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)."

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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.