More Than a Recipe

We've posted before on this blog regarding efforts of MPS teachers to halt the District's adoption of a flawed and problematic textbook series for the teaching of social studies and last week I saw first hand what's at stake.

A few weeks ago, the Social Studies Task Force, the group of teachers and community members working on developing a meaningful curriculum for our students, received notice that material intended for K-3 students would be on display for examination on different dates at different locations and a survey would be distributed for feedback.

I have to admit examining textbooks makes me feel a bit like a fish out of water--I teach 3 to 6 year olds at an MPS Montessori school and am unfamiliar with using textbooks as a teaching tool but it wasn't difficult to see why these books are not appropriate. At first glance the books look new and shiny--something I know can seem appealing to schools and teachers in dire need of materials but the glossy exterior only goes so far. A closer look at the content makes it quite evident that our children deserve better. A few examples i remember:

*The pages that discuss Cesar Chavez do not have any mention of unions or the United Farm Workers
*The first Thanksgiving is retold in a very traditional manner without any invitation for critical thinking--the 'Pilgrims shared their harvest with the Native Americans'
*Discussions of slavery are often sanitized and omit a realistic assessment of its human cost and cruelty

I could go on. Examples were not hard to find. I do have to make special mention of my 'favorite'-- the accompanying reading booklet focused on Disney World. Seriously, this is what our children need to be studying? The existence of Disney World? Somehow I think Disney's numerous media outlets and retail machines have that covered.

Generally speaking, I find it problematic the approach the textbooks take to social studies and the study of history as it seems to piece together events and people without critique or in many cases omitting facts and narratives that are pertinent. Historian Gerda Lerner wrote:

"What we do about history matters. The often repeated saying that those who forget the lessons of history are doomed to repeat them has a lot of truth in it. But what are the 'lessons of history'? The very attempt at definition furnishes ground for new conflicts. History is not a recipe book; past events are never replicated in the present in quite the same way. Historical events are infinitely variable and their interpretations are a constantly shifting process."

We know history is important. The study of it requires more than a listing of events or brief biographies of compelling people. It is more than a recipe listing ingredients. The study of history requires depth and context in order to appreciate its richness and value. As teachers, part of the art that we do is to inspire great interest in the study of history and the world, making it relevant to our students' lives. These textbooks fall short of that task. But don't take my word for it. There is one more viewing of the books on November 20 at at Central Services in Room 210-211 from 4:00-6:00 p.m. I especially encourage teachers of children K-3rd grade to go and examine the books and to fill out the survey.

Finally, I haven't approached the other subject at hand here--that is, how appropriate textbooks are for children in the early grades. That is also a discussion we as teachers need to have with MPS administration. Perhaps that's another post for another day.

Speaking Out Works

Before I say anything else regarding the past week's events of the Milwaukee School Board I would like to congratulate and thank all the hardworking teachers of MPS that came out to the meetings both Tuesday and Thursday to give passionate and moving testimony on why our schools cannot suffer from any further cuts. I found this especially meaningful upon reflection of last fall when I was on my way to one of my first board meetings, listening to the broadcast and hearing testimony highly critical of Milwaukee Public Schools in every regard. But this year my colleagues made me proud and captivated the tone of the discourse by keeping in the forefront our purpose--working to provide our children of Milwaukee with a quality education.
More specifically, I'd like to give big ups to early childhood teachers and members of the MTEA Early Childhood Committee who were able to fight for and win the passing of a budget amendment to increase the number of educational assistants in K4, K5 classrooms.
Besides the tax levy, the other dominant theme of the week was the closing of buildings, the selling of buildings and the opening of formerly closed buildings--all in efforts it seemed to streamline operations but I found a few reasons for concern. First of all, I think about these 'mothballed' schools. I think how school buildings are generally large structures--what effect does that have on the surrounding community when it has to contend with the physicality of a large vacant building? While I understand the financial difficulty for buildings that prove more expensive to operate than necessary I worry about the lack of input from the school communities affected by these decisions and frustrated when it seems their voices are overlooked for some reason or another. The Board proved it can put children first in voting to raise the tax levy, in spite of it being an economically difficult time but putting children first needs to be done consistently. Our students deserve nothing less.

Last Week's Round-Up

Two school board committee meetings occurred last week--both dealt with school closings or schools merging/moving. I was only able to catch the end of the meeting on Thursday night, the Committee on Finance/Personnel, and heard some of the discussion around the future of Milwaukee Education Center (MEC) Middle School. The Committee did not take any action dealing with the closing of the MEC facility and putting it up for sale and then moving the Middle School to Juneau.
Though I did not attend the meeting of the Committee on Innovation/School Reform on Tuesday night reference was made to that meeting by school board members who mentioned that action was taken on the recommendation of the Bayview School Improvement Task Force, a group of school community members from various schools in the Bayview area that has been meeting since Spring 2008. Recommendations from the Task Force include a gradual merge between Fritche and Bayview High School over three years with a combined program ending up at the Bayview High School building. The other recommendation from the Task Force, to combine Tippecanoe and Dover at Dover's site was sent to the full board without recommendations from the committee. More about that meeting is blogged here.

Everything you ever wanted to know about the school funding system!

Are you a teacher who has watched your class size grow over the years yet it seems like school budgets only shrink? Did you ever wish someone could just explain to you how school funding actually gets decided? Ever want to have more of a voice in the process? If you answered yes to one or more of these questions then you NEED to be at the public forum on school funding, Wednesday October 22 from 4:30 to 6:30 at MPS Central Services auditorium, 5225 W. Vliet.
Hear from knowledgeable presenters who have been working hard for fairness in funding on behalf of our students. They include:

* Jeff Leverich, Senior Researcher for the Wisconsin Education Association Council
* Jack Norman, Research Director for the Institute for Wisconsin's Future
* Mary Bell, President of the Wisconsin Education Association Council
* Teresa Thomas-Boyd, Organizer for Citizen Action of Wisconsin, and MPS parent

So if you've ever dreamed of going to a school board budget meeting and NOT having to hear about teachers being cut or schools being closed, this forum is for YOU!

Breaking news: It's a HUMDINGER!!

The board meeting began with a very, very crowded auditorium. I was surprised to see a few people holding Bibles in their hands, until I realized the subject that was to be debated. Tonight, we are looking at domestic benefit partnerships, among other things. Ah ha!

Before we could get there, we had endure the board approving the administration's recommendation to accept two year teachers from the Teach For America program, which I am not entirely supportive of. My main reason is this (and I speak from experience): teaching is NOT easy. Teaching is not something anyone can do. I'm offended that we will accept people out of college and put them into classrooms with little to no training. But even more important than that, I know that as a person who loves, loves, loves her job...it took me years to get "good." I feel pretty confident saying this for two reasons--one is that I did get good, and the other is that my dad, one of the best teachers I ever had in high school, confessed that it took him years to feel comfortable, also. My worry isn't what Teach for America people will be able or unable to do in their two year commitment, but that just as they approach proficiency (I'm being generous...it took me more than two years to get there, and my dad, too), they are done. What a shame! I fully acknowledge that we need teachers in hard-to-fill positions...I fear losing them.

Board member Jennifer Morales started the evening with some remarks of her own. She explained that this is not an expansion of benefits, this is not an example of special rights. This is simply an example of equal rights, and an example of granting equality to a group of people who are still rather (sadly) hated in our society.

