schoolinfosystem.org
The Capital Times said: The Madison School Board’s makeup will change with the April 3 election. Its chief dissident, Ruth Robarts, is stepping down. So, too, is a quietly thoughtful member, Shwaw Vang, who has more generally sided with the board majority and the district’s administrators. There are those who suggest that the entire direction […]
East Side school plan opposed DEBORAH ZIFF 608-252-6120 March 19, 2007 Waving bright signs and chanting, dozens of parents, kids, and teachers converged at a School Board meeting Monday night to protest proposed budget cuts that could consolidate elementary and middle schools on the East Side. Earlier this month, Madison school officials proposed addressing a […]
Scott Milfred: It’s a contentious fact that has run through so many Madison School Board races and referendums in recent years: Madison schools spend a lot — $12,111 per student during the 2005-06 school year. If the district is spending that much, how can it be in crisis? The answer is complex and a bit […]
(This letter is being distributed to parents of Franklin-Randall students, but should concern everyone in the MMSD and Regent Neighborhood) SCHOOL FUNDING CRISIS: Don’t get mad, get active!! March 16, 2007 The School Board recently announced sweeping budget cuts for the coming school year that will have a severe impact on Franklin-Randall, as well as […]
What makes this article from Fargo interesting is how it almost exactly mirrors the findings in my home district, Hortonville, and the recent analysis of Reading Recovery done in Madison. That being, a 50% success rate for RR students. From the article: “However, West Fargo student data over time, as presented by Director of Knowledge […]
Paul Soglin: I met with some special education teachers on Tuesday and wish to share my observations about the Madison Metropolitan School District (MMSD). These are my observations and conclusions, not theirs. For the 1996-97 school year the State of Wisconsin paid 40.223% of the cost of special education. For 2006-2007 the state paid 28%. […]
It’s been 10 days since I e-mailed Marj Passman to get clarification on her inaccurate statement on starting teacher salaries and clarification on what she would do to raise those salaries after she cited them as a problem in recruiting teachers to the MMSD during an interview on WORT. Here’s her response: Thank you Ed […]
Amy Hetzner: About 500 parents, students and spectators packed a school auditorium Monday night, pleading for help from local legislators in dealing with a financial situation that some predicted would devastate the School District. “If we can pay for a stadium for a bunch of overpaid baseball players, we can certainly pay for an education […]
Carol Carstensen: I thought it might be helpful to provide some facts and explanations about the topic of health insurance – hopefully this will clear up some of the misinformation and misconceptions present in the public discussions. It is important to remember that the focus must be on the total package settlement – because that […]
Doug Erickson: Madison School District administrators are scheduled to announce today their recommendations for millions of dollars in program and staff cuts, a grim step in a budget process that typically consumes the School Board’s attention each spring. Larger class sizes at the elementary level and bigger caseloads for special education teachers likely will be […]
Since Advocates for Madison Public Schools doesn’t allow access to the archived posts of its listserve, I post the following to illustrate the contempt these people feel toward anyone who isn’t in lock-step with their point of view: To: advocatesformadisonpublicschools@yahoogroups.com Subject: [advocatesformadisonpublicschools] Summer Exercise for “Advocates” Date: Mon, 24 Jul 2006 23:51:45 -0000 Here’s an […]
Amy Hetzner: When the Menomonee Falls School District opens its doors to a new 4-year-old kindergarten program this fall, private day cares in the village will open theirs to it, too. Using an idea that’s catching on throughout the state, the district plans to partner with local preschool and child care centers to give 4-year-olds […]
Andy Hall on local referendums: Layoffs and pay cuts are looming in a western Dane County school district, and officials in the Adams-Friendship area are contemplating closing two elementary schools after voters rejected two school referendums last week. Voters also approved referendums Tuesday for a $14.68 million elementary school in Sun Prairie and $2.48 million […]
Would you be willing to serve as an academic mentor for a highly able student who needs the expertise of a trained adult? Mentorships may provide a student with an opportunity to independently research a topic in depth, or to explore and experiment within an academic area of passionate interest. Mentors are needed in math, […]
