by nearly 60 full-time equivalent positions. About 81% of the district’s budget goes toward staff compensation and benefits. The district’s total tax revenue will increase by a little over 20% this year, due in part to two referendums approved […]
k-12 Tax & $pending climate: Declining Referendum Support
Corrinne Hess: While most are focusing on the Gov race with the Marquette Law School Poll, this jumps out at me (Education reporter): For the first time, a majority, 57%, say they would be inclined to vote against a referendum to increase taxes for schools in their community. ——- Will Flanders: The @mulaw poll showed […]
Notes on The Taxpayer Funded Madison School District
David Blaska Everything progressives believe about K-12 education is wrong. It’s minority students who suffer most. So says The Atlantic magazine — hardly a MAGA outlet. “America is Sliding Toward Illiteracy,” its headline warns. “Declining standards and low expectations are destroying American education.” Bad enough State schools superintendent Jill Underly cooked the books to paper over Wisconsin’s declining test scores. The […]
The Chicago Teachers’ Union head was just promoted, despite eye-popping educational failures. Their priority is power, at the cost of student welfare and taxpayer interests
Corey A. DeAngelis Failure gets rewarded when it comes to government unions. Look no further than Stacy Davis Gates, the president of the Chicago Teachers Union (CTU). She was just unanimouslyelected to lead the Illinois Federation of Teachers (IFT). Her promotion comes despite a track record of presiding over educational disasters in Chicago, where student outcomes […]
“illiteracy and incarceration are big business.”
Kareem Weaver A former prisoner, but now a free man, advocate, author, and Emmy nominated actor is known as The Prison Coach for his ongoing work with incarcerated men. ——— Did taxpayer funded Wisconsin DPI Superintendent Underly Juice Test Scores for Reelection? ——- Only 31% of 4th graders in Wisconsin read at grade level, which is […]
What could happen if students graduate high school without learning to read well?
Natalie Proulx: New national testing data, reported in September, shows that the reading skills of American high school seniors are the worst they have been in three decades. A third of the 12th graders who were tested did not have basic reading skills. What is your reaction to that news? Does it surprise you? Do […]
k-12 tax & $pending climate: Madison and Dane County property tax increases outpace Wisconsin
Kali Hanson: Property taxes are climbing faster in Dane County and Madison than the rest of Wisconsin, according to a new Wisconsin Policy Forum analysis of state tax data. The countywide tax levy grew 5.7% to about $1.9 billion last year, with Madison’s portion of the total increasing 5.1% to $894 million. Tax levies increased […]
Notes on Raising Virginia’s k-12 test cut scores
Todd Truitt: Superintendent from Virginia’s largest school division says increasing the # of questions to be proficient on our standardized tests (from the lowest in the nation) will demotivate students. Nonsensical, self-serving statements like these undermine public schools. ——— Marc Porter Magee: “Amber Northern, a Virginia Board of Education member, said at the board’s September […]
Notes on taxpayer funded Wisconsin DPI Governance and $pending practices
Tom Tiffany: Wisconsin’s DPI poured time and resources into a 35-page DEI Plan but couldn’t find time to fully investigate 200+ teacher sexual misconduct cases. Our kids deserve better than woke leadership and coverups. Yet all we hear from Tony Evers and Jill Underly are crickets. 🦗 ——- more. ——— Did taxpayer funded Wisconsin DPI […]
educator sexual misconduct and grooming in Wisconsin
Danielle DuClos This time with a focus on school districts wanting thousands of dollars to provide staff investigation records No statewide tracking of sexual misconduct and grooming by teachers exists in Wisconsin, including at the state Department of Public Instruction, which oversees educator licenses. A federal study estimates one in 10 students across the country […]
“At some point, we’re going to see a significant increase in our student enrollment”
Erin Gretzinger: But those numbers only go so far. A 2019 studyconducted for the school district found that while the school district’s residential population grew by 100,000 people from the 1980s to the 2010s, the district’s enrollment remained largely stagnant. ——- Where Have All The Students Gone? 1995-2024 ——- Did taxpayer funded Wisconsin DPI Superintendent Underly […]
Wisconsin DPI Superintendent Jill Underly Responds to Cap Times Educator Misconduct Article
Keegan Kyle: Underly stood by the department’s practice of allowing educators under investigation for misconduct to voluntarily surrender their licenses to avoid further investigation. She said voluntary license surrenders often spare victims from “retraumatization through lengthy investigations.” She also called these license surrenders a “binding, legal agreement to a permanent, lifetime ban on their ability […]
