Education
When government and colleges come up short in meeting student needs, faculty unions step up
Where can students turn for help with basic survival needs when their colleges and government programs fail them in a crisis? At a growing number of campuses, students are getting aid from the same people they turn to for classroom help: their professors. Halima is a Somalia-born dental technician student at Milwaukee Area Technical College […]
Wisconsin Senate Republicans move school culture war bill forward
Republicans on the Wisconsin Senate Committee on Education advanced a bill on Monday that would ban teaching certain topics about race and the harms of racism in schools, setting the bill up for a potential vote in the Senate when it returns in January. The advancement of the bill aimed at prohibiting the teaching of […]
Virginia parents, GOP lawmakers vow national push for ‘parents’ rights’ in public schools
WASHINGTON — Republican lawmakers and Virginia parents trying to capitalize on their success in the November election on Tuesday gathered across from the U.S. Capitol to voice their opposition to mask mandates and lessons about racism taught in public schools. The ranking Republican on the U.S. House Education and Labor Committee, Virginia Foxx of North […]
Vos attacks UW over course he says makes white students ‘feel guilty’
Wisconsin Assembly Speaker Robin Vos sent a letter to UW-Madison Chancellor Rebecca Blank on Tuesday that attacks the university for a course required of graduate students that he says requires them to agree that “whiteness means privilege.” On Twitter, Vos accused the school of advancing “CRT [critical race theory] propaganda.” Wisconsin Republicans have worked over […]
Waukesha’s bullying problem
“We have a more serious problem than signs; we have a bullying problem. It seems to have grown in the last year,” said Bill Baumgart, a Waukesha school board member at a Nov. 10 Waukesha school board meeting. At the beginning of the school year, Black Lives Matter signs were posted in many classrooms. Then […]
Legislation lets families who favor or oppose COVID-19 mandates switch schools
Republicans in the Legislature have teed up a bill that uses COVID-19 mandates as a justification for temporarily loosening public school open-enrollment rules. The legislation would allow families to transfer a student from a public or private school to another this year or next year because of dissatisfaction over school district mask policy or vaccine […]
Wisconsin school boards suspend participation with national association
On Tuesday, Nov. 9, the Wisconsin Association of School Boards (WASB) announced it was suspending participation with the National School Board Association (NSBA). This could be the first step toward leaving the national organization. The WASB board of directors met over the weekend and considered all options. Under the organization’s rules, it appears that the […]
Kids are watching: We need to stop society from falling apart
The video on my 14-year-old daughter’s cell phone played in an endless loop: kids protesting outside Madison East High School, outraged by allegations of a sexual assault at a party after Homecoming this year, and by the school administration’s failure to muster a response. As the students in the crowd got more and more worked […]
Mequon-Thiensville School Board recall fails
The campaign to recall four members of the Mequon-Thiensville School Board failed on Tuesday, with all four incumbents retaining their seats. The campaign divided the Ozaukee County suburb of Milwaukee as high profile Republicans including gubernatorial candidate Rebecca Kleefisch sought to tip the scales toward the recall candidates in a race that was largely fought […]
What’s really behind a controversial tuition tax break bill
A proposed state tax break on tuition that apprentices pay is heading to Gov. Tony Evers’ desk. The legislation — SB-125 — passed both houses of the Legislature on near-party line votes. With almost uniform opposition from Democratic lawmakers as well as from labor unions, a veto seems likely. The bill has been advanced by […]
The Waukesha school firestorm grows hotter
On Wednesday afternoon, about 30 parents, students, teachers and community members gathered outside the Waukesha school administration building to announce that they were delivering a letter to the superintendent objecting to his policy of removing pro-LGBTQ signs from schools. One student stated, “We have suffered in more ways than I can count.” She outlined how […]
Mequon-Thiensville recall organizers draw thousands in donations, including from megadonor Uihlein
The right-wing challengers in a recall election against four members of the Mequon-Thiensville School Board have drawn more than $50,000 in donations — including from one of Wisconsin’s most high profile Republican donors, Richard Uihlein. The recall election, which was launched because of the challenger’s opposition to the school district’s COVID-19 policies and teaching about […]