Doing the Basics Right: Wendy Kopp on the Road to Education Transformation

I remember watching a television interview in which a famous tennis player described his first appearance in a big-time tournament. He said he always wondered what was said during breaks in such matches when the player and his coach conferred. He figured there must be some kind of sophisticated strategy talk fit for the top of the sport. But when he came to the first pause in the action, what did the coach tell him? Keep your eye on the ball. Swing smoothly. Concentrate. Which, of course, is what you would tell anyone playing tennis.

There are no magic tricks, no silver bullets. Do the basics, and do them well.

That was a central theme of Wendy Kopp, the founder and CEO of Teach for America, during an “On the Issues with Mike Gousha” visit to Eckstein Hall this week. Teach for American now has more than 8,00o “corps members” working in high-needs schools across the US, including in Milwaukee.

Kopp, one of the most influential figures on America’s education scene in the last 20 years, gave a decidedly optimistic message about the future – or possible future – for the education of students in schools that have long been associated with poor outcomes. One of her favorite words is “trajectory,” and she is convinced that the trajectory of millions of children can be changed so that they are on a path to academic success.

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Is the End (of MPS) Near?

Is this the end of Milwaukee Public Schools?

I kind of doubt it, but the fact you can ask that question seriously says something about the depth of the crisis facing the state’s largest and most problem-filled school district. Put together the cuts outlined in Gov. Scott Walker’s budget proposal  with the end of federal stimulus spending, the continuing decline in enrollment, and the every-day run of severe problems that affect MPS and you have a really ugly picture.

School Board President Michael Bonds has used the word “devastating” repeatedly in recent days. State Rep. Tamara Grigsby, a Milwaukee Democrat who is an MPS graduate herself, called Walker’s proposals “an absolute annihilation” of public education, according to a story in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.  Those are strong terms.

Layoffs of hundreds of teachers, the elimination of a list programs such as a math initiative in recent years (paid for by $10 million a year in state aid), and the possible closing of a substantial number of schools all seem likely.  Will even those steps be enough to meet the financial problems? Will what results be a stable and functioning system? (I’m imagining simply the re-assignment and scheduling issues around a major wave of school closings, for example.)

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Will MPS Get Squeezed Extra Hard?

We’re entering uncharted territory when it comes to school issues statewide. I think it was clear from pretty far back that Gov. Scott Walker and Republican leaders in the Legislature were going to push for state employees and for teachers across the state (who are not state employees, but the state can influence their job situations) to pay significant shares of their health insurance and pension payments. But I was caught off guard by the move to take away almost all the unions’ bargaining role, as Walker proposed last week.

This is going to be a tumultuous and momentous spring and summer when it comes to education issues statewide. I wonder what all will be different when it comes time to open schools in September.

Permit me to venture into one aspect of what lies ahead that I specifically wonder about:

Walker proposed that public employees pay 5.8% of their salaries toward their pensions and 12% of the cost of their health insurance coverage.  While I wonder how that’s going to play out across the state, I especially wonder how it will play out in Milwaukee Public Schools.

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