Education
SCHOOL REFERENDUM CONUNDRUM
“Clearly, voters continue to value a public education, even if our elected officials do not.” Scott Robert Shaw, “News Talk” WIZM (radio station in La Crosse)
Bok's Law: If you think education is expensive—try ignorance.
Derek Bok, president of Harvard University.
Many school districts in Wisconsin are in financial trouble. To deal with the problem many are seeking property tax increases which require local voter approval. The number of these referendum votes are increasing across the state and many are passing. Voters apparently want their local schools ...
SCHOOL SAFETY PLAN
Gov. Walker signed into law his school safety plan. The plan gives $100 million to keep schools safe. The plan offers competitive grants to all school districts for security improvements to school building and staff training. His plan does not include any mention of gun safety. This plan offers a one-time, limited pot of money for building security.
What does the Wisconsin Chiefs of Police Association think of this proposal?
Here are recommendations from the Wisconsin Chiefs of Police Association.
“Do not arm teachers. We believe more harm than good would come ...
PIONEERS IN THE SCHOOL PANTRY MOVEMENT
Students and Staff at D. C. Everest High School are Pioneers in the School Pantry Movement. Food is a basic human need and Everest High School is finding ways to support students who face food insecurity.
Dr. Todd Bohm, the assistant principal, and Erin Jacobson, the high school social worker, agreed to an interview about the food and clothing pantry that was started in 2016 after seeing the needs of many students. Dr. Bohm wanted a convenient way for students and families to access food and clothing without the barriers.
I. The pantries are accessible to ...
PIONEERS IN THE SCHOOL PANTRY MOVEMENT
Students and Staff at D. C. Everest High School are Pioneers in the School Pantry Movement. Food is a basic human need and Everest High School is finding ways to support students who face food insecurity.
Dr. Todd Bohm, the assistant principal, and Erin Jacobson, the high school social worker, agreed to an interview about the food and clothing pantry that was started in 2016 after seeing the needs of many students. Dr. Bohm wanted a convenient way for students and families to access food and clothing without the barriers.
I. The pantries are accessible to students ...
THE RIGHT TO KNOW ABOUT PRIVATE SCHOOL FUNDING
In the last few weeks school boards in Janesville, Rhinelander, Green Bay and Wisconsin Rapids passed resolutions stipulating that the public has a right to know how much state aid for public schools is being sent to subsidize private education. I encourage you to work with school boards in your area to further these efforts.
In addition to asking school boards to pass their own resolutions, we can encourage school board members to support a WASB resolution--that will be introduced Jan. 17th at their state convention--that calls for reporting on local tax bills the ...
POINTS TO CONSIDER ABOUT STATEWIDE VOUCHER FUNDING
By WEAC (Wisconsin Education Association Council)
Some observers suggest that because school districts can increase the levy on local taxpayers to offset losses in state aid that go to voucher schools, there is no need to make the public aware of these transactions.
There are, however, several important points to consider about the funding.
The public has a right to know where its tax dollars are going. Without transparency, there can be no accountability for how dollars are being spent, or for the organizations that are receiving subsidies.
School district ...
BARGAIN BASEMENT TEACHING LICENSES
By Union Labor News
There was a Cyber Monday deal this year that surprised a lot of people who care about public schools.
A little Atlanta-based outfit you probably never heard of, the American Board for Certification of Teacher Excellence (ABCTE), was having a doorbuster.
On Wisconsin teaching licenses.
That’s right. For the bargain price of just $1600, you could sign up - online - for an online program that would get you a bona fide teaching credential in the state of Wisconsin in just ten months. Without ever having to set foot in an actual classroom.
...
Please Contact Your School Board
I am the parent of a first grader in the district. There are hungry children in our Wausau schools. I’m working on the “no thank you table/food pantry” at my son’s school. But we need accessible food pantries established on-site in all our schools. We need a clear district policy addressing this critical need.
Some schools have food pantries already, or the beginning phases of one. Some of our schools have greater needs than other school, but there are hungry students in every school and we need one in every school.
There is so much opportunity for donation ...
FOOD PANTRIES NEEDED IN WAUSAU SCHOOLS
I am the parent of a first grader in the district. There are hungry children in our Wausau schools. I’m working on the “no thank you table/food pantry” at my son’s school. But we need accessible food pantries established on-site in all our schools. We need a clear district policy addressing this critical need.
Sections 1100 and 5900 of the Wausau School Board Policy identify advancing student learning, achievement and success as goals, stating “…it is important to provide a healthy learning environment by supporting wellness, good nutrition and regular ...
FREE TUITION MEANS FREEDOM TO LEARN
"Every Wisconsinite should have access to education or training past high school… To be pursued at whatever point and pace makes sense for individual workers and industries,” wrote researchers at the Center on Wisconsin Strategy (COWS) eight years ago.
Long before the current shortage of skilled workers, COWS anticipated the need for additional training. In 2009, the Center teamed up with the Workforce Development Board, Skills2Compete and others to study “Wisconsin’s Forgotten Middle-Skill Jobs.”
Middle skill jobs are those jobs that require more than a ...
