Just when we thought that the news pertaining to educational outcomes for Milwaukee’s children couldn’t get any worse, it did! In the last few months, we have watched the Milwaukee Public Schools fall apart and State Superintendent Underly arbitrarily lower academic expectations for all Wisconsin students. As if that weren’t enough, in late January, NAEP, the “nation’s report card” produced its 2024 report which revealed that black students in MPS are once again the lowest-performing students amongst the nation’s largest school districts and Wisconsin still has the largest black-white achievement gap in the nation.
Although the outcomes are not great, Wisconsin at large does not in fact have a serious educational crisis. White upper and middle-income students perform above the national average. But for low-income students around the state and specifically for low-income African American students in Milwaukee, the crisis is profound and seemingly intractable.
Data from the states’ Forward Exam confirms the findings from NAEP. Consider these outcomes from the 2023 state Forward Exam:
- Only 39% of students were proficient in reading statewide
- Only 16% of students in Milwaukee were proficient in reading
- 5 schools in Milwaukee had 0% reading proficiency
- 27 schools in Milwaukee serving 6,700 students had less than 2.5% reading proficiency
But there is hope. Private and charter schools now serve over 40% of students in the city of Milwaukee and some of those schools are seeing real progress. These schools routinely dramatically outperform MPS schools in the same neighborhoods and boast 4 or 5 stars on their state report cards year over year.
Interestingly, the leaders of these schools, despite their successes, articulate a deep dissatisfaction with their outcomes and argue that much more still needs to be done. Consider St. Marcus Lutheran School which serves over 1,200 predominantly low-income, African American students on three campuses on the northside of Milwaukee. From parent demand (they have quadrupled in size over the last two decades), to state report card ratings, to Forward results, it is inarguably true that this is a school that works. Despite having reading and math proficiency rates dramatically higher than neighboring schools, St. Marcus’ superintendent, Henry Tyson, insists, “With only 32% of our students proficient in reading, we simply must do better. We are doing the research, working hard, and thinking creatively to develop solutions for the ongoing educational crisis in our community.”
Tyson attributes the challenges to 3 fundamental issues. First, low-income students using vouchers in Milwaukee are amongst the neediest, most vulnerable students in the state and yet they receive substantially less than public school students in state and federal funding. Despite increased funding in the last state budget, the funding gap between private K-8 schools and everyone else actually grew wider. Secondly, children growing up in poverty tend to fall behind their peers most dramatically before they even get to school. Research shows that ages 0-4 are the most vital years developmentally. Many children growing up in poverty enter school so far behind their peers that it becomes almost impossible to catch up. Finally, due to the students’ high needs and the scarcity of resources, even successful schools are ill-equipped to provide effective academic social, and emotional interventions in these critical early years.
To address these issues and achieve even better results, in partnership with the Jean Dohnal Reading Foundation, St. Marcus recently launched an early childhood reading initiative. The initiative has three critical components.
The first component, parent education and engagement, is designed to address the proven fact that 90% of educational gaps are developed in the first 3-4 years of life before a child has even entered school. St. Marcus is coming alongside parents even from the time of their child’s birth and implementing programs that equip parents to be their child’s first and most important teacher. Parent education and alignment continue as their children continue through three, four, and five-year-old kindergarten.
The second component, early reading interventions, targets students in three, four, and five-year-old kindergarten so that by the time they enter first grade, the vast majority of students are reading at grade level.
The third component, expansion of St. Marcus’ current 3-year-old kindergarten program, is designed to ensure that 95% of the students who enter four-year-old kindergarten have had a solid developmental foundation before even arriving at school. Currently, 72 three-year-olds have matriculated into 140 four-year-old seats. The expansion of the K3 program will prepare more students for success and equip teachers of four and five-year-olds to move even faster.
As a broader community, it is urgent that we support leaders who are dedicated to resolving these issues and support programs that are already working and are striving to get better. Wherever we live and whatever we do for a living, we as Wisconsinites share an obligation to address this educational crisis and ensure that every single child, regardless of zip code, has access to a great school.
To learn about St. Marcus’ Early Childhood Reading Initiative, email henry.tyson@stmarcus.org.
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