Search Results for: An emphasis on 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 […]
“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. […]
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 […]
“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 […]
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’.
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.
“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 […]
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 […]
“Take class size,” Mr. Stephens said. “There’s no solid data evidence that a smaller class size equals a better adult.”
Dana Goldstein: Dana Goldstein traversed Orlando with a team of public school recruiters who were searching for families. A decline in the number of babies being born and a boom in private school vouchers and home-schooling have combined to create an enrollment crisis for public education. The threat is so great that some school districts […]
Your Kids Are Nothing More Than a Revenue Stream in a K-12 Jobs Program for Adults
Dissident Teacher: With a captive audience, guaranteed revenue, and increased funding for poor performance, public schools have little incentive to ensure any child learns. There’s an enormous disconnect between what parents think public schools do and what the system actually produces. People believe schools exist to educate kids. They don’t. Like so many other systems […]
A staggering 20% of American adults are illiterate, with 48 million adults in the U.S. reading at or below the third-grade level.
Larissa Phillips Despite this alarming statistic, some educators believe it’s impossible to teach these adults to read. However, this notion is misguided and requires a different approach. Marian* was in her late 30s when we first met, and she asked me to help her learn to read. This was in 2007. I was the new-ish […]
“The Milwaukee k-12 governance structure is designed to support adult needs over children’s”
William Andrekopoulos Fortunately, I had a mostly strong and supportive board with the courage to pass those recommendations even when there were hostile reactions from the public. These included closing under-enrolled schools, changing school start times for transportation savings, moving to central kitchens, and negotiating benefit changes. There is not enough space here to talk […]
On average, 79% of U.S. adults nationwide are literate in 2024.
National Literacy Institute: WEAC: $1.57 million for Four Wisconsin Senators Legislation and Reading: The Wisconsin Experience 2004- “Well, it’s kind of too bad that we’ve got the smartest people at our universities, and yet we have to create a law to tell them how to teach.” The data clearly indicate that being able to read is not a […]
“No other Trusted Adults”
Scott Girard: While the walkout was focused on Assad, as Yang continually reminded the group when conversation drifted to other resources and solutions, it also highlighted a larger concern: many of the students there said they couldn’t trust any other adult in the school. “If you’re not a minority, you wouldn’t understand the impact of […]
“Adults first” policy commentary
Emily Oster: Local governments are relaxing pandemic restrictions at a dizzying pace, removing mask requirements and vaccine entry rules for businesses. Politicians are generally pushing for a return to normalcy. But for one group, change is not forthcoming: children. The removal of mask mandates in schools is likely weeks, if not months, away in some […]
“public education employment has the second lowest quit rate of any sector of the U.S. economy”
Mike Antonucci: As is plain from the numbers, we spiked in both during the summer of 2020, and everything returned to normal soon after. Not one of the above stories, nor any news report on the issue I have seen, contains any mention that public education employment has the second lowest quit rate of any […]
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. […]
2021 K-12 Adult School Climate….
Wow! NPR tonight. Teachers justifying why it’s better for schools to be closed. “Kids are resilient. Parents tell me their kids are falling behind but they have to understand they are falling behind in arbitrary developmental goals we’ve set”. ? — Victoria Fox (@drvictoriafox) December 23, 2020 Related: Catholic schools will sue Dane County Madison Public […]
The Bias Fallacy: It’s the achievement gap, not systemic racism, that explains demographic disparities in education and employment.