DPI 2nd Response to My 6 October Act 20 Literacy Data Request
Adding to the curious tale for data submitted to DPI 7.15.2025: e-mail received 21 October, 2025: Jim, Public records laws do not require agencies to create records that do not currently already exist. The data you requested is not currently available in a record that is responsive to your request. Districts are required to submit […]
Taxpayer funded Wisconsin DPI Financial Governance Review: Choice vs Non Choice
Quinton Klabon summary: LAB said DPI is very harsh to choice schools! DPI threatened to defund private schools whose finances were 1 week late and defunded after 1 month. DPI…perhaps did not threaten districts? And it took DPI 5.5 months to defund MPS? 1 month versus half a year is a big disparity! ——- ——— […]
Virginia raises bar for students while Illinois hides struggles
Hannah Schmid Virginia raises bar for students while Illinois hides strugglesLow student proficiency is being hidden in Illinois. Virginia raised its expectations for students. While other states are attacking their portion of the national epidemic of poor reading and math proficiency, Illinois is burying the problem. Illinois approved a plan this summer to lower the […]
“I think Mississippi and Louisiana have a strong case to be made that their schools are performing considerably better than New Jersey’s are at a much lower cost.”
Chad Aldeman: But I want to double back on Sherrill’s casual slams on Mississippi and Louisiana. Do they have some of the “worst schools” in the nation, as Sherrill claimed? And by implication, is New Jersey doing better than these states? The answer to both of those questions is no. Sherrill’s confusion may stem from […]
Functionally illiterate high school graduates may have been passed through the school system without gaining needed skills.
Jessika Harkay One four young adults across the U.S. is functionally illiterate – yet more than half earned high school diplomas, according to recently released data. The number of 16-to-24 year olds reading at the lowest literacy levels increased from 16% in 2017 to 25% in 2023, according to data released in December from the National Center […]
Notes on the literacy long march
Ivana Greco: Who is right? Are there silver bullets in education? What does the Southern Surge teach us? A careful look at what is happening in the South doesn’t show us that education reform is easy. There are (sadly) no silver bullets. However, with significant effort over many years, it is indeed possible. As education […]
When School Boards Act Like the PTAPost
Robert Pondiscio School boards rarely make national news unless someone is shouting. A community member reads a passage from a controversial library book; a teacher’s social media post ignites outrage; a member storms out over masks or diversity policies. Skirmishes over culture war issues dominate headlines, giving the impression that the most pressing questions in […]
State Boards Of Education Are Regulators, Not Advocates
Andrew Rotherham: Why? The job is not to advocate for the schools, it’s to regulate the schools. Just like the SEC isn’t hostile to capitalism, but its role is not to excuse away every failing in the financial world. The SEC is charged with holding people accountable for those failures, remedies where appropriate, and putting […]
Wisconsin DPI: Ongoing Disastrous Reading Sausage Making
Quinton Klabon: Will reading reforms work in Wisconsin? By July 1st, teachers were supposed to relearn reading instruction the way the best states do it. Unfortunately ——- More: DPI misinterpreted Act 20 to say there was no deadline to follow the law. The Legislature has not enforced it, nor have they updated the law to […]
Teaching must recover the humility and neutrality appropriate to public service–or risk losing the public’s trust.
Robert Pondiscio Last week, my colleague Rick Hess published an essay that hits an increasingly raw nerve in American education. Writing about Oklahoma’s new “teacher test” aimed at ferreting out “woke indoctrination,” he observed that while the state is right to be concerned about politicization of the teaching profession, it has chosen the wrong remedy. In brief, […]
“a pervasive refusal to hold children to high standards”
Idrees Kahloon The past decade may rank as one of the worst in the history of American education. It marks a stark reversal from what was once a hopeful story. At the start of the century, American students registered steady improvement in math and reading. Around 2013, this progress began to stall out, and then to […]
shop class: now at home depot
www Discover some of the most in-demand careers in the trades. Learn about salary ranges, requirements, and responsibilities of a trade, and how many jobs are available across the country. ——— Meanwhile: Did taxpayer funded Wisconsin DPI Superintendent Underly Juice Test Scores for Reelection? ——- Madison taxpayers have long supported far above average (now > $25,000 per […]
A new book calls attention to how the educational establishment puts the interests of adults over those of children.
