The Milwaukee Post

DPI: One-third of district's schools fail to meet state standards By DAVE FIDLIN Special to The Post MILWAUKEE — With a third of its schools falling below state benchmarks, officials within the Milwaukee Public Schools district recently outlined a series of steps aimed at reversing the statistic. MPS administrators, i n c l u d i n g Superintendent Dari- enne Driver, recently compiled a report on schools designated as so-called commitment or low-performing. The 53 schools within the report were identified by the state Department of Public Instruction as failing to meet expecta- tions, based on standardized test results. Taking into account the most recent round of school closings and consolida- tions, MPS this school year has 154 schools across all grade levels and hosts about 78,000 students. One way MPS officials say they are hop- ing to tackle the perpetually low scores within a third of the system is through a concept known as the community schools model. "(It) is a strategy that supports student achievement, revitalizes neighborhoods and maximizes the community's return on its financial investments," Driver said. "These schools act as hubs for community services, providing … access for students, families and community to health, safety and social services, as well as recreational and cultural opportunities." The concept, district officials say, is designed to increase community engage- ment and support for the schools. Thus far, the model has been rolled out at a smatter- ing of the schools targeted as failing to meet standards. Participants include Auer Avenue School, Bradley Technology and Trade High School, the James Madison Academic Campus and Hopkins-Lloyd Community School. As part of the community schools model, MPS also is teaming up with several organizations, including the United Way of Greater Milwaukee and Waukesha County, to assist with the noneducational aspects of the effort. A series of specific bullet points, rele- vant to the model, were shared with the MPS School Board at a meeting last week. Some of the more tangible aspects of the model include employment of a full-time community school coordinator, who is hired by the United Way or another non- profit partner. According to MPS documents, the coor- dinator handles such tasks as assessing, aligning and supporting school-specific programs and resources that eventually are aimed at leading toward the path of increasing student achievement. MPS' own efforts run alongside a recent announcement by County Executive Chris Abele, who early this year was tasked with forming an independent turnaround dis- trict that would handle decision-making for some of MPS' lowest-performing schools. Early this month, Abele appointed Demond Means, superintendent of the Mequon-Thiensville School District, to oversee the MPS turnaround district. Means, an MPS graduate, leads a district that consistently has ranked at the top of many school rankings reports. Further details of MPS' efforts and Means' leadership of the turnaround dis- trict will be announced in the months ahead. In other recent business, the MPS School Voard: ■ Discussed preliminary details con- cerning the partnership between MPS' Casimir Pulaski High School and the char- ter Carmen Schools of Science and Technology. After scrutiny and debate, the MPS board recently decided to combine the schools into one facility in a move officials stated was designed to leverage one anoth- er's strengths. As planning for the partnership gets underway for the 2016-17 school year, Driver said efforts are being made to solic- it input from teachers, parents, students and other community members. ■ Adopted a resolution to rename MPS' Silver Spring Elementary School to Marvin Pratt Elementary School. School Board President Michael Bonds had asked his elected colleagues consider the name change to recognize Pratt, who was Milwaukee's first black mayor. There was one dissenter of the motion. School Board member Terry Falk said he was against the name change because Pratt is still living. Falk said he believed naming rights should be made posthumously. 2 • Milwaukee County Post • November 27, 2015 MPS adopting plan to address underperforming schools Volume 21, issue number 48 The Milwaukee Post (ISSN 1544-1776) is published weekly by Conley Media, Milwaukee County 3397 South Howell Ave., Milwaukee, WI 53207 For all departments call: 414-744-6370 News display and advertising FAX: 414-375-7070 Classifieds: 800-762-6219 ext. 5005 Classified Fax: 262-334-6252 For display advertising inquires: 414-744-6370 Barry Richards: Advertising Representative — ext. 13 brichards@conleynet.com Julia LeGath: Advertising Representative — ext. 17 jlegath@conleynet.com Jim Baumgart Advertising Sales Director — 262-513-2621 jbaumgart@conleynet.com For editorial questions: Dan Muckelbauer Editor 262-513-2626 dmuck@conleynet.com POSTMASTER: Send address changes to the Milwaukee Post 3397 S. Howell Ave. Milwaukee, WI 53207 Periodicals Postage Paid at Milwaukee, WI. 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