Putting Our Changing (Milwaukee) District to the Test

Alan Borsuk:

As a new school year opens, we look at the new challenges and recurring demands facing education and ask what can be done to aid our classrooms and students

The start of the school year is always a time when children, parents, teachers and administrators have to rush to take care of a zillion small questions, from what to wear on the first day to whether there's a teacher in every classroom.

But it is also the start of the next round of the wrestling match with the largest questions hanging over education, especially in urban places such as Milwaukee.

Here are 10 of the big questions facing Milwaukee as the school year begins in earnest today and thumbnail thoughts on how they are being answered.

1) What works? Want to hear a recitation of all the reforms that haven't really succeeded in getting better educational outcomes for Milwaukee children? Neither do we. Nonetheless, there are bright spots on the local education scene - specific schools that are doing well - and they tend to have common traits, including excellent principals, united and stable staffs, a strong commitment to clear education programs and a willingness to keep working with each child to get the child engaged and to the point of success.

Posted by Jim Zellmer at September 5, 2007 12:00 AM
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