Educators in Milwaukee Public Schools aren’t getting consistent training, feedback or resources to meet critical needs in the district, like improving students’ reading skills and effectively addressing disruptive student behavior, according a review by a consultant brought in by Gov. Tony Evers.
It’s the second of two reviews by MGT of America Consulting, both ordered by Evers to get the district “back on track” after major problems came to light last year with the district’s financial reporting and early childhood education programs.
The review published June 13 focused on the district’s academic systems and echoed findings of the previous review of the district’s operations. Both called for restructuring the district’s central office, setting clear priorities and improving communication.
Evers allocated $2.5 million to pay for the reviews and $3 million for MPS to implement recommendations. His state budget plan for the next two years included another $5 million to help MPS with related work, but it was rejected by state lawmakers.
MPS Superintendent Brenda Cassellius, who started the job in March, welcomed both MGT reviews and committed to using their findings as she addresses the district’s looming budget hole while shifting staff to support students with the highest needs and prioritizing student literacy.
In a statement June 13, she thanked Evers for “recognizing the need for MPS to take a clear-eyed look” at its operations and academics.
“We will act with urgency and purpose to get every child reading on grade level,” Cassellius said. “This audit will help us chart a stronger path forward, one that accelerates outcomes and puts our students first.”
Audit firm spent extensive time at MPS, surveyed families
The firm noted Cassellius had begun addressing some of the issues it identified by restructuring many of the district’s top leadership positions.
The MGT team spent extensive time at MPS. They interviewed over 600 administrators and teachers and observed 680 classrooms. They surveyed over 11,000 students, 2,000 staff and 1,000 student family members.
MGT found the district’s efforts to improve academic outcomes were hindered by high turnover of leadership, a lack of clear focus, and poor communication and collaboration. The district is also challenged by declining enrollment, difficulty recruiting teachers, and its current lead crisis, MGT noted.
From conversations with teachers and principals, MGT reported staff felt they didn’t have enough time to focus on improving teaching strategies, and that the training they did get was difficult to apply to their classrooms. Staff also lacked clear training for implementing new curriculum adopted by the district, MGT noted.
MGT also looked at family involvement in schools. The firm reported parents felt like they weren’t asked enough for their feedback, and when they were, they didn’t see follow-up. MGT recommended district leaders involve parent groups more in strategic planning, provide training for teachers on building relationships with families and set measurable goals to monitor for progress, such as attendance at school events.
As part of Cassellius’ restructuring, she added a chief of family and community engagement.
Auditors found disparities in staffing, programming between MPS schools
MGT reviewers found that resources and expectations ranged widely between buildings. Some schools had significantly more trouble finding teachers and substitutes, they found. Some had many more extracurricular opportunities than others. And there wasn’t a common framework for addressing student behavior issues, which was the “most pressing challenge cited by teachers,” MGT reported.
The firm recommended the district take a different approach to staffing and programming its schools — making sure every building offers students a certain level of attention from qualified teachers and extracurricular opportunities.
Earlier reporting by the Journal Sentinel found that hundreds of vacant positions in MPS schools leave students without certified teachers, with a disproportionate impact on Black students, students from lower income families and students with disabilities. The vacancies also impact staff, many of whom have reported on exit surveys that they left MPS because of high workloads and having to cover the duties of unfilled positions.
Cassellius has said her top priority is placing a qualified teacher in every classroom. It was a main reason she said she recently cut about 40 specialized teaching positions in an attempt to move those teachers into unfilled classroom teaching jobs. The move was opposed by the teachers union, Milwaukee Teachers’ Education Association, which argued Cassellius’ approach could cause staff to leave the district.
The MTEA has also called on Cassellius to budget for more extracurricular opportunities for students, while Cassellius previously said she wanted to wait to see the findings of MGT’s review. At a meeting June 12, Milwaukee School Board member Megan O’Halloran asked Cassellius to return to the board with a plan for extracurricular activities in October, when the district adjusts its budget based on state funding levels.
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: MPS review ordered by Gov. Evers finds schools are understaffed, need effective training
Reporting by Rory Linnane, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel / Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
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