No Adult Left Behind: How Politics Hijacks Education Policy and Hurts Kids, by Vladimir Kogan (Cambridge University Press, 328 pp., $29.99) In February 2021—the same month the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released a school-reopening plan that effectively extended the Covid closures—teachers’ union bosses Randi Weingarten of the American Federation of Teachers (AFT) and […]
No Adult Left Behind
Neeraja Deshpande He begins with the problematic notion that “schools are ‘community institutions.’” This is a politically convenient concept that allows schools to get away with poor performance and drift from their core mission, making education about everything but academic performance. “Would residents be OK with drinking contaminated water, laced with dysentery and typhoid, in […]
“Now test scores are falling in New England, rising in Mississippi, Louisiana, Tennessee and Alabama”
Joanne Jacobs: Now test scores are falling in New England, rising in Mississippi, Louisiana, Tennessee and Alabama, he writes. While leaders of the “Southern Surge” focused relentlessly on improving reading instruction, New England schools were lowering expectations, Huffaker writes. To end the Massachusetts Malaise, leaders must “override the wishes of popular and powerful teachers unions, […]
“Siri, why is support for school choice rising so much?”
Andrew Rotherham summary: We’re defining success in a way that reflects our community values..not someone else’s” Dr. Reid unveils the Future Readiness Index, an effort to push back on new state accountability standards w a counter narrative that will allow FCPS to rely on various academic & non-academic metrics (such as degree of belonging & […]
Why Are the Democrats Increasing Inequality?
David Brooks: Because of those reform efforts, student achievement test scores in reading, math and most other academic subjects shot upward between the mid-1990s and about 2013. In 1990 48 percent of America’s eighth graders scored below basic competency in math. But by 2013 that was down to just 26 percent. The best part of […]
Notes on Governance in the taxpayer funded Madison School Board
Erin Gretzinger: But the district hadn’t analyzed the correlation between safety-related data, such as incidents or school climate surveys, and the recommendations, Assistant Superintendent Cindy Green said. “It depends on how you define safety, I think, but I think every day our schools work really hard,” Green said. “We have proactive teams in place. We […]
Is Mississippi cooking the books?
Karen Vaites & Kelsey Piper: No. The skeptics are wrong. The Southern Surge is real. The most important story in K-12 education is that a handful of states — and not the ones most expect — have figured out the tricky business of teaching kids to read. Mississippi, Louisiana, Tennessee, and Alabama have each bucked […]
“Reforms have so far lacked the top-down oversight common to the Southern success stories”
Christopher Huffaker: “Reforms have so far lacked the top-down oversight common to the Southern success stories. Some of her fifth-graders struggle to read. “I’m having to backfill more and teach to lower standards,” she says. Spelling is “always a struggle,” and some children aren’t able to read materials on their own, so she often reads […]
k-12 $pending and outcome analysis
Sarah Reber and Gabriela Goodman Key takeaways: —— Quinton Klabon: Higher school spending used to matter, but it does not now, says the left-leaning Brookings. They reckon 3 options: ——- Did taxpayer funded Wisconsin DPI Superintendent Underly Juice Test Scores for Reelection? ——- Madison taxpayers have long supported far above average (now > $25,000 per student) K-12 tax & […]
What are Madison Teachers Inc.’s priorities this school year?
