Milwaukee Reading Coalition Hopes to Transform Instruction

Fewer than 10 percent of children in kindergarten through third grade attending both private and public schools in Milwaukee are meeting reading targets.

On Monday, 86 organizations, including Milwaukee Public Schools, charter and private schools, vowed that within three years, every child would be reading at grade level by the end of third grade.

The newly formed Milwaukee Reading Coalition aims to achieve that goal by investing in training for kindergarten through third-grade educators in Milwaukee.

“Reading proficiency among kindergarten through third grade students is unacceptably low, and that reality carries long-term consequences for the future of our youth and our city,” said longtime educator Howard Fuller. “The solution is clear and evidence based. Research shows that when early grade educators receive high-quality, science-based reading instruction training and coaching, student outcomes can improve dramatically.”

Fuller is co-chairing the coalition along with JoAnne Anton of Herb Kohl Philanthropies and former MPS board member Mark Sain.

The group first discussed the Milwaukee Reading Coalition this spring.

During an interview with WPR in June, Fuller said he had compiled data showing there are 31,000 children in kindergarten through third grade attending both private and public schools in Milwaukee. But only about 3,000 of those kids are meeting targets in reading.

At the time, he was hoping money would be included in the state budget to launch the reading coalition. But that didn’t happen.

Now the coalition will be funded in part by philanthropic organizations, including Herb Kohl Philanthropies and the Greater Milwaukee Foundation.

The group also received a grant from the MKE 2024 Host Committee, organizers of the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee. The group will be pursuing additional public and private funding.

The money will be used to purchase instructional materials for teachers and offer $1,500 stipends to educators who complete the program.

Principals will be trained too. If not, Fuller said they’ll “muck up” everything the teachers have learned.

Fuller says reading coaches, which are included in state funding for the reading reform bill passed in 2023 known as Act 20, are a waste of money at this point if teachers haven’t been trained how to teach reading.

Fuller said the group also has a bill in the works that would direct Act 20 funding that would go to Milwaukee to the coalition.

MPS is on board with the coalition, also rolling out new literacy plan

MPS Superintendent Brenda Cassellius said she’s grateful for the support and and access to the resources the coalition will provide.

The reading coalition coincides with a new literacy plan MPS is rolling out this year that shifts from a focus on intervening with struggling students to providing high-quality literacy instruction to all students from the very start, according to the district.

MPS is also providing 40 hours of intensive training this year to help give educators expertise in the science of reading.

Cassellius recently hired Gabriela Bell Jiménez as the academic superintendent for literacy.

Jiménez, formerly oversaw literacy, biliteracy and other academic areas at the Madison Metropolitan School District.

About 63 percent of public school students in Madison are meeting expectations for literacy, according to the latest state school report cards. That’s compared to about 20 percent of all MPS students.

“At Milwaukee Public Schools, we believe that all of the children of Milwaukee — and all means all — can read,” Cassellius said in a statement. “As we launch our new literacy plan in schools across MPS, we are grateful to be joining all schools in our community on this shared imperative.”

Milwaukee Mayor Cavalier Johnson also weighed in on the reading coalition, saying literacy is one of the most powerful tools to reduce economic disparities in the city.

“By investing in the professional development of teachers and principals, we can build a sustainable system for reading success across Milwaukee,” Johnson said.

Listen to the WPR report

Milwaukee Reading Coalition hopes to get third graders reading at grade level in 3 years was originally published by Wisconsin Public Radio.