People spoke for what seemed like hours on this issue. I heard homosexuality take the blame for just about everything, from the Twin Towers to high taxes to the fact that our students (again, I point out that Milwaukee has more needs than any other district in the state) don't achieve as well as other parts of the state. I heard a lot of talk about how MPS is falling apart, and apparently there is a connection between unwanted pregnancy, the US stock market, police in the school and this domestic partnership question. I've got to confess...I don't see the connection...but okay. We were told to think about the children of MPS, too, and what we are teaching them when we give domestic benefits.

Fortunately, I heard many eloquent comments that support this measure. There were several that are well worth mentioning, but I especially like one from earlier in the evening in which the speaker said that in his capacity as a business owner, he finds himself having to teach his workers. He stated that he can teach a lot of skills...business writing, technology skills, and the like. But he cannot teach people to get along with other people; he cannot teach people to be tolerant of other people. WOW--that's awesome. One thing I have always appreciated and loved about MPS is the diversity, and this man's comments helped me to appreciate what we do in terms of that very diversity.

Again, there were many, many comments on both sides of the issue. One person noted that he was a bit confused that people form the suburbs were here. Many others spoke of the children who come from homes with two moms or two dads. A son stood up to defend his mother, his former high school, and his Ivy League education (as a result of his degree from Riverside High School).

The board listened to public comments until after 10 pm, when the board members who were here began to explain their positions. Director Tim Petersons spoke first and said that he had been swayed by the people who had spoken against the proposal--he was swayed to vote yes.

The role was taken, and went as follows: Hardin, no, Blewett, yes, Bonds, no, Morales, yes, and Petersons, yes. It passed, three to two.

What a night.

Huh...

Well, I confess that I did not attend the school board meeting on Thursday, September 18. I was instead enjoying the music of the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra (a real treat, I must say). On the way home, I did tune in on the radio and was struck by the last ten minutes of the meeting.

I heard one school board director talk about how he won't vote to raise taxes because he promised the voters in his district not to vote in that way. He went on to express frustration with a lack of action on the part of the board and administration regarding money and restructuring and cuts. I have to say that to some degree, I concur (and I usually do not agree with this school board director). We do need to get creative, and we do need to think outside the box. On the other hand, I'm sure that the specific courses of action he wants are different than what I would like to see, however. So, in the next paragraph, you will find my wish list.

I want every school board member to get to Madison weekly and tell the real stories of MPS and our kids. I want the Milwaukee newspapers to ask teachers what we need, and then tell those stories; and even more than that, I want the MJS to get behind a better way of funding schools. I want to not be "lazy" by the local talk radio hosts; instead I want them to realize that I will send a great part of my weekend grading papers just to keep my head above water. I want to not worry about my job security or my mortgage after 16 years of teaching. I want the citizens of this state to listen to Libby Burmaster when she says that Wisconsin schools have reached their limit....because the reality is that MPS is suffering, but so are Florence, River Falls, Sparta, Kimberly, and Hazel Green. And I want everyone to know that we are teaching the greatest proportion of kids in the state who have needs beyond what most of us can imagine or understand.

Again, I'm not sure of the action of the school board (and it seems that the local media isn't either), other than they know they will probably have to raise the school board portion of the property tax levy (not 15% your entire property tax)! No matter how you slice it, it's ugly for most property owners...but I'd rather pay to educate children than to incarcerate adults (guess which one costs more?).

ISR Meeting Notes

I attended the Innovation and School Reform Committee meeting on Tuesday, September 9.

Overall, the questions from the board members dealt with the effectiveness of the DIFI plan as set forth by the Department of Public Instruction (DPI). The superintendent assured the board that DPI will not withhold funds from the district as long as MPS continues to follow the DIFI guidelines. They do have the authority of withhold resources from MPS, but not funds. (I'm not as all sure of what he means by resources, . . . but from my point of view as a teacher from Audubon Middle School, we are not getting many resources from DPI to implement the DIFI strategies. We are not a SIFI school, so maybe that's why we are not getting any resources. I would love to hear comments from other MPS teachers as to whether they have had other experiences regarding DPI resources!)

Another concern was about schools that are successful and how these DIFI guidelines may tie their hands. The response to this concern was to assure the board that goal is for successful schools to follow their Educational Plans that should be targeting the achievement gaps in their own settings. So, for schools that are successful, they should continue to implement their Ed Plans. SIFI schools, on the other hand, must implement the mandates and implement all the recommendations given the Ed Plan review board.

Another specific concern was the burden on Special Ed teachers regarding the abundance of compliance documentation. The administration agreed that there is a huge struggle to balance between teaching and learning for Special Ed students and the enormous compliance demands of Special Ed teachers. This will be brought up again at the Special Education Committee meeting.

A teacher from MEC spoke about her issues with the DIFI/SIFI requirements. Her homebase students are identified as Read 180 students, so they get an extra block of reading for Read 180, and therefore have no FAVES and no recess. Also, t 1he Read 180 computers at her school have not worked since the beginning of the school year (for 7 weeks - so this must be a year-round school??). She also mentioned that the DIFI supervisor has not been available to help the school. There was discussion about these issues and promises that the issues will be investigated.

Director Morales expressed on behalf of the board her frustrations around the importance of one test score in determining whether or not our schools are successful. It was a heartfelt statement and certainly resonated with this blogger's personal feelings on the subject!

The second item was the Teach Across America program. The speaker presented a PowerPoint on the program. (There is a copy of the PowerPoint on the link provided in the previous blog.) Some questions I have are:

• Who is paying the Teach for America teachers' salaries?
• Will they be members of the MTEA?
• How highly qualified will these "non-certified" teachers be?

Innovation and School Reform Committee Meeting on 9/9/08

The Committee on Innovation and School Reform (ISR) is meeting on Tuesday night, September 9, at 6:30 pm. The tentative agenda is covering two topics:

• Informational Report on District and School Improvement Activities (DIFI plan)
• Informational Report on the Teach Across America Program

Both reports are attached to the advance copy of the ISR Blue Book that is available on the MPS Portal.

The Wisconsin DPI's "Corrective Action for Milwaukee Public Schools District Identified for Improvement - Level 3" plan is NOT an easy read. Some of you may be feeling the effects with extended reading and math instructional blocks. The district seems to be doing all it can to comply with the state's requirements. But again, here is an example of NCLB sanctions being put in place with little or no support provided to the district or, certainly, to the schools!

The Teach Across America program is an attempt to attract more "highly qualified teachers" to our district. The data about the gaps between MPS and neighboring districts (presented in the PowerPoint that is attached to the Blue Book) is very powerful and pretty depressing! The administration will be requesting approval of a contract with Teach Across America for the upcoming school year.

School Board votes to restore 40 EA Positions for 2008-09

Congratulations to our Educational Assistants for their hard fight and victory last night at the school board meeting. The EA's and their President provided heartfelt and passionate testimony about how much they love working with our kids and the important roles they play in our schools. Swayed by the testimony provided, Director Bonds moved to restore the 40 EA positions as EA positions instead of the administrations proposal to create social worker assistants and other unspecified positions.