School spending has always been a puzzle, both from a state and federal government perspective as well as local property taxpayers. In an effort to shed some light on the vagaries of K-12 finance, I’ve summarized below a number of local, state and federal articles and links. The 2007 Statistical Abstract offers a great deal […]
Andy Hall: The revenue caps and QEO are transforming the operations of public schools, pushing school officials and the public into a never-ending cycle of cuts, compromises and referendums. Most districts reduced the number of academic courses, laid off school support staff and reduced programs for students at the highest risk of failure, according to […]
Danya Hooker: A proposal to open a third charter school in Madison is too costly and lacks educational research support, the Madison School District administration said, even as it announced a projected $10.5 million shortfall in next year’s budget. “We (the administration) believe the proposal is not complete enough and does not contain enough detail […]
Josh Kelley: After decades of adding classrooms and teachers, school districts in some of the Valley’s more established neighborhoods are wrestling with enrollment declines. The loss of students, which results in le ss state funding, will lead to tighter budgets and difficult decisions for large districts in Mesa, Phoenix and Scottsdale. In the Paradise Valley […]
At its November 21, 2006, meeting, the MMSD Student Senate discussed many issues of interest to this blog community (e.g., completely heterogeneous high school classes, embedded honors options, etc.). Here is the relevant section from the minutes for that meeting: Comments and Concerns: regular classes don’t have a high enough level of discussion students who […]
Steven Walters: In what could be the biggest fight yet over repealing the controversial law limiting the pay raises of Wisconsin’s teachers, Gov. Jim Doyle and Democrats who run the state Senate once again are taking aim at it. The so-called qualified economic offer law was passed in 1993 to control property taxes on homes. […]
Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel Editorial: Looking for the path to effective education, leaders of the Milwaukee Public Schools have long slogged through the wilderness of school reform only to end up where they started. All used to be centralized at MPS. Then decentralization became the watchword. Now centralization is again in. This lunging between two opposite approaches […]
Susan Troller reports in the Cap Times: When Tom Brew takes on incumbent School Board President Johnny Winston Jr. in the spring election for Seat 4, he, like Winston, will bring a lifetime of experience with Madison schools to the race. Brew’s own children attended Huegel and Orchard Ridge schools and graduated in the late […]
Marisue Horton: As we head into the season for making New Year’s resolutions, here’s my wish list for resolutions relating to education in 2007: Embrace our differences. Education is the ability to provide opportunity and challenges to all students. Each child is a gift and has talent. Families, schools and politicians need to avoid pitting […]
When the four block schedule began at LaFollette a few years ago, the MMSD praised its succeses: Under the new “four block” schedule, La Follette High School students are missing school less, are better behaved and are taking tougher courses, all of which is adding up to better academic performance, an analysis of first quarter […]
Jason Stein: To avoid arbitration, the QEO mandates that districts maintain the same increasingly costly benefits for teachers, Leistikow said. “Districts are put in a terrible box,” Leistikow said. “Repealing the QEO will give school districts more flexibility in managing their benefits cost.” The WEAC union, a staunch and powerful Doyle supporter, would like to […]
Janet Mertz recently mentioned (along with UW Placement’s James Wollack recently) this paper by Richard Hill & Thomas Parker [750K PDF]: The latest, December 2006 issue of the American Mathematical Monthly, an official publication of the Mathematical Association of America, contains an 18-page article entitled “A study of Core-Plus students attending Michigan State University” by […]
As Arlene has reached out to the community for suggestions about the Redesign of the high schools, let me share a couple of thoughts: It’s too late. The students that are behind in 5th grade rarely catch up. The 2/3 combinations are by far the worst academic combination for elementary students, yet we continue this […]
The Madison United for Academic Excellence (MUAE) meeting of 29-November-2006 offered a question and answer session with Madison Superintendent Art Rainwater. After opening remarks by Jeff Henriques, the Superintendent summarized his goals, rationale and approach to the high school redesign project, and discussed his prior experience as a teacher and principal. The video of the […]
If Jason Shepard is correct, West will stay as is during the review process, heterogeneous classes is the goal and the study committee will not include parents or teachers.
