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How were those "persisently lowest-achieving" schools selected?
For at least a few Milwaukee Public Schools principals and staff from schools on a new list provided by the Department of Public Instruction, that's the question of the day.
The next question: What's going to happen to us?
To answer the first question, representatives from DPI will host a meeting this morning at 9 at the Marshall Campus, 4141 N. 64th St., to better explain to principals and district staff the process that landed the 12 lowest-achieving schools in Wisconsin - all in MPS - on the list.
Recently, the state released a list of "persistently lowest-achieving schools" in Wisconsin, as identified by a formula provided by the federal government. The move was prompted by the new administration's goal of turning around the bottom 5% of schools in each state.
To receive a bucket of extra federal funding to improve the bottom 5% of schools in Wisconsin - all of which may receive up to $2 million in school improvement grants, according to the DPI - the MPS administration will have to submit aggressive plans to reform each school, using one of four models recommended by the federal government:
The problem, say some principals and administrators, is that some of the schools on the lowest-achieving list are actually doing better right now, and/or are in the middle of big changes (merging with another school for instance, or implementing a different type of curriculum, or undergoing significant changes in school culture).
Bradley Tech High School joins six other MPS high schools on the Tier II list. Those seven schools were identified as the lowest-performing in the state when it came to absolute reading and math scores school-wide in 2008-09, and growth in reading and math scores over a period of years, Jennifer Thayer, assistant state superintendent for reading and student achievement, said Tuesday.
"There's really no way for schools to appeal," Thayer said. "The federal government was very specific on how we had to calculate this."
For principal Ed Kupka at Bradley Tech, that's frustrating.
Kupka, who has been at the school for two and a half years - just over the 2-year mark that allows a principal to avoid being bumped as dictated in some of the turnaround models - said the school this year has taken a big leap with ninth-grade math scores.
Bradley Tech implemented a number of changes at the school - to block scheduling, to more small learning communities, to a greater emphasis on data by teachers. The number of fights has drastically decreased, and the number of suspensions is way down, said Kupka, who came to the district from Tremper High School in Kenosha.
"The school is making progress in the current set-up," Kupka said. "I believe strongly that we're going to continue seeing that gain."
The concern is that, per the government's orders, MPS will have to throw a whole new set of reform designs at schools that have already been given new marching orders.
Roseann St. Aubin, spokesperson for MPS, said that's a concern for Bay View High School, which also made the Tier II list. That school is already in the process of merging with Fritsche Middle School and implementing curriculum changes.
And Montessori High School, a newer school in the system that recently worked to get an I.B. certification and has generally received a pat on the back for doing a good job with kids, is also on the Tier II list.
But none of that may matter. To receive federal funding, the district will have to choose aggressive turnaround plans for each school and submit them to the state for approval by April 1, said John Johnson, DPI spokesperson.
"The federal guidance and federal formula and definitions don't really allow for a lot of back story in terms of what's going on right now at each school," Johnson said.