Two sessions bearing on the future\u00a0of Milwaukee Public Schools took place simultaneously Tuesday night, and each drew about 75 people who care about education in the city.<\/p>\n
Beyond that, it’s hard to think of much the two events had in common. At one, pretty much everybody thought that the way MPS is run is a big part of the problem and that it is time to\u00a0make\u00a0major changes. \u00a0At the other, the emphasis was on forces beyond MPS that affect schools, and everyone agreed the existing governance system should be defended.\u00a0 <\/p>\n
Session 1: Sponsored by Democrats for Education Reform and held at the United Community Center on the south side,\u00a0it featured Jon Schnur, co-founder and CEO of New Leaders for New Schools,\u00a0who spoke on the potential for urban school systems to gain significantly from making major changes in how they function. New Leaders runs programs in\u00a0ten cities, including Milwaukee, to train principals, but Schnur emphasized he was speaking for himself and not the organization. Schnur\u00a0outlined the underlying philosophy of\u00a0the Obama Administration\u00a0on education reform, especially\u00a0the Race to the Top program, offering states $4.35 billion in aid to improve low-performing schools. Schnur is close personally with Secretary of Education Arne Duncan,\u00a0and he described the Administration’s shake-things-up philosophy in very positive terms. Among those present: State Senator Lena Taylor;\u00a0 Patrick Curley, Mayor Tom Barrett’s chief of staff; philanthropists Sheldon and Marianne Lubar; and leaders of several charter schools and private schools. The sentiment was heavily in favor of\u00a0proposals to give major control of MPS to Milwaukee’s mayor.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Session 2: A public hearing before the Milwaukee School Board at the MPS\u00a0central office. Testimony was unanimously against mayoral take-over, with resounding support for continuing the current system of electing the nine members of the School Board. In this crowd, there were no voices in support of just about anything Schnur or the people at the other event favored. Barrett and Governor Jim Doyle were\u00a0criticized in strong terms by many speakers for their support of the mayoral control plan and for not doing enough to help MPS.\u00a0Lawrence Hoffman,\u00a0who is active in left-of-center causes in Milwaukee, told Board members that “OSF” (outside school factors, such as poverty and\u00a0joblessness) were at the root of why so many students didn’t succeed in MPS. Wendell Harris, chair of the Milwaukee NAACP education committee, said the organization stood uncompromisingly behind the right of people to vote for School Board members. \u00a0Others present: at least half a dozen leaders of the Milwaukee Teachers’ Education Association.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The NAACP’s Harris ended his testimony by saying, “See you in the winner’s circle.” That was another difference between the two events. At the School Board hearing, the\u00a0underlying feeling clearly was that opponents\u00a0of mayoral control were going to prevail. This\u00a0created an energized\u00a0and almost aggressive content in some of\u00a0the statements. At the reform event, there was, at best, a sober trepidation in the comments during\u00a0socializing, with a clear awareness that the prospect for even getting the issue onto the floor of the Legislature in the near future is not looking good. \u00a0And if\u00a0 it\u00a0is put up for\u00a0legislative action, the prospect for passage appears iffy, at best.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The mayoral control issue has generated a lot of debate and activism. When Duncan visited Wisconsin with\u00a0President Barack Obama several weeks ago, he said in a phone interview with me that Milwaukee needs a united and concerted effort to\u00a0improve its school outcomes. It’s time for all hands on deck, he said.<\/p>\n
But united and concerted were hardly the words for what was going on Tuesday night. And if all hands were involved, the ship of Milwaukee education clearly has\u00a0 two really different decks.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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