Due to the evolving nature of EANS funding, School Choice Wisconsin Action (SCWA) hosted a roundtable discussion on May 12, 2021 for school staff members to ask questions and share information. Our panel included Lori Saqer of Messmer High School, Brian Frank of St Augustine Preparatory Academy, and Donna Bembenek of Catholic Memorial High School. The FAQ from that roundtable is below.  * SCWA Disclaimer: While seeking to be a helpful resource to schools, SCWA has pulled together answers from CESA6 and DPI for the following questions submitted to the May 12th SCWA roundtable on EANS. This tool in no…

MPS is moving forward with a current-law application of transportation benefits with private schools and parents for the entire school year. They have made commitments to legislators that their intent is to fully allocate eligible resources by June 30, earlier if possible. In April, School Choice Wisconsin Action was instrumental in getting AB160 / SB221 before the Education Committee in Madison. The bill, introduced by representatives Jessie Rodriguez and Jeremy Thiesfeldt, relates to transportation to a private school during the 2020-21 school year for pupils who reside in a first class city school district. In her testimony before the Education…

From the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: “Milwaukee schools and universities that have been planning to offer face-to-face instruction this fall may need to shift gears after the city health department quietly enacted stricter guidelines for when in-person classes may resume.” Later in the article, Jim Bender explained that schools had been blindsided by Milwaukee area health officials, “Nobody saw this coming. Schools did not have any sort of consultative role in these changes. And they didn’t get any communication from the health department that the changes were being made.” Read the entire article.

In the business world, organizations look for people whose experience can benefit them. So why would a company employ teenagers who need to be trained in the very basics of the working world? “We do it to help break down barriers for disadvantaged students,” says Peggy Coakley, President and CEO of Coakley Brothers, of the workforce development program her company has embarked upon with Milwaukee’s Cristo Rey Jesuit High School. The work program is designed to teach kids skills that will help them network in the Milwaukee business community and find jobs after graduation. Other corporate partners include Aurora Healthcare,…

Data released today by the Department of Public Instruction (DPI) shows that again this year, students in the Parental Choice Programs are outperforming their peers. As with all test data, a one-year snapshot has limitations but the trend of higher scores for students on a voucher is great news for students and taxpayers. “All three Parental Choice Programs, comprised predominately of low-income students, outscored their full-income counterparts across the entire state in public schools on the ACT,” Jim Bender said. “Combined with the Forward Exam, these results highlight superior outcomes at a fraction of the cost to taxpayers.” Below is…

The US Department of Justice launched an investigation concerning discrimination against students with disabilities by private schools in the Milwaukee Parental Choice Program (MPCP) after the ACLU and Disability Rights Wisconsin (DRW) filed a compliant. After four years, the DOJ closed the investigation without finding any discrimination. Of importance, however, was that the investigation used a dubious and unprecedented legal theory – apply public school laws to private schools under Title II of Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) because the private school accepts state dollars. This legal theory contradicts a Wisconsin Supreme Court Decision, a US Supreme Court Decision, and…

The Wisconsin Institute for Law and Liberty (WILL) released the results of a study on standardized test scores that accounted for socioeconomic factors for all school sectors across Wisconsin.  Here are some of the highlights of the test score study: Students in the Milwaukee Parental Choice Program (MPCP) scored 5% higher in reading proficiency and 4% higher in math proficiency on the Wisconsin Forward Exam than similar students in Milwaukee Public Schools (MPS). Students in the MPCP scored 8% higher on the ACT than similar students in MPS. Students in the Racine/Wisconsin Parental Choice Programs scored 17% higher on the…