What do Chicago, Denver, Miami and The Department of Defense have in common?
They all face at least some of the same challenges as Milwaukee does when it comes to running their public schools.
A new report from the Wisconsin Policy Forum gives Milwaukee Public Schools a roadmap for a turnaround by taking lessons from other cities and school districts of similar size and makeup.
Researchers hope the lessons learned in Denver, Miami, Boston, Washington, D.C., Charlotte and Chicago can help guide changes in Milwaukee. The goals include hiring and keeping teachers, fighting student poverty and boosting quality school leadership.
MPS has a new leader. Will it help?
Wisconsin Policy Forum executive director Jason Stein says now is a crucial time to tap into new energy at the school district to make MPS better. New superintendent Dr. Brenda Cassellius is at the helm and is hiring new cabinet members to help run the school district. MPS is also on the clock to reorganize its central office after a state audit found deficiencies.
"With some of the change in leadership, and renewed scrutiny, (there is) some opportunity to achieve and make improvements for the community," Stein says.
The report drills down on two metrics that authors Stein and Sara Shaw believe to be crucial to success in MPS: student absenteeism and student mobility.
Since the pandemic, nearly half of MPS students have missed more than 10% of the school year, Stein says. In addition, district leaders know that some students move schools frequently. But the district doesn't keep any useful data on student mobility.
"Imagine that you're running a really good school, you're doing everything right as the principal and the teachers. But you're only getting that student for five months, let's say in the second grade. And then they're going on to another school district," Stein says. "How much positive impact are you going to be able to make for that student before they move on to another school?"
In addressing this, the report took lessons from the school district that serves children of employees of the Department of Defense. That district and Milwaukee may have similar levels of student mobility, or the number of students changing schools.
The district combatted this by implementing new standards for each subject area in all of its schools that were consistent across campuses and countries. These new standards came "alongside new and aligned curricula, teacher training, scope and sequence documents, and assessments," according to the report.
Stein cautions that Milwaukee stands out from the other cities studied because it has a much higher average level of student poverty. That's where improvements outside of school have to step in, such as housing support, nutrition assistance and access to healthcare.
"The work to educate students would be meaningfully easier if students arrived at school more prepared to learn thanks to stable and sufficient housing and household income," the report says. "Collective efforts to address these needs in Milwaukee may not appear to be education reforms per se, but they form part of an essential base for student learning."
How do other city schools succeed? See the list
The report includes a number of examples from other cities that have helped students succeed. Here are some of the ideas:
- D.C. set up a teacher feedback and evaluation cycle that incentivized its best teachers to work in its neediest schools.
- Denver used principal residencies, teacher residencies, pathways for paraprofessionals to grow into teacher roles, and teacher leader roles to hire more instructors.
- Miami-Dade County holds quarterly meetings between the superintendent and principals in which principals reviewed key data points for their school, shared their plans to address concerning data, and fielded questions and instructions from the superintendent.
- Chicago adopted a network strategy that grouped schools together under the supervision and support of network superintendents instead of controlling schools from one central office.
Katherine Kokal is the education reporter at 89.7 WUWM - Milwaukee's NPR. Have a question about schools or an education story idea? You can reach her at kokal@uwm.edu
