National Opportunity to Learn Campaign | Education Reform for Equity and Opportunity

Home / State Updates / Wisconsin

Spread the word!

Wisconsin

Wisconsin's Opportunity Gap

Learn more

45%

18th

Advocates and organizers in Wisconsin are currently fighting a proposed statewide expansion of school vouchers. If approved, the program would draw even more funding away from public schools, adding to years of education budget cuts that have left schools unable to provide students with equitable resources and opportunities. What's more, there's no evidence to suggest that "school choice" provides students with a better educational experience. Read more from the Institute for Wisconsin's Future, an OTL ally, here!

"What to Expect When You're Expecting Budget Cuts"

Wisconsin Superintendent Tony Evers met with educators, students, parents, and community members in Milwaukee to discuss “what to expect when you’re expecting more budget cuts.” He stressed the "three R's of fair funding" (reinvesting, reforming and restoring) and said that until the state prioritizes children and begins reinvesting in their education, the economy will remain sluggish.

May 06

(0)

The ultimate objective of private school voucher advocates is a statewide system of private school vouchers for all Wisconsin school children. Voucher expansion is not only bad education policy. It is bad fiscal policy as well.

Mar 28

(0)

It’s no longer good enough to just know that Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker’s 2013-15 budget proposal is bad for kids in the state's public schools. Now that you know it, think about telling your friends and neighbors and, equally important, ask your elected representatives to change the plan. Here's how.

Mar 19

(0)

What started as an anemic bump in aid for Wisconsin public schools has been reduced to a pittance through politicized accounting games that are funneling desperately needed funds towards private charter schools and voucher programs. This lack of funding only exacerbates the state's broken school funding system, which has relentlessly widened the gap between the cost of quality education and the state’s share of that cost, resulting in decades of underfunding.

Feb 26

(0)

Tying school funding to performance and making repeated allusions to the mythical Free Market Fairy don't constitute systemic, supports-based reform. That's a nonsensical proposal that presumes that staff in high-needs schools are failing because educators lack the motivation or know-how to help students succeed. Let's stop fooling ourselves and start provide students, teachers and schools with the resources and opportunities they need to succeed.

WI Gov.'s K-12 Budget Starves Public Schools

Feb 21

(0)

Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker has unveiled a funding proposal for K-12 public education that will weaken schools and diminish opportunities for students. After years of devastating cuts to the education budget, general aid will be increased by only $129.2 million – hardly making a dent in the $1 billion in cut over the last two budgets alone.

Policy

How to Close the Opportunity Gap: Key Policy Recommendations

National Education Policy Center, May 2013

The National Education Policy Center's new book "Closing the Opportunity Gap" offers a wide array of policy recommendations for closing the opportunity gap and ensuring all students have the resources they need to succeed. This policy guide distills the most important recommendations from the book at three different levels: at the level of students' individual needs, at the level of in-school opportunities and resources, and at the level of communities and neighborhoods.

Download the Policy >

Data

Out of School and Off Track – The Overuse of Suspensions in Schools

The Center for Civil Rights Remedies – The Civil Rights Project , Apr 2013

A new report from UCLA's Civil Right Project is a one stop shop for all the school discipline data advocates or organizers needto fight the overuse of out-of-school suspensions. Out of School & Off Track uses data from over 26,000 U.S. middle and high schools for the 2009-2010 academic year and breaks it down by district, race, gender, elementary/secondary school level, English language learners, and disability status.

Download the Data >

Policy

Personal Opportunity Plans

National Opportunity to Learn Campaign, Dec 2011

In the first in a series of policy proposals, the National Opportunity to Learn Campaign advocates the creation of Personal Opportunity Plans for every student who is one grade level or more behind in reading or math, giving them access to the academic, social and heathcare supports they need to get back on track.

Download the Policy >

Subscribe feed

| Designed by ThemeSnap.com