MacIver Institute
Press Release

MPS Adults Once Again Fail the Children of Milwaukee

Healy calls the MPS school board’s poison pill plan insincere and disheartening

By - Jun 17th, 2016 03:02 pm

[Madison, Wis…] Children and families trapped in the lowest performing schools in Milwaukee were dealt a serious setback today when the MPS board rejected a modest reform proposal put forward by the leaders of the Opportunity Schools Partnership Program (OSPP).

The decision, announced in a statement on Friday, comes less than one week before a June 23 deadline before which MPS must decide if they will partner with Dr. Demond Means and the OSPP.

“Today’s announcement by MPS speaks volumes about the district’s priorities. The so-called adults at MPS are more interested in waging a public relations war and their petty political turf battle than what is in the best interests of the children of Milwaukee,” said Brett Healy, president of the MacIver Institute.

“The MPS press release tries to distract the public from the real problem by citing statistics for the top-performing students in the district,” Healy said. “The turnaround plan is not about the MPS students who have earned scholarships. The turnaround plan is about the students who have the unfortunate luck of being trapped in the poorest performing schools in MPS.”

According to the Department of Public Instruction, 28,000 MPS students attend a school that fails to meet expectations, or almost 40 percent of all the students in MPS.

“This is clearly an attempt by Dr. Driver and the MPS school board to obfuscate the horrible state of education in Milwaukee. The children of Milwaukee do not have the time for pointless political games. We need real advocates who are committed to helping all the children of Milwaukee, not just the chosen few who are lucky enough to attend Rufus King or Riverside,” Healy said.

“It is truly a sad day for the future of Milwaukee and the entire state when the MPS school board decides it is more important to protect their political fiefdom than do what is right for the children.”

NOTE: This press release was submitted to Urban Milwaukee and was not written by an Urban Milwaukee writer. While it is believed to be reliable, Urban Milwaukee does not guarantee its accuracy or completeness.

Mentioned in This Press Release

Recent Press Releases by MacIver Institute

Gov. Evers’ “Badger Bounce Back” Plan Not A Real Plan

We Don’t Need More Hurdles Governor Evers - We Need To Reopen

Comments

  1. Thomas Spellman says:

    The blame game goes on and it goes on on all sides unfortunately. The State of Mass took over a Boston public school that was “failing” ie the students in the school when tested did not compare well with other schools. Was the State of Mass successful??? The answer is no just as the MacIver Institute would not be successful if they took over a school. Children who have been abused/traumatized must heal must resolved their hurt BEFORE they can go on. When we begin to do what comes naturally to many/most school and see belligerent behavior as a CRY FOR HELP not an affront to authority then and only then will we begin to make progress. Peace Tom Spellman

Leave a Reply

You must be an Urban Milwaukee member to leave a comment. Membership, which includes a host of perks, including an ad-free website, tickets to marquee events like Summerfest, the Wisconsin State Fair and the Florentine Opera, a better photo browser and access to members-only, behind-the-scenes tours, starts at $9/month. Learn more.

Join now and cancel anytime.

If you are an existing member, sign-in to leave a comment.

Have questions? Need to report an error? Contact Us