The committee also decided to send the administration's busing proposal back to the drawing board once again after a very lengthy discussion. However, this time the board discussed the importance of the board and administration working together in a creative manor in trying to figure out the best way to cut transportation costs. This is definitely an issue that everyone should be paying close attention too, because it will have direct impact on school enrollments.

Please be sure to attend the Sept. 9th school board meeting on the new mandates from DPI.

DPI sends a memo

Members of the Innovation and School Reform Committee last night were presented with a memo from DPI that contained some surprising information. In light of MPS now being a level three (up from level two) district in need of improvement, DPI has issued various new requirements. Some mentioned by the board members included extending instructional days by 30 days at one or two schools, mandatory summer school for all Title I SIFI schools, some kind of reading plan and various requirements in regards to teacher quality. Members discussed the possible impact this could have on the budget, using the example of how extended instruction would be more costly. Director Morales discussed the memo in terms of it being "developmentally inappropriate" for young children and "financially inappropriate" for taxpayers. The Administration talked about making the memo public by putting it up on the portal, which would be great to actually be able to read it. Hopefully, it will be available soon. The ISR Committee is planning a public hearing on these items for September 9 at 6:30 at Central Office.
Other action taken at the meeting was the approval of the contract for the Hmong American Peace Academy.
Also, remember if you are unable to give public testimony at the meeting tomorrow (August 14) if you want to tell Board members to keep cuts away from the classroom you can email them at: governance@mail.milwaukee.k12.us
or fax: 414-475-8071.

Meetings next week

The school board has a busy week next week:

Tuesday, August 12 - Innovation and School Reform Committee
Thursday, August 14 - Special Education Committee and Strategic Planning and Budget Committee

Blue books (agendas) are available on the MPS Portal.

Tuesday's ISR meeting is shaping up to be interesting. Included on the docket:

• Approval for a non-instrumentality charter school: Hmong American Peace Academy
• An information report on the Comprehensive Literacy Framework adopted by the district in 2004. The report will focus on the writing aspect of the Framework. This Framework came about through the hard work of folks who participate in the Milwaukee Partnership Academy - a broadbased group of institutions representing K-12 education, business, labor, foundations, universities, etc. MTEA has been involved since the beginning. The Partnership has attracted a lot of resources to the district, and some interesting ideas. What's your take?
• An information report about all the money MPS is spending on providing Title I services to non-public school students -- $11,431,550 to be exact. Many of the students, BTW, attend voucher schools. But before you criticize MPS, know that the spending is required by the federal education law ESEA, more commonly referred to as "No Child Left Behind (NCLB)." This law was trumpeted by the Bush administration and passed with bi-partisan support. You all know better than I how schools have been suffering ever since this law went into affect. NEA is working on ways to revise the law so that it's actually helpful to schools as they try to improve. Whether they are successful depends largely on who wins the White House for the next 4 years. Need another reason to vote this November?
• A report on school improvement activities necessitated by our "District Identified for Improvement" (DIFI) status (there's that darn NCLB again!)
• A report on single-gender classes at the 8th grade level at the Milwaukee Education Center.

. . . something for everyone to dig their teeth into!

At the Strategic Planning and Budget committee meeting on Thursday, the Board will set a calendar for the public hearings, but it appears that's the extent of the conversation that evening. However, since public testimony is taken at committee meetings, there is a chance that a debate on the budget could begin at that time.

During the Special Education committee meeting, the Board members will hear a report on compliance. I didn't read the entire 17-page report in the blue book, but it appears the administration will address the recent news that MPS is reportedly not taking advantage of special education funding available from a DPI grant program. It's safe to say there is more to that story than what appeared in the newspaper.

Attend one or all of these meetings if something you see here or in the blue book turns your crank. You will have the chance to testify if you want to.

If you do, report back here what you said and how our Board Directors responded.

Our students and schools need you on August 14th

A professor of mine at the University of Northern Iowa told my class, that being an educator meant more than teaching. Being an educator meant being an advocate for the children in your classroom and school. My professor repeatedly told my class this throughout the semester. It wasn't until I entered my school for the very first time that I truly understood why my professor wanted us to understand that being an educator means being an advocate.

Far too many of our children are voiceless. They don't have anyone advocating for their basic needs. This basic need includes education. Unfortunately, some of the people who are making the big decisions regarding our students education, see our kids as being nothing but dollars. Unfortunately, too many in the public see our kids as being nothing but failures.

An unexpected school board meeting was called tonight to address the 2008-09 Fiscal School Budget for MPS. The Journal Sentinal published that a board meeting would be held to discuss the budget. There were maybe 10 people at the meeting, and this includes the reporter from the Sentinal. There would have been 14 people, but four people left after waiting 20 minutes for the board to end their private executive session in the conference room. I am most grateful that those four individuals came, because they were friendly WEAC members.

While they were there, these four individuals were able to hear citizens, who are extremely involved in the MPS budget process (and they were talking about school board recruitments) belittle our schools, our teachers, and our union. They engaged one individual, and after 20 minutes, it was time for them to go to where they needed to be. I stayed and listened to these Milwaukee citizens speak so negatively about the jobs we are doing every day in our schools. I even overheard one individual share with the group about an administrator telling him that three "bad" special education teachers received poor evaluations and so they were moving on to new schools.

Waiting for the board to move out of their executive sessions was one of the most frustrating experiences I have ever had. I bit my tongue to stop myself from lashing out at them. All of them, with the exception of one, had nothing positive to say about our schools, our teachers, and our union.

Fortunately, the meeting ended quickly. Director Bonds motioned the meeting be adjourned for several grounds, which I can not remember all of them. On a five to four vote, the meeting was adjourned. Directors Bonds, Director Hardin, Director Morales, Director Falk, and Director Blewitt voted to adjourn the meeting. This was a big win for us!

The point of this meeting was to look at the budget and make cuts. The first two items on that chopping block are the full-time ParaProfessionals in all K4 and non SAGE K5 classrooms and the restored 40 EA positions. I'm not sure what else is on the chopping blocks, but some of the board are ready to furthur drastic cuts to a very thin budget.

Again, these board members are looking at our children as being dollar signs, nothing more. They don't understand that we have a responsibility to educate the whole child, not just produce a targeted test score.

I am so thankful that the board meeting was quickly adjourned, because our students were voiceless tonight. They didn't have their advocates at the meeting to speak up or stand up on their behalf.

I understand that we are all busy and have lives outside of our schools. However, we chose to enter the education field because we want our students to have a great future. Our students need us to wear our advocate hats more often for them. They need us to be their voice at our school board meetings. I understand that many of us write our school board members. I also understand that many of us call our school board members frequently. We find time to do these things because we care about education in MPS and our students. However, our students and our schools need us to be present in the audience at these school board meetings. The school board makes their decisions in front of the audience, not in front of your letter or on the other end of the phone. If we aren't in the audience, they don't feel the pressure.

I am asking all of you to please attend the August 14 school board hearing and advocate for our students and schools. Please attend this school board meeting, and be a voice for our students. It is our words and actions that give a voice to our voiceless children in MPS.

Summer recess

While the board will continue to meet intermittently, we will take a bit of a summer break -- unless a major issue surfaces. Once the budget talks heat up again, you will find us here blogging.

Until then, have a great summer!