Heather MacDonald: The United States is being torn apart by an idea: that racism defines America. The death of George Floyd under the knee of a Minneapolis police officer in late May 2020 catapulted this claim into national prominence; riots and the desecration of national symbols followed. Now, activists and their media allies are marshaling […]
MTI files complaint with state employment relations commission over budget cuts survey
Scott Girard: Madison Teachers Inc. has filed a complaintagainst the Madison Metropolitan School District related to a survey sent out to staff last week. The Prohibited Practice Complaint was filed Monday with the Wisconsin Employment Relations Commission and seeks an immediate cease and desist of the survey and asks that the district be made to destroy […]
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 […]
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 […]
“A Adult issues kept you out of the classroom where you belong”
Nate Bowling: That’s an injustice and there’s no way to spin that. There shouldn’t have been a strike. I found the last two weeks mind-numbingly frustrating because it was preventable. If the McCleary Settlement was done with transparency, rather than dead-of-night-last-second deal making, we wouldn’t be here. If a fair contract had been offered from […]
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 […]
“placing adult-centric politics over systemic school improvement”
Laura Waters: Plenty, according to members of the “Save Camden High School” cadre, who have rebranded themselves under the New Jersey Communities United banner and are planning a confrontation tonight at the Camden Board of Education meeting. Instead of following Sheriff Wilson’s example of placing children’s academic needs on top, this group has decided a […]
We should be spooked by the rate of Implementation Failure for literacy policy.
Karen Vaites: A recent study “compared trends before and after dyslexia laws were enacted across 47 states, ” and the findings were grim: “First, more than half of the states with these new laws showed no significant shift in identifying learning disabilities related to reading. Some states identified more students, some fewer, but there was no consistent […]
taxpayer funded “schools of Hope” and The Madison School District
Teagan King: The programs are shuttering at the end of this school year, the district confirmed Monday, after President Donald Trump’s administration cut funding for AmeriCorps initiatives like United Way’s Schools of Hope last year. “We are deeply grateful to United Way of Dane County, as well as the many volunteers who have supported our […]
Mississippi changed far more than just how reading is taught
Rachel Canter: No story has caught the imagination of education reformers this decade quite like the “Mississippi miracle.” From 1998 to 2024, fourth-grade reading and math scores in my home state—the nation’s poorest—rose from among the worst in the country to among the best. When adjusting for demographic factors such as poverty, we’re in first place. Other states […]
2026 Madison School Board Election Results
Erin Gretzinger: Blair Mosner Feltham and Nicki Vander Meulen will retain their seats on the Madison School Board, defeating challengers Daniella Molle and Dana Colussi-Lynde in two contested races Tuesday. In the Seat 6 election, Mosner Feltham, a teacher in the Sun Prairie Area School District, received 61.8% of the vote with 100% of precincts […]
Money and School Performance: Lessons from the Kansas City Desegregation Experiment
By Paul Ciotti: For decades critics of the public schools have been saying, “You can’t solve educational problems by throwing money at them.” The education establishment and its supporters have replied, “No one’s ever tried.” In Kansas City they did try. To improve the education of black students and encourage desegregation, a federal judge invited […]
25% of Wisconsin college students fail the FORT Foundations of Reading Test
IRG link: 25% of Wisconsin college students fail the FORT Foundations of Reading Test. While the Universities of Wisconsin has said they are complying with reforms required in 2023 Act 20 that could help more students pass, DPI has not detailed that compliance. Meanwhile, only 10% of students fail in literacy leader Massachusetts, which has […]
Beyond Race: What Really Drives Wisconsin’s Achievement Gaps
Will Flanders: For years, Wisconsin has held a troubling distinction in American education: the largest racial achievement gap in the nation. On the 2024 fourth-grade reading assessment from the National Assessment of Educational Progress, the gap between white and African American students in Wisconsin was 45 points. The scale of the disparity has fueled intense debate. Some […]
Most Wisconsin parents underestimate school spending:
Kyle Koenen: Reality: ~$17,900 (Madison > $26,000) If people don’t know how much we’re spending, it becomes difficult to determine the “right” amount of spending on schools. 🧵/2 WILL: Parents Are Unaware of Current School Spending: 44% of parents surveyed say they are “not sure” how much is spent on each student. Another 43% provide estimates […]
Flawed Claims and Recent K-12 Tax & $pending Lawfare
Will Flanders: A new lawsuit has challenged the constitutionality of Wisconsin’s public school finance system, with plaintiffs arguing that inadequate state funding denies students a “sound basic education.” The case threatens the entire current state education funding system, with implications extending beyond traditional public school funding to include school choice programs. While the complaint alleges […]
Memphis-Shelby County Schools Forensic Audit
Tristar Daily: Key Findings from the Interim Report – Deficiencies and Observations: Nearly 175 deficiencies were identified across various sections of the report, indicating systemic issues. – Financial Mismanagement: – Disbursements: $1,145,909.97 flagged as waste or abuse, with about $1,112,750 linked to contract-related spending. – Issues included inadequate oversight, unsupported or duplicative […]
“Madison schools are not underfunded. In fact, voters have not voted down a school referendum in two decades.”
