Publications
City Forward Collective publishes analysis and research related to Milwaukee K-12 education in order to provide accurate and actionable information and insight for parents, policymakers, and others trying to better understand our city’s education ecosystem and make smart decisions.
DATA
State of Milwaukee Education in Fall 2023: At A Glance
Milwaukee’s K12 education ecosystem is complex, and reliable information can be hard to come by.
We’ve synthesized the latest pieces of official data and key information to help stakeholders understand the current state of our city’s schools — all in a helpful one-page document.
ARCHIVE:
Explainer BRIEF
“Right to Read” Literacy Act 20
Act 20, which has been enacted into law beginning July 20, 2023, initiates a statewide adherence to science-based early literacy instruction to address low reading proficiency across the state. The bill modifies existing statutes and creates two new entities that specify the types of reading curriculum and instruction that schools receiving public funding must provide to pupils in grades kindergarten to 3.
Schools in all of Milwaukee’s sectors that receive public funding - district, charter, and private - have responsibilities and opportunities identified in this law to improve literacy for our bright Milwaukee students.
City Forward Collective provides this detailed explainer document to equip school leaders, parents, and community members for the 2023-2024 school year and beyond. The document will be updated as rule-making is complete and DPI final guidance is provided.
PRELIMINARY REPORT
A Historic Investment in Education
In the 2023-2025 school years, all Milwaukee students will benefit from significant increases in per-pupil funding. Charter and private schools will receive a historic, gap-closing increase of between $1,500 and $3,000 per pupil.
This is an informational preliminary report that provides an overview of this historic investment in education. A full report will be made available after the Department of Public Instruction finalizes their figures.
Click here to download the full report (in English and Spanish).
DATA
Milwaukee Legislators’ School Profiles
This document provides School Profiles for each State Representative and Senator that represents Milwaukee. For each official, the profile provides basic information:
How many students in their district attend public charter schools
How many students in their district attend private voucher schools
List of public charter and private voucher schools in their district
Report
School Resources and Funding
Milwaukee schools receive their funding from local, state, and federal sources, but the amounts paid depend on whether the school is traditional public, charter, or private voucher.
This is an informational report that provides an overview of how schools are funded in Milwaukee, including the sources of funding disparities between the sectors.
Report
Equal Funding Brief
Milwaukee charter and private schools serve nearly half of Milwaukee’s student population, yet unequal funding costs them $300 million per year.
This document is an advocacy brief that puts forth policy recommendations aimed at closing the school funding gap.
Secure equal funding for charter and private schools
Achieve an increase in per-pupil funding for all Milwaukee schools
Increase the state’s special education reimbursement rate
REPORT
Milwaukee Student Enrollment Trends
This report provides an overview of enrollment in Milwaukee schools and provides key facts and figures compiled from the latest information available from official sources. It includes a summary of current (2022–2023) school year enrollment and a more detailed summary of audited 2021–2022 enrollment demographics and trends.
In our enrollment environment report we examine both how, and why the Milwaukee education landscape has been changing via enrollment over the past 10 years. Looking at trends and data.
It is our hope that these publications clearly lay out the enrollment ecosystem in an accessible way for all interested stakeholders.
DATA
State of Milwaukee Education in Fall 2022: At A Glance
Milwaukee’s K12 education ecosystem is complex, and reliable information can be hard to come by.
We’ve synthesized the latest pieces of official data and key information to help stakeholders understand the current state of our city’s schools — all in a helpful two-page document.
ARCHIVE:
REPORT
Student Proficiency and Performance 2022
In Milwaukee, student proficiency in math and reading has declined since 2016, and Milwaukee students continue to underperform in these subjects compared to both their state and national peers. Overall, fewer than one in five Milwaukee students are meeting state-established proficiency standards in English Language Arts (ELA) and Math, and Milwaukee has remained at or near the bottom of national measures of student academic outcomes for more than a decade.
This report provides an overview of student and school performance in Milwaukee and provides key facts and figures compiled from the latest information available from official sources. It includes a detailed summary of the most recent student performance results at local and national levels, as well as an analysis of school performance via their state report cards.
Report
Milwaukee Agentic Youth Report 2021-22
Milwaukee has a robust education system that looks very different from much of the country.
In partnership with Dr. Charles Cole III, City Forward Collective’s Gestina Howard worked with Milwaukee students from across the city to uplift their voices and name the problems they believe impact them the most. Student fellows went through an intensive process where they examined their lived experiences as students in Milwaukee, with the goal of naming issues they are facing.
This report is a result of the student-led studies that offers an authentic look into the current challenges of the student experience.
POLICY
Policy Priorities: 2023-24 Legislative Session
Milwaukee's school options have evolved to offer a wide variety of choices to families. Unfortunately, the policies governing them have not kept pace.
A critical piece of our three-part strategy to add 5,000 seats in high-quality schools by 2025 is to foster a healthy and improving education ecosystem with sustainable, high-quality opportunities in all three school sectors – MPS, public charter, and private Choice.
To accomplish this, we advocate for a holistic, community-informed policy agenda designed to address four key challenges that perpetuate educational inequities and hamper high-quality schools.
REPORT
State of Milwaukee Education in 2022
Every Wisconsin resident has a stake in the success of Milwaukee’s children and youth. To ensure that success, all stakeholders need ready access to key information about the city’s K-12 schools.
This report provides an overview of the state of education in Milwaukee schools, and provides key facts and figures compiled from the latest information available from official sources. It includes data about both current status and historical trends in school governance, enrollment, student performance, finances, and public perceptions.
It is our hope that this State of Milwaukee Education report will be used by parents, educators, policymakers, and other stakeholders to better understand Milwaukee’s school landscape and to make informed decisions about its future.
POLLING
2021 Milwaukee K-12 Education Sentiments Survey
City Forward Collective commissions Milwaukee’s only annual citywide poll focused on measuring city residents’ sentiments about K-12 education.
In partnership with the Dieringer Research Group, we surveyed Milwaukee parents and other residents in fall 2021 to quantify and better understand their opinions about the city’s schools.
ISSUE BRIEF
2021 School and District Report Cards
State Report Cards show more schools earning better ratings, even as student achievement declines
Topline results from new Wisconsin School Report Cards show that a number of Milwaukee schools improved enough to move out of the two lowest rating categories – even as overall student achievement dropped.
How? State officials quietly and without explanation made it easier for schools to earn a higher rating without actually improving student learning outcomes.
As a result, ratings were inflated for 74 Milwaukee schools, 28% of the city's publicly funded school buildings.
Milwaukee Public Schools was the biggest beneficiary of the change: 42% of district-operated buildings earned a higher rating under the new standards than they would have under the old standards. Inflated ratings were also awarded to 27% of Public Charter Schools and 19% of Private Choice Schools.
Continue reading in the full Issue Brief:
SPOTLIGHT SERIES
Learning during COVID-19
During Spring 2020, our team catalogued the stories of schools that rose to meet the challenge of continuing student learning during COVID-19. These stories prove what is possible, and their examples provide best practices and encouragement for others working to serve their school communities during this challenging time.
Click here to learn more about this project, and to read school profiles