If the BOE doesn’t step in right now, it’s all over. I hadn’t quite understood what Ed Blume has been writing about here structurally as much as I do at this moment. This process will be driven to Rainwater’s foregone conclusions. The BOE must frame the questions and decide who is on this committee. And if it’s truly a tabula rasa, let’s put West on the same footing as East, that is, undo the changes the Rainwater administration shoved through.
First, I want to say BRAVO, RUTH, for putting it all together and bringing it on home to us. Thanks, too, to the BOE members who overrode BOE President Johnny Winston Jr’s decision to table this important discussion. Finally, deepest thanks to all of the East parents, students and teachers who are speaking out … […]
Viewpoints coming to Madison School board members illustrate the need for a thoughtful look at new goals or curriculums for our high schools. Here are two samples from e-mail to the board on November 22.
The Kalamazoo Promise program has drawn 985 students to their K-12 system. Jamaal Abdul-Alim recently visited the city to learn more: The program is as much a social experiment aimed at leveling the playing field of access to higher learning as it is an economic development initiative meant to generate school revenue, boost the economy […]
David Klein: Problem: Find the slope and y-intercept of the equation 10 = x – 2.5. Solution: The equation 10 = x – 2.5 is a specific case of the equation y = x – 2.5, which has a slope of 1 and a y-intercept of –2.5. This problem comes from a 7th grade math […]
This is one of the best things I read recently on support for public education. TJM Jacob Stockinger: A ‘yes’ vote for schools ensures a better future By Jacob Stockinger There is a lot I don’t know about my parents. But I do know this: They would never have voted no on a school referendum. […]
Carla Rivera: By the end of the day one thing was clear: Parents, teachers and community organizations want an equal say in determining how the district will be remade. illaraigosa acknowledged as much in his opening remarks to the group of 100 or so people, who represented church groups, businesses, human services agencies, city and […]
The Economist: Look around the business world and two things stand out: the modern economy places an enormous premium on brainpower; and there is not enough to go round. But education inevitably matters most. How can India talk about its IT economy lifting the country out of poverty when 40% of its population cannot read? […]
Susan Troller: When publications like the New York Times want an expert to comment on the big issues facing public schools like testing or immigration, it’s a University of Wisconsin-Madison professor they’re likely to call. Relatively unknown in his adopted hometown, history and educational policy studies professor William Reese is able offer a long view […]
Andy Hall Wisconsin State Journal October 4, 2006 On a moonlit autumn evening, talk turned Tuesday to a “perfect storm” that might actually help Wisconsin fix its school-funding mess. “Everything is coming together in an election year,” Thomas Beebe, outreach specialist for the nonprofit Institute for Wisconsin’s Future, told 17 Madison School District parents and […]
Some people believe that the Wisconsin Legislature just doesn’t understand how revenue caps affect Wisconsin schools. I’m sorry to say, legislators know very well how caps control spending and they’re happy about it. “In GOP Plays Politics With Property Taxes,” The Capital Times’ Matt Pommer wrote in December 2004: Republicans sought to recapture the anti-tax […]
[Not part of the “farewell series,” much more important] TJM SCHOOLS OF HOPE ? TUTORS NEEDED 09/28/06 WISC-TV There are a number of factors that have contributed to the historic closing of the achievement gap in Madison schools including small class sizes and talented and well trained teachers. But there’s no disputing the United Way […]
Ellen Williams-Masson: The mock forensics exercise is one of many hands-on approaches that fifth-grade science teacher Anne Tredinnick uses to illustrate the scientific method and share a love of science with her pupils. Tredinnick has been named the Middle School Teacher of the Year by the Department of Public Instruction and is under consideration to […]
A reader involved in these issues sent this link [strong language warning] [Mike Antonucci’s website]: WEAC felt MTI had overstepped its authority and, in an effort to punish MTI, unilaterally terminated the 1978 affiliation agreement. MTI claimed WEAC could not take such action, and sought arbitration. WEAC resisted, and MTI sued WEAC to compel arbitration. […]
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Susan Troller: But because the projected enrollment numbers don’t match the actual numbers of students at Stephens this year, one grades 2-3 classroom is being dropped, with students assigned to other classrooms and Bazan’s job at Stephens eliminated. The same scenario is playing out at five other elementary schools where teachers and sections are being […]