Budget adopted - report from the field

Gretchen Schuldt over at the new Blogging MPS has an extremely thorough report on the proceedings of the June 19 Board meeting. Why reinvent the wheel?

A couple of editorial comments, however:

(Disclaimer: these opinions are formed after reading Gretchen's post. I wasn't able to attend the meeting or listen to the proceedings on the radio last night.)

There appeared to be much talk about how it's difficult to pass a budget when we don't know what will happen with state finances and the property tax levy this fall. This conversation ensued mostly in reaction to an amendment that was presented to add $19.7 million in spending to the budget, which would allow the district to hire 170 more teachers.

From what I can gather from Gretchen's report, Director Falk in particular was cautious about the addition, and Danny Goldberg too, who said "We simply can't do it because we don't know what the fiscal impact of our decisions is on our constituents." Fair enough - I get they're in a tough position - but aren't the students his constituents as well? Isn't it the school board's responsibility to ensure students get a quality education from MPS? And it's their job to make the tough decisions. That's why they were elected. But perhaps Goldberg has another agenda besides strengthening MPS. I wonder what that could be. Your guesses in the comment section are welcome.

Really, we need all school board members to advocate for school finance reform in Wisconsin -- they wouldn't be in such a huge pickle every year at budget time if the school funding formula weren't broken beyond repair. In fact, that appeared to be part of the discussion last night.

Gretchen reports that Dir. Jeff Spence said he would he would "like to see some sort of plan that would get us more engaged" with elected officials, but "to have us go out there as opposed to them coming back and talking to us -- their constituents -- is backwards." He's not exactly wrong about that, but it strikes me as extraordinarily naive on his part.

But good for him for admitting what he needs. So Dir. Spence, here's a plan, and I'm calling it "Lobbying." Call up legislators; ask for an appointment to meet, preferably in Milwaukee; set appointment with a scheduler; meet and advocate strongly for school finance reform, describing the unbearable and immoral choices you have to make each and every year - choosing between property taxpayers and children.

There. That's not too tough, right. And it takes very little money to boot.

In fact, I bet you could even get some teachers to come along with you to that meeting to describe how budget cuts have hurt kids in Milwaukee.

Board Defers Vote on Domestic Partner Benefits

When I arrived home from the School Board meeting, I looked over the agenda again. This time one item stood out more so than before. Listed under the Board’s Core Beliefs is this statement:

Families are valuable partners.

I read no qualifications on this statement. It does not read ‘Heteronormative Families”. It does not read “Married Parents”. It simply uses an encompassing term -- families. By doing this, it does not restrict recognition only to families that look a certain way or believe in a certain religion. It recognizes the task of public education, that is, to provide an education to every child. This task requires Milwaukee Public Schools to work in partnership with the family of every child. Therefore the Board cannot make decisions that will allow some families to receive recognition while others do not.

One obvious and important way for the Board to live up to its core beliefs is to support the extension of benefits to domestic partners of MPS employees. In doing so, the Board would not only be following its own stated values but provide an example to our children of doing what is fair and just. We teachers often talk about utilizing those ‘teachable moments’. I call upon the Board to do just that. This can be a valuable opportunity to demonstrate to our students the importance of equality—including equal pay for equal work. Not offering partner benefits to employees who choose not to marry or who by law of our state are denied the right to marry violates this principle.

I was disappointed that the Board did not take a vote on this resolution but having been to a number of school board meetings in the past few months, I’ve experienced frustration and disappointment before. Something was different at this meeting though and the first piece of evidence was when I walked into the auditorium and two police officers were standing near the doorway. The room was full. There were those with signs that read ‘NO’ and many wearing stickers with “YES”. The division was palpable. Instead of becoming stalled by such divisions, the Board now has an opportunity to facilitate reconciliation. In order to do that, it needs to call out and recognize prejudice and discrimination for what it is and help lead the entire community to understand how such discrimination hurts us all.

Many of those who spoke against the resolution also talked about their own lack or family members’ lack of health care coverage. Director Morales commented on this as well and I wish to extend her encouragement in working to resolve the crisis of the uninsured in Milwaukee and beyond. Instead of limiting who receives health care benefits by where you work or whether or not you are married why not recognize everyone’s dignity and work toward providing quality health care to all? Every year in the United States 18,000 people die due to not having health insurance. As educators and community members all of us can utilize this as a teachable moment for our children and demonstrate we are willing to work towards something better.

Turn Out for Domestic Partner Benefits

The School Board's committee on Finance & Personnel meets tonight. Some ho-hum stuff on the agenda, but a couple items worth our attention and action. (See the entire agenda here.)

The committee will be taking public testimony on the Resolution introduced by Director Jennifer Morales last November to offer benefits to the domestic partners of unrepresented MPS employees.

Of course, unrepresented employees do not include MTEA members, but if the Resolution were passed, we will have a better shot at bargaining the benefit for our members in the next round of negotiations.

Read MTEA President Dennis Oulahan's statement on why MTEA supports this Resolution.

If you feel strongly about the issue, it's a great opportunity to speak your mind. 6:30 p.m. at the Central Services Auditorium, 5225 W. Vliet St.

Other items of note:

• There is an agenda item about providing services under ESEA ("No Child Left Behind") to non-public school students and teachers, including those in religious schools. So, hmm, let me get this straight -- MPS has to pay to the tune of more than $11 million to provide services to students and teachers in schools that aren't required to meet all the punitive accountability measures under this hair-brained federal education law - AYP and the like. They get to actually benefit from the law, while public schools get some serious spanking. Nice. You gotta give the establishment credit for thinking up this one.
  
• 4 teachers who are resigning from MPS listed "residency" as the reason for their resignation. MTEA members are divided on this issue, even though MTEA included repeal of residency on their legislative agenda

Public Hearing Storm

Okay, I'm trying to be clever, I admit. But when I was at the meeting, I was keeping an eye on the radar, too.


Several times during the evening, President Peter Blewitt read the names and comments of people who are in favor of raising the school board portion of the tax levy to the limit. That is so encouraging. Many interesting points were made during the testimony.

Several people spoke on behalf of finding ways to retain as many educational assistants as possible. Up to 200 (?!?) might be laid off if the budget passes as it is currently written. These people work closely with our students and have a real pulse on the kids. One speaker, Mike Langyel (MTEA vice president) mentioned that when he started student teaching, the educational assistants were the most helpful. I had similar experiences when I started at my first school, come to think of it.

A few educational assistants spoke on behalf of themselves and their colleagues. These are people who love their jobs and work VERY hard, are paid poorly, and yet come to work daily. One speaker was in tears as she gave her testimony to the Board.

We need to remember that the educational assistants are often parents, guardians, and grandparents in Milwaukee Public Schools. They already don't get paid much. We would be shooting ourselves in the foot by cutting jobs--now we have more kids even closer to poverty. It's really basic economics.

Of course, was testimony regarding the need for art and music in schools and for smaller class sizes. I felt good about the conversations we had Thursday night. The outpouring in favor of our students was positive and needed. What will be interesting is how the Board responds.

Director Falk commented that even if they did raise the tax levy, they don't know what they would actually be allowed to collect--there clearly are parts of the tax law that I do not understand. I also don't like the attitude implied: "We don't know what to do..." seems to be what I hear.