Dave Cieslewicz: For example, in 2024, Madison voters approved a record $507 million capital improvements referendum. One of the largest items in that referendum was $85 million for a new, bigger building to house Sherman Middle and Shabazz High schools. Yet, that building is at only 50% of capacity, and projections are for enrollments to go down. Before […]
K-12 Rigor & Outcomes: China edition
The Economist: Until recently, most leading AI research was produced by experts based in the West. That is changing. In 2025, for the first time, more studies presented at the world’s top AIconference had lead authors based in China than in either America or Europe. To better understand the international ebbs and flows of AI talent, The Economist tracked the education histories […]
Complaint: Madison teacher exchanged 129,000 messages with student he’s accused of grooming
Chris Rickert: Madison School District teacher exchanged nearly 130,000 messages with a female student and repeatedly told her he loved her and pressured her for increasing amounts of physical contact, a criminal complaint alleges. Eliav M. Goldman, 29, was charged Tuesday with felony grooming and sexual misconduct for his behavior with the student, which began […]
Notes on Perhaps Considering Madison’s k-12 attendance boundaries
Erin Gretzinger: Under state open records laws, the Cap Times obtained the open-ended survey responses, which reveal the extent of tension in the community over what should be the school district’s priorities as it redraws school boundaries. While dozens stressed the importance of diverse schools and equitably distributing resources, many also urged the school district […]
Watering down graduation requirements doesn’t help kids.
Washington Post: Higher graduation rates are something to celebrate, so long as they’re actually backed by an increase in academic achievement, but Boston’s standardized test scores tell a different story. Mayor Michelle Wu (D) says her city’s graduation rate at public high schools — 81.3 percent last year, the highest in district history — came […]
Notes on Wisconsin K-12 $pending Growth
Will Flanders: That Wisconsin schools are somehow “underfunded” is pure misinformation. Below is inflation adjusted spending since 2000. We spend MORE than we did in 2000. We spend within $200 of the all time highs right before Act 10. The media needs to start questioning this narrative. ——- more. ——- Fast Lane Literacy 1998! Money and […]
“The schools focus more on the color of students’ skin than on the educational model for them to succeed”
Shannon Whitworth: For example, the Obama administration implemented a race-based disciplinary approach for secondary schools. In practice, this policy led many schools to limit discipline to avoid racial disparities in disciplinary outcomes, reducing accountability for students’ unacceptable behavior in school. In turn, that policy encouraged disruptive behavior in classrooms. It also created an environment not conducive […]
Curious Tax Rhetoric From Madison’s $26K/Student Superintendent
Joe Gothard: I want to sincerely thank the community members who havewrittenletters to the editor about my recent comments in a March 2 Wisconsin State Journal article. In it, I used “tax rate” when I meant “tax amount.” I realize my wording missed the mark, and I regret any misunderstanding this caused. My consistent message has been that […]
Madison Schools’ Enrollment Notes
Teagan King: This year, 25,029 students are enrolled in Madison schools, a 0.5% decrease from last year, when 25,155 attended. Enrollment also has fallen statewide over the past five years, according to data from the Department of Public Instruction released earlier this month. Larger 12th-grade classes than incoming freshman classes are partially to blame for […]