Critics of “Fuzzy” Methods Cheer Educators’ Findings; Drills Without Calculators. Taking Cues from Singapore. John Hechinger: The nation’s math teachers, on the front lines of a 17-year curriculum war, are getting some new marching orders: Make sure students learn the basics. In a report to be released today, the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics, […]
Congratulations! You have been selected to write 30 second radio ads for the MMSD to recruit families and students to the district’s schools. Remember, the ads should stress what’s unique about Madison schools, and what a student will get only in Madison, because all of the area’s suburban and private schools compete for the same […]
Alan Borsuk: It’s the fourth time in three months that a national study has accused state officials of shirking their responsibilities, particularly to minority students and those from low-income homes. Two national education reformers said Monday that Department of Public Instruction officials have misled citizens about their work to improve the quality of education in […]
Madison Superintendent Art Rainwater: It’s almost here for our five year olds, the first day of school. They have looked forward to it with excitement and fear all summer. Some have asked repeatedly how much longer until it arrives and others have sat quietly hoping it will go away and their young lives will not […]
Anita Clark: or some students studying Chinese at Memorial High School, their summer assignment was intense: Spend three weeks in China, conversing with natives and exploring their culture. “What surprised me is how different the rural area of China is from the big cities,” said Alison Knickelbine, 18, who plans to major in Chinese when […]
US Department of Education: Children in Reading First classrooms receive significantly more reading instruction and schools participating in the program are much more likely to have a reading coach, according to the Reading First Implementation Evaluation: Interim Report, released today by the U.S. Department of Education. The report shows significant differences between what Reading First […]
Reader Reed Schneider emails this: A plan to have 40 Spring Arbor University students serve next year as “reading buddies” for struggling first-graders in Jackson Public Schools could be a win-win situation. The Jackson school board recently cut three Reading Recovery teacher positions to help trim its $1.86 million deficit. JPS will obtain the services […]
Wisconsin State Journal Editorial: Imagine what would have happened if a city the size of Beloit had sprung up in Dane County over the past five years. That’s almost what happened. Dane County’s population grew by 31,580 from 2000 to 2005, according to U.S. Census Bureau estimates released last week. No other Wisconsin county gained […]
Some interesting changes in the Madison School Board’s Governance this week: Renewed administrator contracts for one year rather than the customary two years. Via Sandy Cullen: The administration had proposed a two year wage and benefit package for administrators, but School Board President Johnny Winston Jr. said board members did not want to be locked […]
This is an excerpt from the conclusion of an recent paper posted on the Education Working Paper Archive by Bruce S. Cooper, Timothy R. DeRoche, William G. Ouchi, Lydia G. Segal, and Carolyn Brown. WSF stands for Weighted Student Formula, a means of budgeting that assigns money to students based on a number of factors […]
Alan Borsuk takes a look at and speaks with DPI’s Tony Evers on Kevin Carey’s report, emailed to this site on 5/20/2006 by a reader involved in these issues: In an interview, Carey said he agrees that Wisconsin generally is a high-performing state in educating students, “but I do not believe its performance is as […]
On Wednesday, May 31st, the MMSD School Board will consider amendments to the 2006-2007 school budget proposed by the Superintedent. In his proposal, the Superintendent proposed cutting Grade 4 strings this year and Grade 5 strings the end of next year. One amendment to be discussed on Wednesday would have Grade 4 strings 1x per […]
A letter to the editor Dear Editor: I appreciated Susan Troller’s recent article where she examined the impact of eroding budgets on schools and classrooms throughout Madison. Unfortunately, this situation is not unique to Madison schools. The repeated cutting of school budgets is strongly affecting classrooms, teachers and students in scores of school districts throughout […]
Education Wonks: After a number of parents and teachers objected, the school board of Olympia, Washington, has ignored an administrative recommendation to adopt a constructivist math program for their middle schoolers: Connected Math and the Madison School District was discussed at a recent math forum (audio / video). UW Emeritus Math Professor Dick Askey wrote […]