I took a longer look at the MPS line item budget, and I don't know what to do, either, but I might have a few questions: Why do some employees get car allowances? Why does the school board need $20,000 for travel (where are they going)? Is it possible that the district could look for ways to save energy (turn off some lights district wide, turn up the air and turn down the heat in Central Services)? What are the "consumables" I see for many of the departments? I'm just asking.

Anyway, I look forward with hope to the decisions that might come from the meeting on Thursday the 19th. Remember, if you have not been to a board meeting, you can still contact your school board member!

Good News

Tuesday night as I was trying to get to the School Board meeting I turned on the radio to hear the broadcast. I knew teachers were going to be there to speak to the adoption of the social studies textbook series and I didn't want to miss that. When I heard then that the Board had withdrawn its recommendation for adopting a textbook series, I smiled with excitement. This meant a win--a win on behalf of the educators that stood up and spoke out against the adoption of a textbook series for social studies that failed to give accurate and adequate coverage to issues of racism, discrimination, immigration among others.
At that moment I really wished I wasn't listening to the car radio. I wanted to be at the Board meeting able to enjoy this with other colleagues. When I did arrive I saw Bob Peterson (see previous post)handed me a packet of information that examined and compared the textbooks that were up for consideration. He pointed out to me the page that discussed the text for second grade students and this example clearly points out the text's bias. From the Houghton Mifflin series being considered entitled, Neighborhoods, our children would've learned about being a citizen:
You are a Citizen
A citizen is a person who belongs to a place. You are a citizen of the community where you live and the nation where you were born. You can also become a citizen of the United States even if you were not born here
To that Bob Peterson wrote, "This last sentence is a nod to naturalized citizens, but it simply is not true. Not everyone who is here can become a citizen. But if, as children are told in this passage, everyone can become a citizen of the United States, then obviously the non-citizens in our midst are choosing to not join "us". Shame on them."
The text continues to be exclusive when it begins to speak of "rights" and how as a citizen has rights that are protected by the government. The text only speaks of rights as it relates to citizenship--not all of our children are citizens. Not all of our children's parents or relatives are citizens. What about their rights?
The Board has expressed interest to work with educators in developing an improved proposal to deal with the teaching of social studies and this is fantastic news. I offer a huge congratulations to the teachers and individuals that organized and spoke out on this issue.
We need to continue to speak out and that includes at tonight's Board meeting at 6:30, the last public hearing on the proposed budget.
Oh, I also wanted to mention that on Tuesday's meeting a number of school counselors came out to speak to the issue of the lack of counselors in K-8 schools. (A letter was sent to the Board on this subject from Tom Morgan, the MTEA Executive Director). One of the Board members posed the question whether or not it was a requirement that each school had a guidance counselor. Now, at this point, I have to admit that I was driving into the parking lot of Central Services and the radio reception was going in and out but I heard enough of the answer to catch the drift and spoke to a guidance counselor afterwards who confirmed what I had heard. The answer was that some schools didn't have counselors because they "chose" to keep other positions, such as art teachers or gym teachers. This line is infuriating and Tuesday night was NOT the first time this has been uttered. When the administration refers to cutting positions at schools as a "choice" each school community is making, I get angry because it never feels like a choice. Choice implies power and when schools are faced with paltry numbers for their budget, it all feels pretty powerless. And then to have it turned around as some kind of reprimand is just insulting.

Textbook Adoption - Tuesday, June 10

We mentioned textbook adoption here before.

The School Board's Innovation and School Reform committee will be making their decision about the social studies text on Tuesday, June 10.

More from MTEA Executive Board member Bob Peterson:

Dear colleagues,

On Tuesday, June 10 the Innovation and School Reform Committee of the Milwaukee School Board will consider adoption of new social studies textbook series for kindergarten through 5th grade, 6th and 7th grade, and 8th grade. The K-5th grade adoption will cost $3,152,175 (about $75 per student).

The series that is up for adoption is Houghton Mifflin Social Studies, 2008. I encourage people to take a critical look at the texts on the matter of race and other issues.

My read of the 800-page fifth grade US History textbook is that is so lacking, that the school board NOT adopt the series, at least not the fifth grade component of it.
For example, the book never once mentions the word "racism." It mentions the word "discrimination" only once in the text. The words "stereotype" and "anti-semitism" don't appear. The words "Puerto Ricans" don't appear. While there is lengthy description of some Native American nations prior to the Europeans coming to the Americas, the summation is "The Columbian Exchange benefitted people all over the world." (p. 98) Oh really? The Native Americans? What kind of history is that?

For a more in-depth examination of the curricular silences found in this and most other textbooks, read the editorial in the current issue of Rethinking Schools.

Proponents of adoption of this series will argue that "none of the major textbook companies" mention race or deal with racism in their books. That may be true. But does it mean that we should just continue the mindless practice of adopting inadequate (racist) texts every seven years? When will we?

Perhaps in this historical year when an African American is a major candidate for the US Presidency, it is time for the educators in Milwaukee and the School Board to tell the textbook companies that we want textbooks that serve the needs of and reflect our multiracial student population.

SO - go to the school board meeting on June 10 if you care about issues of race, class and social justice in public education. Our elected leaders need to hear your voice.

If you want more info, Bob has studied this matter extensively. You can email him for "an in-depth analysis of the 5th grade textbook."

Students tell School Board what programs they would like MPS to offer

The underlying theme to the two hour public testimony the school board directors heard at Tuesday night's board meeting was "Raise the school tax levy to the maximum!" The roughly 125 people present at the meeting consisted of teachers, educational assistants, MTEA leaders, parents, and roughly 20 students from MTEA Executive Board member Bonnie Brusky's English class at Riverside High School. Riverside was recently recognized as being one of the top 500 high schools in the country, and in the top three high schools in Wisconsin.

The students told the board members that the MPS 2008-09 budget should increase course offerings in the Arts and specialty programs, and newer and better text books in MPS schools. Several students also mentioned they would like to see MPS offer driver's education. Many of the students also encouraged the board members to visit all of MPS' schools, so they can see what the schools truly need to keep kids wanting to go to school and be successful.

These students didn't just represent their classmates at Riverside High School. Rather these students represented all MPS students who will suffer under the current budget proposal by MPS' administration under the constraints of the school board's direction.

Most importantly, these students showcased the importance of providing a high quality education with enriching and engaging educational programs. These students spent their Tuesday night not talking on the phone or instant messaging friends online like most teenagers. Instead, these MPS students decided to spend their night participating in the democratic process and advocating for the educational opportunities they think all children in MPS deserve to have.

To paraphrase one student, "My mom wants to send me to a school in the suburbs because they have more classes. I don't want to leave MPS!"

Please attend the June 12th meeting and ask the school board to fund the programs that MPS students want and deserve so none of their parents will want to send them to another school district.

Another Chance on June 12

This from Bob Peterson, an MTEA executive board member and convener of the Educators Network for Social Justice (ENSJ) - an "independent group of educators working to promote social justice teaching and policy in Milwaukee-area schools."


Dear Friends,

The time is now to act to get more money for the students of MPS. If educators, parents, school councils, and concerned citizens speak out in the next ten days there is a chance that each school could get some significant budget relief for next year.