K-12 Schools Need A ‘Moneyball’ Moment
Paul Runko: So it’s time for K-12 public education to have a “Moneyball” moment. Here’s the “stats” that should matter when schools construct their teacher rosters: 1. Classroom Management Students can’t learn if they are constantly distracted by their peers or chaos in the classroom. Principals, administrators, and school board members can easily observe a […]
k-12 tax, $pending & outcome Rhetoric
Will Flanders Public scjools apparently have realized the(y) can no longer lie about their failures, and have now decided to blame taxpayers. $18,592 per kid is more than enough. Private and charter schools get better results for $1000s less per student. ——- Fast Lane Literacy 1998! Money and school performance. A.B.T.: “Ain’t been taught.” 8,897 (!) Madison 4k […]
The Reading Wars
John Stossel: “My child can’t read!” That’s become a common complaint from parents. Why? It might be because kids are distracted by social media and video games. But I think it’s also because reading instruction became lazy and political. “Progressives” at teachers’ colleges pushed a reading technique called “Balanced Literacy.” Instead of memorizing sounds and […]
When high school grads can’t do math
Chad Aldeman: Besides, thanks largely to the state’s investments in free community college for everyone and tuition- and fee-free public four-year college for students from low-income families, the number of students attending public colleges and universities has jumped by about 24,000 since 2022. That’s a gain of 16 percent in three years, reversing years of declines and […]
Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear Bows to the Teachers Union
Wall Street Journal Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear is supposed to be the great moderate hope for Democrats in 2028, but on Friday he revealed himself as a captive of the left’s most destructive interest group. He vetoed a bill to opt his state into the federal tax-credit scholarship program, taking dictation from the teachers union. “The answer […]
Litigation, K-12 Tax & $pending Increases
Steven Walters: “Between the 1999-2000 and 2022-2023 school years, statewide fourth grade reading proficiency dropped from 78% to 44.8% (a 43% decline…) and statewide eighth grade math proficiency dropped from 42% to 30.5% (a 27% decline..).” If the governor and Legislature don’t respond to a ruling that the current system is unconstitutional, the suit asks […]
Notes on Competitive 2026 Madison School Board Elections
Erin Gretzinger: As Mosner Feltham and Vander Meulen underscored their track records and ongoing endeavors to improve the Madison Metropolitan School District, Molle and Colussi-Lynde spotlighted their ideas and what differentiates them from their opponents. The candidates share many overarching priorities, such as advocating for changes to the state funding formula for public schools and addressing salary compression for […]
What we need are candidates who will raise the most important issues and offer real choices.
Dave Cieslewicz: Now, to be sure, I will happily vote for both of them because any change to this dismal board has to be a step in the right direction. Incumbents Blair Mosner Feltham and Nicki Vander Meulen have been part of a board that is leading the district to new depths each year. Year […]
“A Nation at Risk to a Nation at Work”
Bipartisan Policy Center Calls for federal alignment, clear career pathways, removal of barriers to keep U.S. competitive WASHINGTON, DC—The Bipartisan Policy Center today released a comprehensive blueprint for tackling one of America’s most important domestic challenges: preparing America’s workforce for the jobs of today—and into the future. In a newly released report, “A Nation at […]
Will the Science of Reading Deliver This Time?