Erin Gretzinger: As you probably heard (Monday) night at the School Board meeting, one of our priorities is getting the salary compression fixed for our veteran teachers. Another priority is working with the district to change our schedules and workloads. Our handbook and language hasn’t been changed in decades. Yet our schools and what’s happening in […]
88% per student tax & $pending growth over 8 years
Ted Dabrowski: Pritzker and Johnson have done nothing but drive up taxes in Chicago. Per student cost at CPS has jumped to $32K per student from $17K in eight years: an 88% spike. Spending keeps rising even as enrollment shrinks. Vote @TedForIllinois for change. ——— Did taxpayer funded Wisconsin DPI Superintendent Underly Juice Test Scores […]
Notes on Compensation and the Madison School Board
David Blaska: The tragedy of Madison’s public schools is that the minority-race students it valorizes are the ones who suffer most from its disempowering Woke racism. For its failures, the seven school board members are poised to reward itself with pay raises, health insurance, and out-of-town junkets. They meet tonight starting at 6 p.m. to consider: […]
notes on data veracity and the Taxpayer Funded Wisconsin DPI
Will Flanders: It appears DPI got the data wrong about private school choice performance in their press release on state tests. They note a decline in performance of 2.3 percentage point in ELA and a 2.7 percentage points in math. More from Will: Earlier I tweeted a question to @WisconsinDPI about their press release on […]
Whistling Past the Graveyard for Wisconsin Public Schools
Cory Brewer Superintendent Jill Underly delivered her annual “State of Education” address last week. If you tuned in hoping for an honest assessment of how Wisconsin students are doing, you were left disappointed. The event began, not with a frank discussion of student achievement, but with a land acknowledgment. Like much of what followed, it […]
School Board Commentary
The Principal’s office: Do parents understand that the elections with the least votes are for public school board members? Parents literally sit back and let a small group elect these lunatics who then implement harmful policies. How I wish mandating parents vote for the school board as part of the requirement for using public schools. […]
Notes on Wisconsin School District Exam Performance
Chris Rickert: In line with past years, suburban Madison districts have performed better than the state as a whole. Waunakee’s by-grade scores, for example, range as high as 82% of sixth graders meeting or exceeding standards in math and as high as 80% of sixth graders meeting or exceeding standards in English/language arts. Tim Schell, […]
New Lori Mann Carey Elementary School Principal
Erin Gretzinger: On one of his first days with Mann Carey Elementary’s staff, Brown asked people to write down all the anxieties they were carrying into the new school year. When they were done, he had them all crumble up their responses and put them into a bag. For a staff meeting on the first […]
Illiteracy is a policy choice
Kelsey Piper: But scores are not slipping everywhere. In Mississippi, they have been rising year over year. The state recovered from a brief decline during COVIDand has now surpassed its pre-COVID highs. Its fourth grade students outperform California’s on average, even though our state is richer, more educated, and spends about 50% more per pupil. […]
What Declines in Reading and Math Mean for the U.S. Work Force
Sarah Mervosh: “The U.S. is an example of frogs in the boiling water when it comes to talent,” said Jamie Merisotis, chief executive of the Lumina Foundation, which is focused on higher education and work force credentials. Because the United States has a large and diverse economy, he said, “it’s harder to see when the […]
“private school choice students once again have significantly higher proficiency levels in the MPCP, RPCP and statewide programs”
Will Flanders: The full report card is needed for a deeper dive, but compared to the most fair public school group (low-income students), private school choice students once again have significantly higher proficiency levels in the MPCP, RPCP and statewide programs. ——- Did taxpayer funded Wisconsin DPI Superintendent Underly Juice Test Scores for Reelection? ——- […]
“Stagnation as we fall behind states like MS isn’t acceptable”
Will Flanders: The New Forward Exam results are available in Wisedash this morning. No time yet for a deep dive, but it looks as if, overall, the state has held relatively steady with the inflated performance levels of last year. Did taxpayer funded Wisconsin DPI Superintendent Underly Juice Test Scores for Reelection? ——- Madison taxpayers […]
A discussion of Wisconsin’s reduced rigor “report cards
Wisconsin Eye and WILL. Did taxpayer funded Wisconsin DPI Superintendent Underly Juice Test Scores for Reelection? ——- Madison taxpayers have long supported far above average (now > $25,000 per student) K-12 tax & spending practices. This, despite long term, disastrous reading results. Madison Schools: More $, No Accountability The taxpayer funded Madison School District long used Reading Recovery… The data […]
“It’s hard for folks to grasp that decades of DPI incompetence mean we now look up at the state that forever was a symbol of failure”
Will Flanders Summary: The title of this thread on the Wisconsin Reddit is both funny and sad because WI should only WISH to be Mississippi when it comes to NAEP scores. Dan Lennington: Tony Evers has been in charge of Wisconsin education policy since 2009 (& effectively since 2001). Republicans have been completely unable to […]
Commentary on Parental School Choice
Neal McCluskey: The school choice movement is not a conspiracy. It is an ordinary political effort that stems naturally from a fundamental question of mass education in a diverse society: How do you handle plural values, identities, and educational desires? But you would not know that from The Privateers: How Billionaires Created a Culture War and […]
