News

Milwaukee ranks in the 1st percentile nationally in reading for years, according to new national data.

Last year, the city’s schools, philanthropies, and civic leaders united behind the Milwaukee Reading Coalition, a citywide effort to train every K3-5 teacher in the Science of Reading, with real accountability for outcomes. CFC is a member. Leaders worked with DPI to try and access Act 20 dollars targeted for the Science of Reading.

This week, Mayor Johnson, Dr. Howard Fuller, and the Presidents of the Greater Milwaukee Foundation and Herb Kohl Philanthropies called out DPI’s refusal to fund the coalition:

• DPI reversed course: Superintendent Underly’s office declared DPI lacks the authority to support the Milwaukee Reading Coalition, directly contradicting guidance DPI provided throughout the prior year.
• Public dollars matter: Philanthropic partners invested because this model combines public dollars with private accountability. Without a state commitment, private funders cannot hold long-term.
• The bureaucracy is the obstacle: As the local leaders wrote, “the bureaucratic apparatus meant to implement that shared goal is instead standing in its way.”

CFC sent its own letter to Superintendent Underly: “The Milwaukee Reading Coalition spent a year doing everything right — building an unprecedentedly broad, citywide coalition, securing funding, standing up infrastructure — only to be met with shifting guidance and bureaucratic delay.” 

CFC and the Coalition are pressing DPI to re-engage and deploy existing literacy dollars now. Milwaukee’s kids have waited long enough. Read the letter of support below.

• 80% of voters say they’re more likely to support a candidate who would hold all publicly funded schools accountable for student outcomes—the strongest message tested
• Wisconsin voters support school choice by a 2-to-1 margin (57% more likely to support a candidate who backs school choice vs. 22% less likely)
• Public charter school support jumps from 45% to 60% once voters learn that charter schools are publicly funded, free, open to all students, and held accountable to academic standards
• Nearly half of Democratic primary voters remain undecided, and undecided voters are more supportive of school choice than those already committed to a candidate

Read the full press release about the survey below.

As Milwaukee Public Schools and the Milwaukee Teachers’ Education Association clash over when cost-of-living wage adjustments should take effect, Colleston Morgan, Jr., Executive Director of City Forward Collective, is weighing in on the district’s $46 million budget gap. Morgan expressed confidence in MPS’s improved financial oversight following recent state audits, and said City Forward Collective — which advocates for both public and private schools — believes the district must be aggressive in closing the gap, even if that means delaying wage adjustments. “We’ve gotta get this budget in order,” Morgan said.

Read the full article here.

Milwaukee native and City Forward Collective Executive Director Colleston Morgan Jr. argues that Wisconsin Democrats have lost their edge on education by defending the status quo and opposing school choice — programs already serving nearly half of Milwaukee’s students. He calls on Democrats to embrace a “both/and” vision: strong public schools plus robust school choice, with all publicly funded schools held to the same high standards.

Read full article 

City Forward Collective, a Milwaukee-based nonprofit education advocacy group led by Executive Director Colleston Morgan Jr., released a new report examining school performance on Milwaukee’s north side — and the findings demand urgent action. Morgan is calling on the district and state officials to move aggressively to address longstanding inequities facing students in the area.

Read the full article