Community Newsletter | January 2015
In This Issue:
Volunteers helped sort more than 3,000 donated clothing items for distribution to 6 MPS high schools.
MESSAGE FROM SUPERINTENDENT DRIVER 

Dear MPS Community Members:

 

Happy New Year! With the second half of the school year underway, the district's priority remains focused on providing positive educational outcomes for all of our students. I am happy to share with you that we are making significant progress that is directly impacting our students in a variety of areas including college and career readiness. Special thanks are in order to all members of the MPS family that have come together to accomplish this, especially our teachers and administrators.

 

As a district, we must regularly challenge ourselves to improve the education we provide to our students while finding ways to develop stronger connections with our stakeholders and community partners. We also must be good stewards of the resources we have and make decisions to ensure Milwaukee Public Schools will be a strong organization well into the future.

 

I have been working with the Milwaukee Board of School Directors and senior leadership to develop operational plans through eight strategic themes, which are aligned with the district's Strategic Plan and will be supported through the MPS biennial budget process. The goal is to set priorities, focus energy and resources, strengthen operations, ensure that employees and other stakeholders are working toward common goals and establish agreement around intended outcomes. Central office staff has been tasked with producing white papers in partnership with district stakeholders to identify high-yield strategies and activities designed to help us reach our goals.

 

Some of the initiatives associated with the operational planning are already underway, such as and more the Regional Development Plan which was shared with the Board in December. Adding seats in our programs that are attractive to families to accommodate more students is a priority. The plan has many other facets including re-establishing feeder patterns, facility improvements, instructional program support, community building between parent groups, neighborhood outreach and transportation redesign.

 

MPS continues its commitment to providing students with a variety of academic offerings. Resources have been increased to expand physical education, music, and the arts so students have more opportunities to explore and develop their interests and talents. Moving forward, MPS and arts organizations throughout the city of Milwaukee are planning an arts education expansion initiative that will address equity and gaps, promote best practices, and implement effective expansion strategies. The arts school programs at Elm Creative Arts School, Roosevelt Creative Arts Middle School, and Milwaukee High School of the Arts will be aligning efforts to create a global arts campus. These efforts will increase access, and quality of arts education for all children in MPS. 

 

Thank you for all that you do in support of our young people.  Achieving the goals of our strategic objectives of student achievement, family and community engagement and effective and efficient operations is a priority that we will accomplish by working together. 

 

Best,

 

Darienne B. Driver, Ed.D.

Superintendent of Schools
2014-15 MPS
School Calendars

Traditional schools

 

Year-round schools

 

Rufus King/Ronald Reagan  

 

 

 
Great things are happening in MPS!
Initiatives aimed at boosting district attendance
Kayla Jeffery with City Year works with students at South Division High School.

A little encouragement can go a long way in helping students develop good habits and gain the understanding of why it's so important to attend school regularly.

 

Milwaukee Public Schools has been proactive in addressing student attendance.  Initiatives enacted in recent years have produced encouraging results with district-wide attendance showing gradual improvement.  Victory K-8 School for the Gifted and Talented and Italian Immersion has seen its absenteeism rate fall from 16.4 percent in 2012-2013 to 12.1 percent for the 2014-2015 school year. 

 

Karen Horn, an MPS social worker providing attendance support, said intervention has been effective and teaching students about being in school regularly is a responsible behavior, which must be learned in early childhood.

 

"Good habits are instilled over time, so if they have developed good attendance habits by the time they are in middle school and high school, students are more likely to be at school," Horn said.

 

Partnerships with organizations such as City Year Milwaukee have helped deliver more positive outcomes for students.  The non-profit organization provides resources to schools, which have more students at risk of not getting the education they need.

 

City Year Milwaukee has about 85 volunteers working at nine MPS school buildings, focusing on students in grades 3-9, said Chris Castro, the organization's senior director of program and service.

 

City Year offers a variety of services from mentoring to tutoring but also encourages students by providing positive reinforcement, which inspires them to want to be in school and succeed.   Research conducted by the group shows if students reach 10th grade and are proficient in math and reading, do not have severe behavioral issues and have a 90 percent attendance rate or better, they are four times more likely to graduate from high school than students who are struggling.

 

"A big reason some kids don't come to school is because it may not be a positive experience for them," Castro said. "What we try to do is provide positive feed back and if a student is off track, we work on strategies to get them back on track."