Frederick Hess After all, it was 26 years ago this spring that the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development issued its National Reading Panel report, which made the case for the science of reading and emphasized the need for explicit instruction in phonemic awareness and systematic phonics instruction. Those recommendations were the foundation of the […]
“Children not raised in two parent homes struggle on many dimensions”
WILL: Wisconsin continues to lead the nation in the racial achievement gap between white and African American students. According to the 2024 National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) in fourth grade reading, Wisconsin’s 45-point gap is the largest in the country—13 points greater than the next grouping of states such as Louisiana, Michigan, and South […]
The Wrong Investigation of a Madison School Board Member
Dave Cieslewicz: Maia Pearson, the chair of Madison’s police oversight board and a Madison school board member, has been charged with criminal misdemeanors related to her resisting arrest in an incident in downtown Madison in December. In a criminal complaint, it is alleged that she and her friend, Urban Triage executive director Brandi Grayson, verbally […]
Civics: “No conflict in police monitor investigating arrest of Madison police oversight chair”
Chris Rickert: Pearson and Grayson were arrested after Grayson refused to move her vehicle — in which Pearson was a passenger — out of a theater’s no-parking area and argued with theater employees, according to police and the Dane County District Attorney’s Office. A source with knowledge of the event has said that the theater […]
24 Hours: Diversity Statements, Sausage Making and UW Madison’s Overton Window
I often find interesting talks when occasionally visiting today.wisc.edu. However, awareness of John Sailer’s March 4, 2026 talk arrived via email, with no presence – as far as I could find – on today.wisc.edu (search results for Sailer). I did observe a related notice displayed on 5 March 2026: “Diversity/Equity/Inclusivity Statements for the Academic Job […]
Generous school spending doesn’t always deliver results
Matthew Yglesias The growing progressive interest in exotic new tax-policy ideas — like Bernie Sanders and Ro Khanna saying they can raise trillions in revenue from a base of around 1,000 billionaires — shows a left that has lost faith in the idea of asking Americans to pay higher taxes in exchange for more and better public services. And […]
“Interestingly, the majority of voters in a new Harvard/Harris poll believe teachers’ unions shouldn’t be involved in politics”
Harvard Harris Poll: More, from Neetu Arnold. ——- WEAC: $1.57 million for Four Wisconsin Senators “An emphasis on adult employment”
“independent charter schools have the highest median performance relative to demographic expectations of any school sector”
Will Flanders: We also look at Wisconsin’s largest school choice program–open enrollment. Here, you see the marketplace working as families move to school districts with better academic outcomes and graduation rates. The Report: WILL’s Apples to Apples report provides a rigorous, side-by-side comparison of academic performance across Wisconsin’s public, charter, and private choice schools. Because […]
Understanding High Schools’ Effects on Longer-Term Outcomes
Preeya P. Mbekeani, John P. Papay, Ann Mantil & Richard J. Murnane: Improving education and labor market outcomes for low-income students is critical for advancing socioeconomic mobility in the United States. We use longitudinal data on five cohorts of 9th grade students to explore how Massachusetts public high schools affect the longer-term outcomes of students, […]
“Schools have become laboratories for esoteric ideological projects, not centers of learning”
Jason Riley: Far too many children are still assigned to substandard schools, and too many remain unable to read or do math at grade level. Meanwhile, educators and policymakers seem preoccupied with nonsense like helping students “transition” behind their parents’ backs or indoctrinating impressionable youngsters with social-justice poppycock to promote trendy political causes. American kids […]
What does an unconstitutional “gender support policy” look like? Below is one from Madison, Wis.
Dan Lennington: Note that the plan tells teachers to actively deceive parents by referring to students one way in school & another way in front of family. WILL: “The Supreme Court reinforced that parents have enforceable rights to be involved in major decisions affecting their children’s health and wellbeing. Because of this clarification, WILL is […]
Understanding High Schools’ Effects on Longer-Term Outcomes
Preeya P. Mbekeani, John P. Papay, Ann Mantil & Richard J. Murnane: Improving education and labor market outcomes for low-income students is critical for advancing socioeconomic mobility in the United States. We use longitudinal data on five cohorts of 9th grade students to explore how Massachusetts public high schools affect the longer-term outcomes of students, […]
A curious chat with Madison’s well funded k-12 Superintendent-Achievement….?
