Jessica McBride:

Embattled incumbent Jill Underly is under growing fire from multiple corners within her own party, as infighting fractures the Democrat party in the state school Superintendent’s race.

Underly has drawn not one, but two, likely opponents in the Feb. 18 spring primary to continue heading the state Department of Public Instruction. The top two finishers will advance to the April 1 election.

The race is ostensibly non-partisan. However, all three candidates are Democrats. Kinser, though, is a leader in the charter school movement who is supported by key school choice advocates. Wispolitics.com wrote that Kinser “describes herself as a ‘Blue Dog Democrat.’” RRH elections calls her a “moderate Democrat.”

Behind the scenes, some conservatives are positioning Kinser as a Tulsi Gabbard type due to her charter school advocacy – one GOP Congressional District is even circulating her nomination papers and referred to her as the “Conservative Leaning Candidate” in an email. Meanwhile, the anti-choice, extremist Underly is so radicalthat she once called an opponent “transphobic” for not wanting biological boys to compete in girls’ sports, and her office has been accused of mismanagement, hiding MPS’s severe financial issues from voters, lowering testing scores, and poor communication.

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Did taxpayer funded Wisconsin DPI Superintendent Underly Juice Test Scores for Reelection?

more on Jill Underly and reduced rigor. 

 taxpayer funded Madison School District long used Reading Recovery…

The data clearly indicate that being able to read is not a requirement for graduation at (Madison) East, especially if you are black or Hispanic”

My Question to Wisconsin Governor Tony Evers on Teacher Mulligans and our Disastrous Reading Results

2017: West High Reading Interventionist Teacher’s Remarks to the School Board on Madison’s Disastrous Reading Results 

Madison’s taxpayer supported K-12 school district, despite spending far more than most, has long tolerated disastrous reading results.

“An emphasis on adult employment”

Wisconsin Public Policy Forum Madison School District Report[PDF]

WEAC: $1.57 million for Four Wisconsin Senators

Friday Afternoon Veto: Governor Evers Rejects AB446/SB454; an effort to address our long term, disastrous reading results

Booked, but can’t read (Madison): functional literacy, National citizenship and the new face of Dred Scott in the age of mass incarceration.

When A Stands for Average: Students at the UW-Madison School of Education Receive Sky-High Grades. How Smart is That?