Sandy Cullen: School used to be a struggle for seventh-grader Justin Fobes, who said he was getting “straight F’s” before enrolling at the River Crossing Environmental Charter School in Portage last fall. “I just couldn’t sit still,” said Justin, 13. At River Crossing, Justin is now getting A’s and B’s. And he no longer has […]
Seven metropolitan areas of Wisconsin are in the top 25 metros for public schools in the country, according to a survey ranking U.S. school districts with 3,300 students or more. The survey was conducted by Expansion Management Magazine, a monthly business publication for executives of companies that are actively looking to expand or relocate facilities […]
MMSD’s School Board meets tonight to discuss the 2006-2007 school budget. There are no public appearances on tonight’s agenda, but the Madison community can continue to email the School Board in support of elementary strings at: comments@madison.k12.wi.us. Thank you to the parents and community who have attended the public hearing and who have sent emails […]
The reduction of over $680,000 of ESEA Title 1 entitlement grant dollars challenges the district to change the way students and teachers are supported under Title 1. The current direct service model of student support cannot be supported in the long run with current funding. The administration will use the first semester of next year […]
Active Citizens for Education offers the following recommendations for the consideration of the MMSD Board of Education in the allocation of funds for the 2006-2007 budget: (I appeared on WIBA, 1310, this evening with Brian Schimming and discussed the MMSD proposed budget and ACE recommendations) [18MB mp3]
A reader emailed this article: Verona High School Student Kristen Zubke visits Madison West High School for a day [April 2006: full student newspaper 25MB]: On Monday, March 27th, I took it upon myself to shed a little light on our neighboring rivals, the Madison West Regents. I was shadowing a friend, but I guess […]
Dear Madison Community, Children and parents are encouraged to speak in support of elementary strings and to bring their instruments to tonight’s School Board public hearing on the budget if they would like to play. My husband, Fred Schrank, who is the principal bassist with the MSO and who teaches orchestra to elementary and middle […]
I sent the following letter to the School Board last week after reviewing data and text on elementary strings sent to the School Board by the Fine Arts Coordinator. In late March, I spoke before the School Board about working together on strengthening strings and fine arts education and hoped that we would not see […]
Wisconsin State Journal editorial Wednesday, May 3, 2006 Madison should take a bow and be proud of its decade-long effort to improve early reading skills and boost school achievement for all racial groups. Yet the hard work isn’t over and may be getting harder. UW-Madison education researchers hailed Madison this week for shrinking its racial […]
The Madison School Board held a public hearing last night on the Distirct’s proposed 332.9M+ 06/07 budget last night. Maggie Rossiter Peterman: Sean Storch pleaded with members of the Madison School Board on Tuesday night not to cut teachers in the district’s four high school alternative education programs. Storch, 28, and another teacher work with […]
The National School Board Association argues that local school boards exist to translate the community’s educational goals for its children into programs and to hold staff accountable for the quality and effectiveness of the programs: Your school board sets the standard for achievement in your district, incorporating the community’s view of what students should know […]
Please Help Save Elementary Strings!!! How: Ask the New School Board – Work with the Community to Build Fine Arts Education! When: Starting May 9th Other districts facing fiscal and academic achievement challenges have had successes maintaining and growing their fine arts education – through strategic planning, active engagement and real partnerships with their communities. […]
Madison Mayor Dave Cieslewicz spoke at yesterday’s Rotary club meeting. His 3416 word state of the city speech included 159 directly related to our local public schools: 8. We need to work more seamlessly to maintain our excellent public school system. Our public schools have recently been ranked the third best in the nation. Yet, […]
Expressions of parent concern over the quality of third-quarter report cards for students in Madison’s elementary schools continue. Parents at Thoreau School joined parents from other schools who have wondered why their children make so little progress in the third quarter of the year in many subject areas that no information on progress can be […]
Madison School Board OK’s charter school of arts applying for DPI planning grant. See The Studio School Website Converting to Healthy Living Charter School Governor Proclaims May 1 – 6, 2006 as Charter Schools Week in Wisconsin Charter Schools about Social Justice, says Fuller What is Chartering and Where Did It Come […]