Teagan King The 2024 referendum passed by a wide margin, but some people are feeling surprised by what they’re having to contribute to it. Do you have any response to some taxpayers’ concerns? We don’t assess properties, so we’re not increasing the property value, and if property value goes up, of course the tax rate […]
“Rent Seeking” and the California Teachers Union
David Crane: Now you know why the rent-seeking community descended on San Francisco this weekend for the CA Democratic convention. They cannot afford to allow anyone else pick the state’s political leadership. But notice also how little of the state’s population the rent-seekers represent: Less than 10 percent of the state’s population and just 20 […]
March 11 Madison School Board Candidate Forum
Cap Times: Two Madison School Board seats will be decided by voters on April 7, and the Cap Times will bring together the candidates for each seat in a public forum on Wednesday, March 11, at La Follette High School. The moderators will be Cap Times education reporter Erin Gretzinger and Taylor Kilgore of the […]
Madison leaders demand action on report that student was fed dog food
Erin Gretzinger: As authorities investigate allegations that an East High School staff member fed dog food to a student, state Rep. Shelia Stubbs and other community leaders called on the Madison school district to expedite its review and release more information. At the state Capitol Friday alongside Stubbs and others, Debra Hawkes said the staff […]
Massachusetts needs to catch up with Mississippi on reading instruction
Boston Globe: A 2023 study of 19 teacher preparation programs in Massachusetts underscored the need for this requirement. That study, conducted by the National Council on Teacher Quality, gave grades of D or F to 15 of those 19 programs for their literacy training, while only 3 received an A or better. Several of the state’s largest teacher preparation […]
K-12 Tax & $pending Climate: Wisconsin ranked among states with the highest property taxes
Chris Mueller Wisconsin homeowners face one of the heaviest property tax burdens in the country, according to a new report from WalletHub. The personal finance website compared property tax rates in all 50 states and the District of Columbia by using U.S. Census Bureau data, which it said shows the average U.S. household pays $3,119 a year […]
“She’s also a member of the Madison School Board”
Dave Cieslewicz: And here’s what Pearson is alleged to have done according to a criminal complaint as part of formal charges brought against her last week. She and a friend, Brandi Grayson, were out together just before Christmas. At about 11 PM they parked in a loading zone behind a theatre. When a security guard asked them […]
Lawfare seeks to grow Madison’s $26k/student taxpayer spending
Corrinne Hess: “This is a constitutional challenge to the deficiency of the state public finance system for our schools,” said Jeff Mandell, president of Law Forward, the firm representing the plaintiffs. “Despite heroic efforts that have held our schools together for as long as they’ve made it under this deficient funding, it’s not enough. These […]
What Has Changed and What Hasn’t Changed in Education
Zach Groshell: What Has Changed AI is dramatically better than it was a year ago. New models have emerged that are not just incrementally improved but fundamentally more capable. That part is clear. What hasn’t changed requires a longer conversation. What Has Not Changed Direct Instruction in the Engelmann tradition remains the most effective method […]
The U.S. spent $30 billion to ditch textbooks for laptops and tablets: The result is the first generation less cognitively capable than their parents
By Sasha Rogelberg He said Gen Z is the first generation in modern history to score lower on standardized tests than the previous one. While skills measured by these tests, like literacy and numeracy, aren’t always indicative of intelligence, they are a reflection of cognitive capability, which Horvath said has been on the decline over the […]
Madison crowns its top speller, who won bee with ‘drupiferous’ and ‘Ecuador’
Anna Hansen: The three top spellers advanced to the Badger State Spelling Bee on March 21, so Barnhill will be joined by Joanne Aldoori of Madinah Academy, who placed second, and third-place finisher Ignatius Fassino of St. Ambrose Academy. Casey Barnhill found his spelling bee victory cradled between Colombia, Peru and the Pacific Ocean. The […]
Madison School Board vice president charged two months after arrest