At the school board budget hearing this past June 2, it became public that the school board could generate $20.9 million more dollars if they decide to raise the school tax levy to what is allowable under the state revenue caps and turn that money over to the schools on a per pupil basis.

The administration stated that for each additional $1 million the per pupil "allocation" would be $12.95. That means if the school board is convinced to raise the additional $20.9 million AND live up to their rhetoric of school-based budgeting, each school would be allocated about $270 per pupil. You can do the math from there. A school with 400 students would get an additional $108,000 for next years budget, enough to hire back some paras or a teacher.

This will not happen without a LARGE outpouring of support from people throughout Milwaukee. What can you do:

1. Attend the next public hearing on the budget on Thursday, June 12 at 6:30 at the auditorium of the Central Services.
2. Get at least five staff and parents from your school to attend the hearing
3. Get your school council president or PTA president to attend the hearing and speak
4. Get all the above to call school board members
5. Get everyone in your school to email their school board member
6. Attend the June 19 MPS (6:30 PM) when they take their final vote on the budget (not public hearing that evening).

For information on how to email and call school board members go to the MPS website.

Please note any move to increase the levy will bring criticism (and mobilization) by those who oppose any increases in the property tax. MPS officials estimate that increasing the levy to the state limit would increase the property tax ON THE MPS PORTION of the bill by 9.4%. This is NOT an increase of 9.4% in the overall bill, something which certain people will fail to acknowledge.

The time to act is now. The children of Milwaukee deserve it.

Sincerely,
Bob Peterson

(P.S. Bob is also editor of a great magazine for educators and others interested in public education. It's called Rethinking Schools and it's worth checking out.)

Not on the Test

I thought since budgets cuts seem the deepest when it comes to art and music programs that this song was totally appropriate in light of what's been going on at the school board's budget hearings. (thanks to Stephanie W. for sending the link)

Remember, now is the time to speak up and tell the board to stop making cuts that hurt our kids! Come to the next budget hearing JUNE 3rd at 6:30 pm!

Your Opportunity to Talk Tomorrow !!

I have taken this directly from an email I received from Bob Peterson, a teacher in MPS and one of the editors of the fantastic publication Rethinking Schools.

"Speak Out II on the deteriorating conditions of teaching and learning. Join us as we take the next step making plans for what should be done.

On April 17 over 80 educators from more than 40 schools came together to discuss problems we face as educators. Topics included lack of quality teaching time, poor leadership at school and district levels, budget shortfalls, discipline issues, too much emphasis on “data” and testing and not enough emphasis on children, not being treated like professionals, top-down mandates, racism, and the failure of the broader community to support our students.

At the first Speak Out people said they wanted to come together again to talk concretely about what should be done in the short and long term. Please join us. Share your ideas and energy. Bring a colleague.

Educators from all districts and schools are welcome to participate.
4:15 PM to 6 PM
Thursday, May 29

Marshall High School Library
4141 N. 64th Street
Enter via the entrance on the corner of 64th and W. Fiebrantz Ave. One block north of 64th and Capitol Drive. Use street parking.

Also one block north of MPS Technology Center. Questions about location/parking - call (414) 393-2580.

Sponsored by the Educators’ Network for Social Justice and the Milwaukee Teachers’ Education Association (MTEA)."

******** ******** ******** ******** ******** ********

Then, if you still have time and energy, the full Milwaukee Public School Board will meet at 6:30 pm in the auditorium of the central services building. This is NOT an opportunity to talk, since the board does not take testimony during full board meetings, but it never hurts to be there and pay attention to the goings-on.

I couldn’t help but find humor in the School Board members’ remarks regarding the large number in the audience last night. It would be hard to describe the meeting as ‘crowded’ but I suppose compared to a handful of people from previous meetings this was a step forward.
A large number of public speakers were from the Milwaukee German Immersion School, who passionately spoke to the lack of funding at their schools and how that resulted in tough and painful decisions, pitting class size against keeping on specialists in art, music and gym. Many of the speakers spoke to MGIS’s great success and how this is a school that is bringing parents into MPS, a district faced with declining enrollment. Without diminishing these great accomplishments by the school, one of which is having such an engaged and committed group of parents, which I certainly applaud, one needs to remember all the school communities that weren’t able to show up and speak last night. All schools are facing tough decisions. All schools deserve an art teacher and a music teacher and gym teacher. In the fight for appropriate funding for our schools we need to keep in the forefront our goal as public educators and as a community—to provide a quality education to ALL of our students.
As an early childhood educator, I was happy to hear the testimony from both Kelly McMahon and Dawn Calarco. Kelly pointed to the inequality of funding as an issue of social injustice. The Board, failing to pass the appropriate tax levy has cost the school district $6 million in state aid. This is a crime, as Kelly stated. It’s nothing short of a violation of civil rights as it robs our children of educational opportunities enjoyed by their suburban counterparts.
Dawn made a great point on the importance of early childhood education, and said that 1st and 2nd grade teachers often comment on how those children able to enroll in K4 and K5 experience greater success later on. The way to offer quality early childhood education is to make sure class sizes remain small. When Director Petersons asked Andrekopoulos what the district was doing to reduce class size in early childhood programs, the Superintendent remarked on how he doesn’t want to see children turned away from these programs, saying if you cap the class at 20 how can you turn away the 21st child?
I say to our School Board that of course no teacher wants to see children turned away from school. You don’t turn away a child, instead, you hire the adequate number of teachers. Otherwise, this becomes a slippery slope. You don’t want to turn away the 21st child or the 22nd or the 23 and so on. But you can’t keep adding these numbers to existing classrooms. When a classroom becomes overcrowded it diminishes the educational experience for all children, turning all away from the experience they deserve.

Why the Budget Matters

There is a high level of frustration among teachers regarding the MPS budget...so high that it seems as if our problems are
insurmountable. First of all, no, they are not (yet), secondly, yes, this is serious.

I'm going to explain the positives of my job (because this is a great job) and then talk about the difficulties imposed on us with all the budget cuts.

I teach in a middle school. There are many days that I could not possibly love my job more. What you have heard about middle school students is absolutely true; they are walking hormones with their bodies years ahead of their brains, and they are developing fun and interesting parts of their personalities: sense of humor, independence, and morality. I love watching them change and become young adults. Don't get me wrong, they are challenging and rather (very) difficult at times; but I do enjoy this age.

I love the impact I think I have on them. When a kid makes an ethical decision and I possibly could attribute that to role modeling, it's a great feeling. When students can recite prepositions or reasons for World War One, I feel an incredible sense of accomplishment. When they can critically think and draw correlations and write good topic sentences and use adjectives and identify theme in a novel and connect the French Revolution to today in the United States....that's just awesome. It doesn't get any better than that.

I like the fact that I get a classroom, bulletin boards, and a desk. Pretty cool, if you ask me. I'm employed in a place where I make a difference doing something I am passionate about.

However. Every year I get better at what I do. Every year it is not good enough. Ten years ago, I would have been an outstanding teacher. I think I'm above average, but not outstanding. What prevents me from "awsomeness?" Great question. Money, of course.

1) Worry, stress, wondering what is next.

2) Cutting or underfunding the programs kids love. Some come to school for band, or art, or the computers. When those disappear, why come to school?

