Dave Cieslewicz:

Today’s blog is in the category of You Just Can’t Make This Stuff Up. 

The Madison Metropolitan School District has some of the worst test scores in the state. It has a horrible truancy problem. Its racial achievement gap is comparable to the Grand Canyon. For the most recent year when statistics were available there were around 800 police calls to Madison schools. Despite all that, voters still approved two referenda in November, which will increase taxes on the average home by over $1,600.

And what did the School Board just vote to spend $100,000 on? New logos for the high schools. Here’s the quote from the State Journal story: 

On Monday, the School Board also approved a nearly $100,000 contract with a Kentucky-based firm for districtwide branding and design changes. The firm’s goal is to help position Madison schools as a “destination” school district, according to a memo from Senior Executive Director for Communications Edell Fiedler.

“The rebrand will have a districtwide impact as it will be used to build the district’s brand through various ways including signage, print, digital, clothing and textiles,” Fiedler wrote in a memo to the board.

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Parents overestimate student achievement, underestimate spending

Related: Act 10

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

The taxpayer funded Madison School District long used Reading Recovery…

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

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?