Erin Gretzinger The Dane County district attorney filed misdemeanor charges of disorderly conduct and resisting an officer against Madison School Board Vice President Maia Pearson Thursday. The charges stem from a December incident involving Pearson and Brandi Grayson, the CEO of Urban Triage, that led to their arrests. Both Pearson and Grayson have entered not guilty pleas and […]
Thoreau Elementary Student Nude Photo Case
Chris Rickert: Jensen then told police that the person who made the original report in October has a stepsister who goes to Thoreau, that the stepsister had seen the photo and told her mother about it, and that the mother had reported the photo’s existence to the school. Madison police and the Madison School District […]
Adjusted for student poverty, southern states are beating the rest
The Economist: It helps that red states have gone back to basics: legislators in state capitals have enacted new rules that require teaching reading via phonics and holding failing schools accountable. Those decisions matter a great deal for classrooms. But America is made up of more than 13,000 school districts, most of which have the […]
She Graduated With Honors But She Can’t Read
Garry Tan: I sometimes wonder about the fervor education bureaucrats have for making standardized testing optional. Then I hear stories like Aleysha’s and know exactly why they do it. Tests reveal the rot. San Francisco paid 6-figures to education school bureaurcrats pushing “Grading for Equity” — homework doesn’t count, unlimited test retakes, lateness and absence don’t affect […]
Democrats, This Is Why You Haven’t Fixed Schools Yet
Jorge Elorza: America is in a decade-long education depression. Barely a third of students are proficient in reading or math across most grades in recent testing, achievement gaps are widening fast, and too many college freshmen are arriving on campus unable to read a full book or do middle-school-level math. Chronic absenteeism has surged after the pandemic; students are disengaged. Educators […]
Wisconsin DPI Stonewalls Public: Where’s the Secret Waterpark Workshop Contract?
Brian Fraley: DPI has a transparency problem that is quickly becoming a legal one. After a year of stonewalling our investigation into what we discovered was a taxpayer-funded Waterpark Workshop, the department has yet to release the vendor contract. Conveniently for them, it is the very document they claim restricts their ability to provide more details […]
Jill Underly, Tony Evers, Ben Jones and Wisconsin DPI Influence, Open Records, Non Outcomes & Sausage Making
Ah politics. Funny how things “work”. Ben Jones: Prior to being appointed to the bench, Judge Jones built an impressive record as an attorney in private practice, and then was legal counsel under three successive Superintendents at the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction (DPI), the state’s education agency. Ben distinguished himself at DPI as the […]
“If these outcomes seem incoherent, that’s because they are”
San Francisco Chronicle: But San Francisco’s strike did not occur in a vacuum. The California Teachers Association, the powerful statewide union representing teachers, has made no secret of the fact that it is coordinating a statewide campaign — dubbed “We Can’t Wait” — to align teacher strikes in more than two dozen districts, from San Francisco to Los […]
“Per DPI, GB would pay 350 fewer staff if they had 2017 ratios.”
Quinton Klabon: You MUST watch this @dgo151 journalism! Green Bay says all schools are underfunded.Reporter asks if hiring way more staff has caused deficits.(Per DPI, GB would pay 350 fewer staff if they had 2017 ratios.)GB freezes, changes mind, says it’s actually good to super-staff. —— “An emphasis on adult employment”
Wisconsin Literacy curriculum update 
Quinton Klabon: 🚨ACT 20 READING UPDATE🚨 A.B.T.: “Ain’t been taught.” 8,897 (!) Madison 4k to 3rd grade students scored lower than 75% of the students in the national comparison group during the 2024-2025 school year. Madison taxpayers have long supported far above average (now > $26,000 per student) K-12 tax & spending practices. This, despite long term, disastrous reading […]
Legislative Letter to Jill Underly on Wisconsin Literacy
Senator Eric Limburger and Legislator Robert Wittke: February 10, 2026 Dr. Jill Underly, State Superintendent Department of Public Instruction 201 West Washington Avenue Madison, Wisconsin 53703 Dear Dr. Underly: 2023 Wisconsin Act 20 created several requirements for the Department of Public Instruction (DPI) related to literacy. In DPI’s report on the 2024-25 universal reading assessment […]
“Our children are less cognitively capable than we were at their age.”
