Milwaukee Public Schools – Page 16 – Marquette University Law School Faculty Blog

The Post-Election Education Landscape: Vouchers Up, WEAC Down

Post author:Alan J. Borsuk
Post published:November 3, 2010
Post category:Education & Law Milwaukee Public Schools Wisconsin Law & Legal System

Two quick education-related comments on Tuesday’s election outcomes in Wisconsin:

First, this was a banner outcome in the eyes of voucher and charter school leaders. Governor-elect Scott Walker is a long-time ally of those promoting the 20,000-plus-student private school voucher program in the city of Milwaukee, and he is a booster of charter schools both in Milwaukee and statewide. But just as important as Walker’s win was the thumpingly strong victories for Republicans in both the Assembly and State Senate, which will now come under sizable Republican majorities.

What will result?

Thornton Confident MPS “Can Crack the Code” to Overcoming Poverty’s Effects

Post author:Alan J. Borsuk
Post published:October 13, 2010
Post category:Milwaukee Public Schools Speakers at Marquette

Gregory Thornton is looking for the code. Poverty makes it harder to figure out. But he thinks it can be done. He’s determined to do it.

The code the new Milwaukee Public Schools superintendent referred to in an “On the Issues with Mike Gousha” session Tuesday at the Law School’s Eckstein Hall, is the way to achieve substantially higher levels of academic success with children from low-income homes.

Gousha, distinguished fellow in law and public policy at the Law School, asked Thornton if the impacts of poverty were too great to succeed in school districts such as MPS.

“I see the sting of poverty every day,” Thornton said. “It’s devastating.”

Optimism Amid the Challenges: Gregory Thornton’s Message to Aldermen

Post author:Alan J. Borsuk
Post published:September 21, 2010
Post category:Milwaukee Public Schools

“Milwaukee stands at the threshold of doing something very great,” Gregory Thornton, the new superintendent of Milwaukee Public Schools, told the Milwaukee Common Council on Tuesday.

It’s nice to hear that kind of optimism when it comes to educational success for Milwaukee’s children. But everyone knows how much needs to change for that to become true in a city where reading scores are among the lowest in America.

That’s the balancing act Thornton has been undertaking as a he continues to reach out to both leaders and the general public in his first months as chief of the 80,000-student system.