3) Cutting or underfunding after school activities that kids (again) love. Some come to school and do well so they can be on the track team, or stay after for football. When those disappear, why come to school? Why try to do well if there is no track coach saying, "Keep your grades up!!"

4) Being overworked and being one who is getting sick due to stress (and the cute little germs kids bring to school), but worry about Channel 4 doing an expose on teachers taking time off, so we come to work with pneumonia. I am not kidding; we had a teacher come into work this year with walking pneumonia. She was sent home by administration when they caught on to her illness and the severity of it, but it happened.

5) Lack of money for basic supplies: construction paper, glue, staplers, the like. I don't mind buying my own, but I've been teaching long enough that I can afford it, and I'm in a middle school where we really don't use the above as much as in elementary schools. I can't imagine what an elementary teacher does without glue.

6) Finally, class sizes are increasing at a ridiculous rate. The projection for next year at my school is somewhere between 38 and 40. In middle school. Where the hormones rage.

I want to tell you why class size matters, and for the people who say, "I was in a class of 36 when I was a kid, and I turned out okay," let me respond that you and your classmates grew up in a bit of a different world.

I keep a clipboard with the name of every student--it's used for attendance and behavioral notes and so on. When I look at the clipboard at the end of the day, I sometimes notice two things in order of bad and worse: (bad) I didn't even TALK to "so-and-so" today; (worse) All I said to "so-and-so" were imperative or negative things ("Sit down, please; don't talk; etc.). I honestly don't know what is worse--your teacher not talking to you or your teacher never saying nice things to you???!!!

I have several students who NEED daily attention, just for them, by adults. When they don't get it, they act out. It's really difficult to give one on one attention when there are 39 other kids in the room, several of whom need that same extra love. When they don't get the extra moment, they start to act out, and it gets worse as time goes on.

I would assert that class size has a direct impact on school safety. When there are so many kids in a room, and the five are now acting out, plus the one or two who will act out no matter what....now there are more behavioral issues that ma lead to safely issues. UGH!!

Finally, class size has to impact education. How could it not? With 24 kids (my ideal), I could do awesome groups, have individual time, correct papers in a more timely fashion, and be a better teacher. With twice that (and we are almost to twice that), I am moving more and more toward worksheets, lecture and teacher centered learning. It's not ideal. It's not even close.

The budget is what impacts the classroom. Without funding, we are fighting a losing battle, and the problem is that this battle is not for a strip of No Man's Land in war-torn France (we are learning about WWI right now). The problem is that this battle is for the education and future of our children.

Revised FY09 Budget Calendar

The MPS School Board adopted the following schedule for the FY09 budget process:

Thursday, May 15 - 6:30 p.m. public hearing

Thursday, May 22 - 6:30 p.m. public hearing

Tuesday, June 3 - 6:30 p.m. Strategic Planning and Budget Committee will take action on the proposed budget.

Thursday, June 12 - 6:30 p.m. Board's Statutory Public Hearing on the Budget

Thursday, June 19 - 6:30 p.m. Regular Board Meeting: Adoption of Budget

All meetings are being held at the MPS Central Services Auditorium, 5225 W. Vliet St.

May 13 meetings

The school board is meeting tonight to amend the FY2009 budget calendar and budget amendment process. It's a special meeting of the full board, and no testimony will be taken. We'll let you know the revised schedule for the budget process here, if you don't feel like listening in tonight.

Also, if you're interested in some of the details, here is the presentation (pdf) that Stephanie and KMcMahon referred to in their report on the May 6 Strategic Planning and Budget Committee meeting.

The other meeting tonight that may be of interest to educators is the School Board's Innovation and Reform Committee, starting at 6:30 p.m. This is the committee that acts on charter school contracts, among other so-called reforms.

On tonight's agenda is contract renewal for the Hmong American Peace Academy Charter School - a non-instrumentality charter. The resolution is for a five-year contract renewal. You can read more in the meeting's Blue Book (pdf).

Also on the agenda is textbook adoption, which may be of interest to many educators. The criteria and process for textbook adoption looks great and very thorough, with lots of input from teachers and parents, and teams appear to take their work very seriously. The Administration is recommending that the Board take action on textbook adoption in the following areas:

• Bilingual ed: Spanish language arts, K-8
• Foreign language: Spanish, 9-12
• Trade and tech ed: auto body, 9-12
• Business ed: keyboarding, 9; principles in business, 9-12
• Math: algebra and geometry, 9-12
• Science: chemistry and physics, 9-12

Social studies was also supposed to be recommended for adoption at this meeting, but the Administration is allowing more time for schools and community to provide input. Why, you ask? Despite how good the textbook adoption process looks when you read it over in the Blue Book (pdf), perhaps it doesn't play out the way it should. Several social studies teachers in the district caught a glimpse of the social studies textbooks that were being recommended to the Board, and deemed them inappropriate and culturally insensitive. They made some noise (in a good way!) and convinced the Administration to put a hold on the social studies textbook adoptions.

Social studies teachers who were involved in the exchange might be able to offer more information about what they saw that was unacceptable, and how they went about expressing their concerns to the Administration. Also, what's next for social studies? Will a better recommendation come to the Board in June? Or are the teachers who expressed concern stuck?

Next meetings - May 13

May 13 - Innovation and School Reform, and a Special Board meeting.

I can't open the links, so I don't know the agendas of these meetings right now. More to come soon.

May 6th School Board Meeting: More cuts on the way

The first public school board meeting on the proposed 2008-09 fiscal budget could be summed up by one word:

DEVASTATING

Next year's proposed budget calls for cutting 213 teachers/therapists and 50 educational assistance positions. This means larger class sizes and loss of educational programs our students deserve to have access to. The additional loss of Educational Assistants is heartbreaking. At the same time, administration is proposing to add 15 more curriculum generalists.

The proposed cuts do not have to be this severe! Last fall, our school board chose to not raise the school tax levy to the maximum of 16.7%. By not raising the levy to the max, MPS will receive nearly $6 million dollars less next year in state funding. On top of that poor decision, the school board has directed Andrekopulous to propose a budget at an increase of only .25 percent. Again, MPS will lose millions of dollars in the 2009-10 fiscal year in state funding if we do not raise the school tax levy to the maximum (all the more reason why we need a new school funding formula), which will mean even more severe cuts in the 2009-10 school year.

Attendance at the meeting was pathetic. There were a total of seven of us in attendance. Only two of us spoke at the hearing. I was pleased to hear the parent from MGI (German Immersion) school tell the school board they need to reconsider their proposed school tax levy increase of .25%. MGI has increasing enrollment, yet they are facing the prospect of having to cut two teachers next fall. The school where I teach (Lancaster) is faced with cutting our one guidance position to one day a week, as well as reducing our library/media specialist position to 3 days a week next year.

Our school board members need to hear that the proposed cuts and proposed school tax levy increase for next year is irresponsible. Please attend the next scheduled school board meeting on the proposed budget and tell them that administration should not be cutting at the classroom and support services level next year. Administration needs to put kids first!


The next school board meeting on the budget is scheduled for Thursday, May 15 @6:30.

Budget Hearing May 6...What Happened.

To answer the question from the previous post, 'Will this year be different?' Let's not let this past hearing be an indication. I think at the high point the audience grew to the size of 7. But let that not detract from those that did speak on behalf of our students. Now those voices only need to increase in number.