Carl Hendrick: This is not hyperbole dressed as provocation. For nearly the entire 20th century, IQ scores rose steadily; each generation gained approximately six points over their parents, a phenomenon known as the Flynn Effect. Starting around the year 2000, this trend reversed across much of the Western world. Crucially, in countries where traditional schooling […]
“The “perma-state” does not adhere to traditional political ideology; it is simply about survival”
Nick Dozoozlian The Executive must interrogate prospective reforms through the lens of power redistribution by simply asking: “Who loses power?” This query invariably prognosticates loci of resistance or, as in Nixon’s case, overt sabotage. Nixon’s error was underestimating how far entrenched players in our bureaucracy would go—a lapse replicated by subsequent administrations, from Reagan’s encounters […]
SFUSD pension spending grew 𝟱𝟯𝟴% since 2006. Revenue grew 123%. That gap is why your kids aren’t in school right now.
Love: 𝗙𝗼𝗹𝗹𝗼𝘄 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗠𝗼𝗻𝗲𝘆 The district spends $𝟮𝟱𝟬 𝗺𝗶𝗹𝗹𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗮 𝘆𝗲𝗮𝗿 on pensions and retiree health benefits. Every dollar goes to retired employees. Zero reaches a working teacher or a classroom. This spending spiral stems from a miscalculation the state was warned about two decades ago. 𝗦𝗼𝗺𝗲𝗼𝗻𝗲 𝗧𝗿𝗶𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗼 𝗦𝘁𝗼𝗽 𝗧𝗵𝗶𝘀 Stanford lecturer David Crane […]
notes on Madison’s Disastrous Literacy Results and Tutors
Erin Gretzinger Members of the Wisconsin Literacy Justice Coalition have talked with school district administrators about their ideas. FitzGerald described the district’s response to their proposals as “lukewarm,” while Wagner said the conversations so far have been “cordial” and the coalition is open to either taking a leading role or supporting the district’s plans. “We […]
“I was the highest-performing teacher in Colorado. No one noticed.”
Holly Korbey, Luke Morin: What I would come to learn over time is that the qualities schools are quickest to reward aren’t always the ones most closely tied to student learning. Early in my career, I was celebrated for effort, visibility, and good intentions. Years later, after deliberately studying great classrooms and becoming a far […]
“Lowering the temperature shouldn’t mean lowering accountability”
Neetu Arnold: I appreciate @NickKristof visiting AL/MS to learn from their educational gains. But I reject the growing “both sides” frame for why good reforms haven’t scaled It downplays how unions & ideology resist sound policies. Even if blue states now support reading & math reforms, that doesn’t mean the political instincts behind bad choices […]
A republic needs literacy
Mary Katherine Ham: more. In a video I stumbled on recently, a man in a hoodie reads to the camera, somewhat haltingly telling the story of Aslan and the Pevensie children. He’s been working his way, one chapter a day, through The Chronicles of Narnia. The text over the video reads, “37 years old, fifth-grade […]
Open Records and the Taxpayer Funded Wisconsin DPI
Brian Fraley: The Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction has many problems. They’re self righteous, secretive and indignant. Their communications efforts do not offer clarity, they obfuscate. This was on full display in their spokesperson’s response to Dairyland Sentinel’s reporting. The statement was emailed out to many media outlets. Here’s a link to the full statement as […]
“Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction, which oversees educator licenses, is against the proposed changes to its (sexual misconduct) investigations”
Danielle DuClos: The bill would require the department to publish on its website if an educator surrendered their license amid an investigation into misconduct. It would also remove ways to justify denying access to case records under state open records laws and mandate the department fulfill requests for case records within 14 days, if an […]
