The Milwaukee Post

8 • Milwaukee Post • June 21, 2013 OPINION Milwaukee education succeeds through overcoming challenges By JOHN SCHLIFSKE, MIKE LOVELL AND JACKIE HERD-BARBER As co-chairs of the Milwaukee Succeeds initiative, and more fundamentally as business leaders, educators and community members, we've seen Milwaukee and our children end up on the wrong end of the list when it comes to education, poverty and the myriad of social and emotional issues surrounding them. We also know that to overcome these challenges, it will take a vision that all in our community embrace. After all, "success for every child, in every school" is a pretty large undertaking; one that will require a big commitment to fulfill. In order to overcome any challenge, we must first identify where we currently stand. Recently Milwaukee , Succeeds released its inaugural Milestone Report to serve as a proverbial stake in the ground, from which we will measure forward progress. We've identified the challenges, and we see this effort, driven and focused around the data in this report, as our promise to Milwaukee's students: we pledge to work together as a community to achieve the educational goals we have set by 2020. As part of this report, we've set some important goals, and are making a commitment to work with the community to achieve them for Milwaukee students in all schools: ■ Double the number of children in the Wisconsin Shares early care program receiving four and five star care, as rated by the YoungStar system. ■ Increase third-grade proficiency in reading (from 15 percent to 38 percent) and math (from 23.3 percent to 36 percent) across all Milwaukee schools. ■ Increase eighth-grade proficiency in reading (from 14.6 percent to 33 percent) and math (from 18.4 percent to 28 percent) across all Milwaukee schools. ■ Increase the number of students that meet ACT college readiness benchmarks in three or four subjects (from 13 percent to 50 percent) across all Milwaukee schools. ■ Increase the average ACT score of all Milwaukee stu- dents from 16.8 to 22.1. In an effort to capture our successes and outcomes against undeniably daunting data, we've committed to producing this unique Milestone Report on an annual basis to examine specific barriers to improving these numbers and track how Milwaukee is improving in these areas. The report will be a key tool in focusing our time and resources on improvements that will make a measurable difference in the success of all Milwaukee students. It is important to know this report isn't about what is wrong with Milwaukee's education system. Rather, it is about the hope we see in our education system, in the students, in the schools, in the parents, in our corporate, nonprofit and government leaders. We believe each one of these members of the community is up to the challenge because we believe in the promise of our city . And through the Milestone Report, we are asking each of these community members to make a commitment to sharing this information with their networks, to start driving the change one student at a time. There is something every one of us can do to help. Please visit www.milwaukeesucceeds.org to download a copy of the Milestone Report, as well as information on established networks and resources, to help parents, educators and community volunteers strengthen educational outcomes in our city . (John Schlifske is the CEO of Northwestern Mutual. Michael Lovell is the chancellor of the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. Jackie Herd-Barber is the chairperson of Milwaukee Succeeds.) Readers Forum Previously we asked: , Vince Lombardi would have been 100 years old recently.Who do you think is Wisconsin's biggest sports icon? You answered: "The biggest icon I think of is Vince Lombardi, who turned 100 years old." – Don Tuttle Milwaukee "The current trend is if you show up, you are a winner. However, only football in this state warrants icons, Donald Driver and Aaron Rodgers. Both are excellent role models, charismatic and generous." – Noah Borkenhagen Franklin Question of the week What summer festivals do you enjoy attending and why? Editor's note: The Milwaukee Post no longer accepts anonymous comments on its Readers Forum line. For all callers, please follow the instructions below to have your comment be considered. Call 744-6370, Ext. 15 and leave a brief answer to the Question of the Week along with your full name with spelling, phone number and city. No address is required. Readers may also send an email with a brief answer to: dbutler@conleynet.com. LETTERS TO THE EDITOR Hard work goes into planning Fourth of July at Wilson Park To the editor: This July 4th, in many parks in Milwaukee County, there will be events to celebrate the July 4, 1776 Declaration of Independence, declaring the American colonies free and independent from Great Britain. The theme for this year is "United We Stand Under One Flag." The Wilson Park festivities will begin with a 9 a.m. parade, to be followed by the American flag-raising ceremony. There will be ice cream treats for the parade marchers. The area schools will be judged by their participation, floats and keeping with the theme of the day. Awards and certificates are presented following the judges' decisions. Music, judging of decorated bikes and wagons, and the children's games are all held near the park pavilion. The day also will feature the Greater Milwaukee Figure Skating Club presenting a free ice show at 3 p.m. at the Wilson Park Ice Arena. The day's celebration ends with a grand display of fireworks. These events would not be possible without the dedication of the Wilson Park Fourth of July committee, made up of volunteer planners, workers, fundraisers, judges and area business donors. They have worked since April to present the celebration of the day's theme. There is always a need for volunteers and anyone wishing to contribute their labor, time and talent. Please call Kathy at 4236247 or myself at 383-7484. The committee is dedicated to making the day enjoyable and memorable for all ages. When the American flag is distributed to people along the parade route, please remember why we celebrate the Fourth of July. Please treat the flag with respect. Dorothy Seidl Milwaukee Letters policy Send your letters to: The Milwaukee Post, c/o Dwayne Butler, 3397 S. Howell Ave., Milwaukee, WI 53207, or by e-mail to: dbutler@conleynet.com. We reserve the right to edit letters for style, length and clarity. Letters should be typewritten or printed and include full name, phone number and address. Please keep your letters to no more than 400 words.

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