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Controversy dogs Hillsdale charter schools
“The teachers are trained in the dumbest part of the dumbest colleges in the country,” said Larry Arnn, president of Hillsdale College, in late June. Hillsdale had plans to establish 50-100 charter schools in Tennessee. But sitting in the audience was Governor Bill Lee of Tennessee when Arnn made his pronouncement. Lee did not outright […]
Wisconsin schools are not meeting state mandate on Native American education
The Wisconsin Indian Education Association held a celebration of the state’s commitment to Native American education under Act 31 on Thursday, Aug. 18 at the Menominee Casino Resort in Keshena, with Native peoples from all over Wisconsin attending. Act 31 is a remarkable piece of legislation. The law requires that primary and secondary public schools […]
The National School Board Association is falling apart
The Wisconsin Association of School Boards (WASB) will no longer belong to the National School Board Association (NSBA) beginning in July. Over half the state school board associations across the county have withdrawn. Just a year ago, NSBA represented every state school board association. NSBA may not survive. A unified voice for school boards in […]
Teachers fleeing Waukesha schools
“School District of Waukesha (SDW) students and staff [have] become aware of a significant increase in teacher resignations this school year.” So says the Alliance for Education in Waukesha in a June 7 press release. “From April 1 to June 5, 2022, SDW has received at least 54 resignations from employees. In 2021, there were […]
A federal funding flood followed by a school finance drought
The horrifying school shooting at Robb Elementary in Uvalde, Texas was dominating the news as the Milwaukee school board finalized the district’s preliminary budget for the coming year on May 26. Just a few weeks earlier, school budget debates were focused on learning loss. Some school officials were pushing the message that students’ mental health […]
Milwaukee activists pen fictional account of struggle for workers’ rights
“‘Good Lord almighty, what is that? What the hell is that?’ Eve’s screech was loud enough to reach the foremen’s office. She jumped three feet back from the sorting table as the two foremen came hurtling in. “‘That’s human flesh up in there!’ Eve pointed to the jumble of hospital linen. Sure enough, a gelatinous […]
High school Advanced Placement struggles with race and diversity
Across Wisconsin and the nation thousands of high school students will be taking Advanced Placement (AP) exams this spring in hopes of doing well enough to earn college credit. That may not be possible in the coming years at some high schools if those schools remove required AP curriculum on race and diversity. The […]
The gloves are off in school board elections
The time was when school board elections were sleepy affairs. All candidates agreed not to spend more than a few hundred dollars campaigning. The way to win these elections was to get as many yard signs out as possible and knock on a lot of doors — but don’t say much about controversial issues, just […]
Bridging the diversity divide in schools
Throughout Black History month in February, Black Lives Matter signs went up in some schools while the same signs in other schools were being torn down in others. National, state and local-level battles over Critical Race Theory, which erupted at the same time parents were getting charged up about mask-wearing and other pandemic protocols in […]
What the Waukesha school board primary tells us
The school board race in Waukesha is a microcosm of school board races around Wisconsin and the nation. In Waukesha, many voters took their frustration out on existing school board members in the 2021 school board elections, choosing a more conservative board. On Tuesday, the Waukesha school board primary showed just how much momentum conservatives […]
Wisconsin school boards support Asians and Native American students
Yee Leng Xiong’s family fled Laos when the country fell to communist rule in the 1970s. An aunt and older brother died as they traversed their way through the jungle to a refugee camp in Thailand. Xiong was born in the Wausau area and attended D.C. Everest High School where he became a student leader […]
Wisconsin school boards ‘consider’ leaving national association
On Wednesday, Jan. 19, delegates to the Wisconsin Association of School Boards (WASB) considered leaving the National School Board Association (NSBA). In the end, the delegates decided to leave the decision to its board of directors. In the meantime, WASB will continue its membership with NSBA. School board associations in 19 states have already left NSBA […]