Upon arrival to the budget hearing, I was greeted with stacks and stacks of papers--of proposed budgets, proposed budget hearing calendars, etc. During the ample time before the public was allowed to speak I tried to sift through the paperwork as well as keep my ears open for anything of note. Some items I found significant were:

-Kelly McMahon, Chair of the Early Childhood Committee spoke both to the need for sufficient funding for early childhood programs at MPS as well as funding to keep guidance counselors. She made a salient point by reminding Superintendent Andrekopoulos of a recent press conference he held with the City's chief of police making a point of regarding early childhood programs as important in the fight against crime. She also made a strong case for the guidance counselors, especially at K-8 schools, reminding the board that our students need to be well prepared to make a successful transition into high school.

-There was one additional public speaker, an MPS parent and school governance member who spoke to how individual schools are having to make really tough and undesirable choices due to budget constraints. Of course, this is something every school in the district has experience with, especially when it comes to retaining specialist teachers, like art teachers or physical education teachers. The budget outlines a $2.26 million increase to support such programs but I couldn't figure out what that would really mean come next school year.

-Other highlights? Expect cuts in the number of teachers and educational assistants meanwhile a rise in administrative positions (due to, as the Board explains, hiring more curriculum generalists). Also, due to a state grant the number school nurses will go up, improving greatly on the current ratio of nurses to students. Voucher schools were pointed to as a growing burden to tax payers and to our public schools as that cost is expected to rise to about 59.5 million dollars, a 9.8% increase from last year.

Will this year be different?

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel education reporter Alan Borsuk asks this question in their School Zone blog here.

The first paragraph of his post:

Milwaukee Public Schools budget hearings have been pretty quiet affairs in the last few years, with few members of the public coming out to express views. Will this year be any different?

Let's answer his question with action -- how about scores of educators, students, parents and neighborhood residents coming out to support their public schools, and make sure our Board members develop a budget that puts children first! (see first post - scroll down - for our union's position on the MPS budget).

While I wasn't able to attend last night's hearing, I know of some folks who were planning to attend. We'll get a report out as soon as we catch up with them.

May 6 School Board Meeting

This is interesting. Looks like tomorrow - May 6 - they are having their public hearing on the MPS budget after a special meeting of the board to make revisions to the MPS Instrumentality Charter School Model Contract.

Hopefully, those deliberations won't last too long, and they can get on with the public hearing.

The meeting on the charter school model contract is scheduled to begin at 6 p.m. and the public hearing will begin after they're done.

2 parts: Who we are and MPS Budget Hearings

Part 1: Who we are

The MTEA SpeakOut! committee is a committee of the local teachers' union. Here's what we try to do:

1. Provide tools and information to help educators speak with knowledge and confidence about their experiences in public education.
2. Promote more balanced media coverage of public education in Milwaukee by participating in message training, writing letters to the editor, and being interviewed by reporters.
3. Attend and network at public events like rallies, school board meetings, and political forums to share positive stories about public schools and educators.
4. Host activities where MTEA members have an opportunity to learn more about effective communication and socialize with one another

Our committee membership is modest, but energetic!

This blog is one of the ways we're trying to accomplish our goals. We're going to be posting MPS School Board meeting dates and agendas, and commenting on items that we think warrant some additional attention or concern. We're also going to try to go to some of the meetings, so let us know if you plan to attend - we'll go together!

We're looking forward to hearing from you!

Part 2: MPS Budget Hearings

MTEA Executive Director Tom Morgan sent a letter to Building Representatives (the union's elected leaders at the school building level) about advocating for their school during the MPS budget process. Below are sections from the letter, interspersed with comments from yours truly:

At the April BR meeting, BRs adopted the 3 points below as the core of our union's position on the proposed MPS budget for 2008-09:

• Cuts should be made as far away from the classroom as possible.
• The School Board should work to change the current funding formula - to an adequacy model.
• The School Board must put children first - no politics (as it did when it failed to tax to the legal limit last October).

The letter goes on to explain the process a bit.

Tentative Schedule of School Board Meetings

Meetings start at 6:30 p.m. and take place in the Central Services Auditorium, 5225 W. Vliet St. I guess these are still not set in stone - the schedule is tentative. Go to the MPS Portal for updates.

• Tuesday, May 6 - Committee public hearing
• Thursday, May 15 - Committee public hearing
• Thursday, May 22 - public hearing required by law
• Thursday, May 29 - School board's regular monthly meeting, action on budget, no public testimony taken

You want to talk? Attend the hearings on 5/6, 5/15 or 5/22. Don't bother showing up on 5/29 if you're feeling chatty -- they won't let you speak. You're better off calling your school board member in that case if you have missed the aforementioned public hearings where you can speak. However, being there on 5/29 with signs supporting your schools is cool. Could make for a great photo op.

Back to the letter . . .

Organizing Support for Your School's Budget Needs

Here are a few suggestions on organizing visible and vocal support for your school's budget at one of the public hearings.

Who Should Attend?

Students, parents, teachers, EAs, the principal(s), local business owners, residents, business partners, community groups, clergy, your district's alderperson and county supervisor.

- Bring/wear school identification - shirts, hand-held signs (no sticks!), buttons, etc.

- Numbers are important - the more parents, educators, students, etc. in the audience, the better.

A personal invitation is the best way to get someone to attend!

Who Should Speak?

A student, a parent, the principal, a teacher or 2, a business person, community/group leader, resident, minister, etc.

Speaking "Do's"

• Focus on students, their needs, their potential
• Provide details - examples, easy-to-grasp statistics
• Organize for cohesive and coordinated presentations
• Stick to the time limits (usually 2 minutes/speaker)
• Prepare your remarks and practice

Speaking "Don'ts"

• Don't repeat the same points over and over or repeat points another speaker has made (Author's Note: the meetings can get long, and there may be a lot of people waiting to speak. Be respectful of their time even if they haven't been respectful of yours)
• Don't criticize the budget allocations for other schools and programs.
• Don't engage in personal attacks

So this is pretty basic stuff. I've heard lots of teachers and educational assistants speak at public forums and public hearings, both around here and at the Capitol. I can't say I have ever heard any educator being inappropriate. In fact, I would say educators have a natural talent for public speaking, and my guess is it comes from the passion they have for the profession. But, reminders never hurt, I suppose.

Related Suggestions

Have in-depth discussions with your school's Governance Council.

Invite the School Board member of your school's district to visit - observe classrooms and talk with students and staff.

Invite other elected officials - Mayor Barrett, Common Council, and County Board members - to visit your school as well.

And actually, don't forget your state representatives. After all, they're the people we have to rely on to fix our state's school funding formula. I mean, how crazy is it that because the MPS Board didn't levy the maximum amount last year, that this year they get almost $6 million LESS in aid from the state? Stupid.

BTW, if you're not sure who the state representatives are in your school's neighborhood, all you have to do is punch in the address at this Web site: http://waml.legis.state.wi.us/. Their photos and contact info will pop up for you. They actually like visiting schools in their districts, so get on it!

Finally, if you're a teacher or another school employee in MPS, and you want to contribute to this project, you can do so in 2 ways:

1. Comment on these posts.

2. Become an author (it means you can post original messages like this one - woo hoo!). Call Kris at the MTEA headquarters and let 'er know.