During my 30 years of teaching fifth grade, I’ve always
encouraged my students to look critically at problems and to learn from
mistakes.
Sen. Darling’s and Rep. Kooyenga’s plan to take over public
schools in Milwaukee does neither.
The few details in their plan provide no framework for
actually improving academic achievement. Equally important, the plan ignores
the Milwaukee community’s experience with similar efforts to dismantle our
public schools and undermine our democratic institutions.
There are several glaring problems with the Darling/Kooyenga plan.
1) Not learning from
mistakes. Attempting to improve public schools by turning them over to
private charter or voucher operators has been tried before — and failed. For 25
years vouchers have been a conservative’s dream – no unions, no school board,
no state-mandated curriculum or regulations. What has been the result? Vouchers
schools on the whole perform worse academically than the Milwaukee Public
Schools.
Vouchers schools have drained over a billion dollars of taxpayers’
money away from public schools and into private schools with little public
accountability. The defunding of public schools has meant larger class sizes,
less individual attention to students and greatly reduced access to art, music,
libraries and physical education within Milwaukee’s public schools. Let’s fully
fund our public schools and fix them, not abandon them.
2) Undermines
democracy. Governance is not the problem with our schools — Milwaukee
arguably has more governance options than any urban system in the country. The rhetoric around governance in the
Darling/Kooyenga scheme is a smokescreen to get rid of democratically elected
and accountable school boards and schools.
There are two ways to undermine democracy. First by attacking
voter rights through limiting early voting options and requiring photo IDs. Another
way is to remove entire institutions from democratic control. Yes, democracy
can be messy, but the alternative is worse. If we decide to abandon every
democratic institution that is not up to our hopes and dreams, why not get rid
of the U.S. Congress? Or the Wisconsin legislature?
3) Part of a coordinated
attack. The Darling/Kooyenga plan can’t be viewed in isolation. It’s in the
context of Walker’s budget that continues deep cuts in public education across
the state, and increases statewide privatization of public schools.
In addition, Walker’s budget eliminates Chapter 220 – the only educational
program in Milwaukee designed to reduce racial segregation in public schools
and improve equal opportunity for students of color.
4) Exacerbates
inequality. Data show that privately-run charter and voucher schools serve
significantly fewer students with special needs, English language learners and
more difficult to educate students. Students are counseled out and pushed back
into public schools. The Kooyenga/Darling plan will only increase this problem.
5) Refusal to learn
from other urban areas. Other urban districts have tried similar takeovers,
with disastrous results. A takeover
plan in Detroit is costing the state $72 million, with the mayor raising strong
objections. In Memphis, several national charter operators have repeatedly
proposed new schools, only to abruptly cancel their plans. And in New Orleans,
thousands of students — including those with special needs — are being
underserved. Let’s learn from, not replicate, the problems that have come up in
these other cities.
6) Continues
Milwaukee’s Plantation Mentality. The plan’s colonial implications — what MICAH
President Rev. Willy Brisco calls the “plantation” mentality that dominates
social policy in Milwaukee — are disturbing. Milwaukee is the most segregated metropolitan region in the
nation. Sixty years ago the U.S. Supreme court, in its Brown decision that was fundamental to overthrowing Jim Crow
segregation, noted that “separate is inherently unequal.” It should give people
pause when two white suburban legislators propose having a white County
Executive appoint a “commissioner” to be able to pluck schools away from the
democratically elected school board of an overwhelmingly non-white district.
If we want to truly provide equal education opportunities, why
not try something truly radical. Why not build a countywide school system –
democratically elected and controlled and open to all children, regardless of
the ZIP code where they were born. Not only would this open up well-funded schools
with excellent opportunities and learning conditions to the children of
Milwaukee, it would attack the dual problems of segregation and inequality that
plague our region.
7) Sending the wrong
message to our children. What message do we send to the next generation
when we condone a plan to remove control of public institutions from a democratically
elected board? When we undermine a Superintendent with a Doctorate from Harvard
University and instead place public schools in the hands of a “commissioner” to
be appointed by a county executive who doesn't even have a college degree and was not elected to run schools? When
we allow a plan that specifically says the children of Milwaukee do not need
licensed teachers?
These are just some of the many problems in the Darling/Kooyenga
plan.
This proposal should be rejected by anyone who believes in
democracy and the importance of educating all
children.
The Milwaukee Public Schools is the only institution in the
city with the capacity, commitment and legal obligation to serve all our students.
Our schools are the foundation of our democracy and of our
future. Let’s unite to support and improve our public schools, not abandon
them.
--------
This op ed was published in the May 17, 2015 print edition of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
No comments:
Post a Comment