November 4, 2009
Hold your applause
Drove to an anti-Barrett rally at City Hall in Milwaukee yesterday to hear what our friends are saying about the proposed (by Governor Doyle and Mayor Barrett) takeover of Milwaukee's public schools. You know, the system Tommy, Howard Fuller, John Norquist and the Bradley Foundation "saved" with vouchers--the system they saved with charter schools. Oops! Not quite. Turns out poverty is still a problem. Poor housing is still a factor. It was No Child Left Behind--now the simplistic notion is called "Race to the Top." The top is not identified in this woof ticket. The notion that schools will improve when teacher salaries are tied to student performance was not persuasive. Laughable, even when Barack Obama is the one proposing this idea.
In short, the demonstrators were mad as hell at Mayor Barrett, Governor Doyle and President Obama. "I can't believe that Tom is doing this," was heard throughout the demonstration. Frankly, I can't either.
One thing is clear: Our folks in Milwaukee will fight to keep control of MPS. You can count on that.
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Aren't mayors busy enough without tinkering with a school system?
Why not leave our schools to professionals who know what they are doing and let the mayors do what they do best, cutting ribbons and handing out keys to the city?
-Franz Fripplfrappl | Stoughton, WI | November 4, 2009
I really do understand the strong feelings against municipal control of the MPS, I really do. We'd all like to maintain local control of our schools. As a former school board member [Park Falls] and former member of the Policies & Resolutions Committee of the WASB - the school boards assoc. - and a current member of the board of WAES - the Wis. Alliance for Excellent Schools - I have fought in the trenches for local control!
But I am also very, very concerned about our state and national schools. We are not doing very well. We are falling seriously behind our global competition in education.
We must be open to new concepts and innovative plans and be willing to relinquish the status quo, and that may mean experimenting with municipal management. It's happening in cities all over the country, and the jury is still out on whether or not it's working in New York, Chicago, New Orleans and the rest.
Another target that must be removed is from the backs of charter schools. Charter schools are not voucher schools, they are a new way of looking at education, a project-based form. We have a charter here in the newly consolidated Chequamegon School District that we're very excited about, and I've visited charters in different districts in Wisconsin as well as other states. They are fascinating.
I visited the KIPP school in Helena, Arkansas, and it was an eye-opener. The students were in classes eight hours a day, and they were actually loving it! [Google KIPP schools for more information.]
It is too easy to make the situation with the MPS into a political litmus test, and that is unfortunate. I encourage everyone to please study this issue and become better informed. Do not take all this at face value...
-John Smart | Park Falls, WI | November 4, 2009
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