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Home > BizTimes Daily > Archives > October 21, 2009
Teachers present alternative to mayoral takeover of MPS
Published October 21, 2009 - BizTimes Daily
Wisconsin and Milwaukee teachers today announced a collaborative plan built on teacher, parent and community input as an alternative to a proposal for Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett to take over control of Milwaukee Public Schools (MPS).
The "Milwaukee Opportunity Plan" was unveiled today by members of the Wisconsin Education Association Council (WEAC), the Milwaukee Teachers' Education Association (MTEA) and community representatives.
"Everyone recognizes that there needs to be significant and system-wide change in MPS, but that requires a well thought-out plan supported by those who work in the schools and with the students. We need more than a transfer of power or a few concepts," said Mike Langyel, president of the MTEA.
Highlights of the plan include:
Establishing a chief academic and business officer rather than a superintendent.
Implementing changes for principals, school board and administration, including ending tenure for all management level employees, redistricting school board seats and enhancing training.
Reducing class sizes for children in four-year-old kindergarten through eighth grade to levels commonplace in other state districts.
Providing intervention and more individualized attention at the 9th grade level, which is when many students are at risk of dropping out of school.
Establishing a consistent curriculum and educational materials across MPS schools to ease the transition for Milwaukee's students who move frequently.
Eensuring well-supported quality teachers and staff, including mentoring, enhanced recruitment, alternative compensation based on skills and responsibilities, a one-year residency for new teachers, and market incentives for teaching in hard-to-serve schools.
Improving school safety in new ways, including re-establishing an alternative school setting for chronic classroom disruptors so that all students get the services they need to succeed, and teachers can spend more time on education and less on discipline.
The plan also embraces several concepts recently tested by Gov. Jim Doyle at statewide news conferences earlier this week, such as implementing a longer school day and year, and improving school safety.
"Several of the concepts we, as Wisconsin educators, support are similar to those proposed by the governor and the Department of Public Instruction. We have been discussing those changes for some time, and we are glad we have some common ground on the MPS solution," said Mary Bell, president of WEAC. "However, our plan goes much further with specific recommendations on those concepts, and puts the state and MPS on the road to success."
According to supporters, the Milwaukee Opportunity Plan is the type of blueprint for success that the federal government and its "Race to the Top" initiative expect from states that are committed to serious change and school improvement. Doyle has indicated his intention to apply for that federal funding as soon as it becomes available.
The Milwaukee Opportunity Plan was announced at a news conference at the NAACP Milwaukee office. Parents, teachers and community leaders were present and stood in support of system-wide change for MPS.
"Wisconsin teachers want MPS and all schools to be successful and we needed to get a viable alternative on the table," said Jerry Hamilton, president of the NAACP Milwaukee Branch. "We think it is absolutely vital that all Wisconsin schools provide a quality education to all students, and through cultural and system changes at MPS, our District can succeed as so many other Wisconsin districts do."
For more information on the plan, visit www.weac.org/Milwaukee.