 
High-performing Montessori schools expanding
Fernwood Montessori School students in class.
Milwaukee Public Schools' high-performing Fernwood Montessori and Maryland Avenue Montessori schools will be expanding.

 

The Milwaukee Board of School Directors approved additions to Fernwood and Maryland.  Both K3-8 schools are rated 'Exceeds Expectations' on the state report card with scores that rival and exceed many suburban schools.

 

Expanding Fernwood and Maryland will reduce overcrowding in each building and allows existing students to continue in either school through 8th grade.  The addition to Maryland also will create a small number of new seats a few years from now.

 

Howard Avenue Montessori School, which was opened to alleviate the waiting list at Fernwood, received board approval to serve students through 6th grade.  Howard students can continue Montessori education at MacDowell Montessori School (K3-12) or Fernwood if room is available in the upper grades.  Read more.  

 
Clothing donation benefits 6 MPS high schools
Volunteers helped sort donated clothing for distribution to 6 MPS high schools.

Students at six MPS high schools were the recipients of hundreds of overstocked new adult-sized donated clothing.

 

The non-profit group NewThreads facilitated a donation from Harley-Davidson of more than 3,000 items, which included discontinued lines of light outerwear, long-sleeved fleece shirts, sweatshirts and sweaters.  The donations went to students at Bay View High School, Harry and Lynde Bradley Technology and Trade High School, James Madison Academic Campus, South Division High School, Harold S. Vincent High School and Washington High School of Information Technology.  The six schools have a higher concentration of students from lower-income families than other schools in the district.

 

MPS volunteers and people from the community generously donated time to sort the sizeable donation.  C. Coakley Relocation Systems, Coakley Brothers and Graebel Moving and Warehouse Corp. donated their services to transport the clothing to the six high schools.  Read more. 
BizTown program will serve up to 5,000 students
Students experience real-life responsibilities in JA's BizTown program.

 

As many as 5,000 Milwaukee Public Schools 5th grade students will experience what life is like as an adult through JA BizTown, a new Learning Journey program.

 

Junior Achievement of Wisconsin and Milwaukee Public Schools have partnered for the Learning Journey experience for the 2014-2015 school year.  JA BizTown is housed at the JA Kohl's Education Center.

 

JA BizTown educates students about real-life responsibilities, giving them the opportunity to manage a simulated town and work at one of 15 businesses within the town, including a bank, restaurant, city hall or newspaper.  The simulation offers a real-world glimpse into the lessons students learn in social studies classes, including free enterprise and basics about the economy.

 

MPS 5th-grade social studies teachers attend a curriculum training session before their students can visit JA BizTown.  This school year, 211 teachers are expected to participate.

 

Volunteers, including members of the community and parents of students, serve as professional role models and help students manage their businesses during the simulation.  More than 1,000 volunteers will help facilitate the JA BizTown Learning Journey this year.  Read more.  

 
Washington lands $20,000 Verizon grant

A $20,000 grant from Verizon will connect Washington High School of Information Technology students to the rapidly expanding mobile applications industry.

Washington High School students will use
 a $20,000 grant from Verizon to develop a mobile application.

 

Washington will use the Verizon Innovate Learning grant in partnership with Jobs for America's Graduates-Milwaukee to allow students to participate in the Next Big Thing, a hands-on science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) learning project.  The Next Big Thing also provides opportunities for students to learn coding, visit colleges, career coaching and employer site visits.

 

A team of Washington students will develop a mobile application solution for an industry of its choice.  The students' app will later be presented at a STEM career development conference, introducing them to entrepreneurship and providing marketing as well as IT skills.  Read more. 
Manitoba students enjoy school day with dads

Manitoba School found a fun way to get dads more engaged in their children's learning experience.

Manitoba School students enjoy some time with their dads.
The school's annual "Dads and Donuts" celebration focused on parents supporting their children with math. 

 

Manitoba students and their dads enjoyed donuts and milk, while working together on math-related activities.  Read more.  
IMPORTANT DATES:
Traditional calendar
  • February 2: No student attendance - Teacher PD
  • February 16: Schools closed - Mid-semester break
Year-round calendar
  • February 2: No student attendance - Teacher PD
  • February 16: Schools closed - Mid-semester break 
Rufus-King/Ronald Reagan calendar
  • February 2: No student attendance - Teacher PD
  • February 16: Schools closed - Mid-semester break