Other districts facing fiscal and academic achievement challenges have had successes maintaining and growing their fine arts education – through strategic planning, active engagement and real partnerships with their communities. In Tuscon, AZ, with a large low income and hispanic population, test scores of this population have climbed measurably (independent evaluations confirmed this). This state […]
Several of us received the following email today from Ted Widerski, MMSD TAG (“Talented and Gifted”) Resource Teacher for Middle and High Schools. Ted has been working with other District and West HS staff to find a way to allow West 9th and 10th graders who are advanced in English to grade accelerate in English, […]
Recently, a parent expressed concern about the quality of third-quarter report cards at Crestwood Elementary School. Can We Talk 3: Third-Quarter Report Cards Today a parent of students at Elvejhem Elementary asked Madison School Board members why the teachers only reported on 10% of content areas. I have asked Superintendent Art Rainwater for a response […]
Five years ago we moved to Madison. A big factor in this decision was the expectation that we could rely on Madison public schools to educate our children. Our eldest went through West High School. To our delight the rigorous academic environment at West High transformed him into a better student, and he got accepted […]
The school board race has exposed beliefs among some citizens that I thought I had escaped by moving to a progressive city. The people of Madison should be proud of the school board’s efforts to create a real world environment for our kids in the classroom, a real world made up of all types of […]
Lets face it. We all take sides whether in the school yard, the Board room or the School Board Race. Already, we see the lines of division. The Mathiak/Cole group on one side, the Lopez/ Silveira group on the other. What is ultimately at stake is the best interests of our children. What do we […]
Sunday 10 a.m., Channel 3’s For the Record will feature a debate among the four candidates for school board. Here is my email to Neil Heinen regarding the station’s coverage including a discussion of some of the issues at stake in the race: To: Neil Heinen Subject: Sunday show Dear Neil, A new post up […]
Yesterday, Juan Jose Lopez and I had the honor of debating in Mr. Borowski’s AP American Government and Politics class. The debate was open to anyone at East High School who wanted to attend. The students organized it, wrote and asked the questions, and managed one of the best debates that we’ve had since the […]
Capital Times, March 30, 2006 By John Nichols Paul Wellstone has been dead for a long three years, and yet there is rarely a national political debate that does not cause me to think: What would Wellstone do? The late Minnesota senator was an epic political figure, who fought not just against right-wing Republicans but […]
March 29, 2006 To the Editor of the Capital Times: I read with interest the March 28 letter from Betzinger et al regarding heterogeneous grouping. Using inflammatory “tracking” vs. “inclusion” rhetoric, the authors clearly misrepresent my position on the current debate, which was posted through the Isthmus on-line questions to candidates two weeks ago. I […]
Last Thursday, the Isthmus newspaper published an extensive article by Jason Shepard entitled “The Fate of the Schools.” While the article covered many areas of interest regarding the school district and the upcoming school board elections, we have significant concerns about the way in which the article was written. These concerns include: CONTEXT: • The […]
Tonight the School Board’s Performance and Achievement Committee will discuss a status report on the elementary strings class, which they received last Thursday. This report describes the current course, but the report a) is not an assessment of the course and b) says nothing about the future of the course. (Mr. Rainwater told me the […]
Recent post from the Madison United for Academic Excellence (MUAE) list serve: Dear MUAE Friends, When we volunteered to oversee a District-wide “TAG” parents email list back in 2002, it was in part to help out the District “TAG” staff and in part to make the list available for explicit “TAG” advocacy efforts. We never […]
A proposal is before the Madison Metropolitan School Board to approve a $2.8 million addition to Leopold funded under the revenue caps. The Board may vote on this proposal on Monday, March 27. While the Leopold overcrowding is a serious problem that absolutely must be addressed, the question for the Board is whether this should […]
It’s nearly the end of March, and there’s a strange quiet at the Madison School Board. Every March for the past five plus years has meant public School Board discussions and meetings about next year’s budget, budget cuts and referendum. Earlier this year, Superintendent Rainwater informed the School Board there would be budget discussions throughout […]
Madison School Board candidates Juan Jose Lopez and Lucy Mathiak look at what is happening in schools here in very different ways, but on at least one issue they are in complete agreement: Public education here and throughout the Badger State is at a critical crossroads. But the two candidates vying for School Board Seat […]
You’re invited to the WISCONSIN CHARTER SCHOOLS FAIR. The FAIR is a FREE public event in Appleton on April 2, Sunday afternoon (1:00 to 4:30 pm). HURRY APRIL ! DISCOVER NEW CHOICES IN PUBLIC EDUCATION Learn about the Performance of Public Charter Schools in Wisconsin from UW-Madison Professor John Witte. View 20 charter school displays […]
Eduwonk: Most everyone in the political and policy world was fixated on all the “what does it mean” questions about Sunday’s NYT Mag story on Mark Warner. But there was also some chattering about the Outlook spread on No Child Left Behind in the Wash. Post. It was well done including reactions from DC-area principals, […]
The following commitment by Maya Cole seems particularly important to post given the lively discussion on healthy food: I enthusiastically endorse the Wisconsin Homegrown Lunch Food Policy Recommendations, and I will work to win adoption of the recommendations if I have the opportunity to serve on the Board of Education of the Madison Metropolitan School […]
Susan Lochen, Madison West High School (co-signed by other West math teachers: Janice Cis, Keith Knowles, Carol Michalski, Jackie Hubbard, Daniel Boyland, Artie L. Orlik, Stephen Lang, Stephen Land, Tim Goldsworthy):
Moreover, parents of future West High students should take notice: As you read this, our department is under pressure from the administration and the math coordinator’s office to phase out our “accelerated” course offerings beginning next year. Rather than addressing the problems of equity and closing the gap by identifying minority math talent earlier, and fostering minority participation in the accelerated programs, our administration wants to take the cheaper way out by forcing all kids into a one-size-fits-all curriculum.
It seems the administration and our school board have re-defined “success” as merely producing “fewer failures.” Astonishingly, excellence in student achievement is visited by some school district administrators with apathy at best, and with contempt at worst. But, while raising low achievers is a laudable goal, it is woefully short-sighted and, ironically, racist in the most insidious way. Somehow, limiting opportunities for excellence has become the definition of providing equity! Could there be a greater insult to the minority community?I’d forgotten (unfortunately) about this letter. School Board Seat 1 candidate Maya’s post below included a link to these words. The current school board majority has not addressed these critical questions….
Neil Heinen: When all is said and done, there may be no more important relationship in our system of public education than a principal and their school. The impact a principal has on students, teachers, staff, parents and learning is undeniable. And the good ones make their schools good. Madison has many good ones. And […]
Funding reform resolution introduced — your chance to act Funding system continues to erode quality education School-funding reform calendar The Wisconsin Alliance for Excellent Schools (WAES) is a statewide network of educators, school board members, parents, community leaders, and researchers. Its Wisconsin Adequacy Plan — a proposal for school-finance reform — is the result of […]
Kurt Gutknecht and Bill Livick pen an interesting article, published recently in the Fitchburg Star: Several teachers at area schools did not return calls asking for their opinion on the act. Administrators were less reluctant to weigh in. The principal of a Madison middle school, who did not want to be identified, gave a qualified […]
Early 2005, School Board members received a spreadsheet that summarized administrative contracts from 1998-1999 through plans for 2005-2006. That spreadsheet showed 147 administrative contracts in the 1998-1999 school year and 149.65 administrative contracts planned for 2005-2006. In 2003-2004 the total administrative contract budget for wages and benefits was approximately $15.1 million ($100,000 average wage and […]
Carol Carstensen, President of the Madison School Board, announced in a recent letter to The Capital Times that new ideas are OK with her, so long as they are not illegal, in violation of contracts, can save money and are capable of implementation.
Video and audio from Wednesday’s Math Forum are now available [watch the 80 minute video] [mp3 audio file 1, file 2]. This rare event included the following participants: Dick Askey (UW Math Professor) Faye Hilgart, Madison Metropolitan School District Steffen Lempp (MMSD Parent and UW Math Professor) Linda McQuillen, Madison Metropolitan School District Gabriele Meyer […]
Jamaal Abdul-Alim: The books are distributed by an Oregon-based company known as SingaporeMath.com, which counts a private school in Madison as the first of its growing number of clients. The biggest difference between math instruction in Singapore – a city-state with a population of about 4.4 million – and the United States is a simple […]