$20 Million GE Foundation Grant For MPS

MPS Parents are Needed Around the Table

MILWAUKEE, WI - Sunday, January 23, 2011

We are thankful that Bob Corcoran and the Board of GE Foundation, Susan Bro-Lear, GE Healthcare and Fran Mantero, GE Foundation, support a rigorous system wide emphasis of math and science education attainment in MPS-Milwaukee Public Schools. We know that training of all teachers for our classrooms is vital and we look forward to approaches for hands-on by the GE volunteers.

The goal of support to link elementary/secondary education to a 2- and 4-year degreed format is part of Milwaukee Professionals Association ALL HANDS on DECK, WE, Not Me Initiative-Plan-Program (2010-2020) to support President Obama’s Call to Service and his 2020 education and technology attainment challenge for the country.
We see this grant timely in that President Obama recently asked Jeffrey Immelt, Chairman/CEO, of GE to be his NEW Economic Advisor – Council on Jobs and Competitiveness.

However, the volatility-volatiles; i.e., punitive by-products of NCLB-No Child Left Behind of which MPS is mired – School-to-Prison Pipeline that includes dropouts, expulsions, inferior alternatives, we the People that are concerned about African American, other People of Color and the Work-Challenged students of MPS, cannot sit idle and not call for accountability through best practices, transparency, TRUST, and INCLUSIVENESS of all stakeholders when trying to solve public school issues having high negatives of disconnect. Therefore, we ask that the GE Foundation along with MPS leaders STOP and REBOOT the plan INFRASTRUCTURE for Action - and for sure, who is at the table the next 5 years.

This cannot be a skimming process, skewed data, cronyism, regular consultants, well-connected departments at Central office and well-connected schools, political divisiveness, lack of transparency for public information, lack of administrative and board leadership, public relations sound bytes, dictated to Title I Parent groups, excessive guidance of the MTEA – Milwaukee Teachers Education Association and EXCLUSION of the most important participants, MPS PARENTS.

GRANT MISSING LINK - PARENTS/GUARDIANS
Based on observations and discoveries over the last five years about the culture and bureaucracy in MPS, in order to gain the traction for critical mass in education and technology attainment as well as to fulfill the grant mission/goals of both GE and MPS, it is imperative that the PARENTS/GUARDIANS are brought to the table as full-time partners in “cutting edge” creation, implementation, decision making, sponsorship and evaluation of this generous grant. It is naïve and counter-productive to think that outcomes will come, if the outcomes do not start with and end with the adults that are statutorily responsible for the students at MPS.

Parents of Milwaukee Public Schools are severely challenged due to the City of Milwaukee being “trapped” in disparities – enduring concentrated poverty, Brookings Institution and Federal Reserve study – quality of life and economic development issues - that affect the development and growth of our talent pool – youth, adult and senior population. It is important that education and technology attainment is “inclusive” and “connected”, bottom-up and top-town, for infrastructural and systemic reform that will help replace our threats and weaknesses with NEW GE opportunities of strength-BUILDING, informed leadership and an engaged citizenry of MPS that will help provide self-sustainability.

In other words, the five-year, $20 Million grant, should be seen as an investment in “rigid requirements” of state-of-the-art classes/mentoring/careering/volunteerism and networking to support access and literacy of a Bottom-UP economy foundation for a higher per capita income of MPS parents/guardians - African Americans, other People of Color and the Work-Challenged – the bulk of MPS.

It means a NEW PARADIGM that starts with the FAMILY structure and its profile.
It means massive awareness training during the first year with PARENTS, teachers, school staff, principals, central office staff, board members, block club groups, neighborhood strategic planning organizations, business districts, neighborhood business owners, neighborhood chamber members and clergy at the table.
It means the bulk of the PARENTS and NEIGHBORHOOD representatives will be NEW participants for solution-building.
It means the PARENTS and/or Caretakers of the child/ren in MPS are scheduled/connected to part of the day-to-day training, as informed partners that are linked to the rubric code of conduct.
It means education attainment in technology – access and literacy – student and parents alike.
It means ongoing and massive communication from/to/about the school district and individual schools to-from the neighborhoods of Milwaukee.
It means parents are hired as professional MPS School-liaisons to the neighborhood – home, church, business, neighborhood group and elected representatives.
It means parents are hired as teachers/consultants to train MPS staff, other parents and students.
It means neighborhood-level business owners are hired as consultants and teachers.
It means Extramural planning and partnerships are created-implemented-developed between the neighborhood-level businesses, MATC-Milwaukee Area Technical College, University of Wisconsin - Milwaukee, MSOE-Milwaukee School of Engineering, other Milwaukee schools of higher learning and MPS. This would include Alverno, Cardinal Stritch, Concordia and any other educational site that provide teachers and teacher-training to MPS. Neighborhood-level business owners should be encouraged to provide internships, scholarships, apprenticeships and other partnerships.

Yes. MPS parents need to be an intricate part of the “in-service plan for professional training and talent building” of this five-year plan. PARENTS, teachers, school staff and principals should be evaluated on how well they integrate the curriculum with the training and use of parents linked to their children’s progress. Additionally, the GE Foundation, along with the GE volunteers should work with parents and neighborhood councils for a six-month and annual evaluation of the use of the funding – the evaluation should be made public.

Historically, millions come to the City of Milwaukee in federal and private funding for the growth of the city, yet we have study-after-study showing we are the last and lowest in education and employment growth. Therefore, MPA has launched the ALL HANDS ON DECK, WE, Not Me Initiative to help ensure that goodwill funding from donors demand transparency, stewardship, competition, citizen participation, INCLUSIVENESS at the neighborhood level, linkage of all three levels of public school (elementary/ secondary, 2-year and 4-year), neighborhood businesses, neighborhood strategic planning groups, business improvement districts, task forces, clergy networks, community papers, community radio and neighborhood-level chambers and associations. We can no longer allow huge deposits and a run-on the funding that leaves the children, their parents, their future and city in the same or worse shape than when the funding was received. We believe massive engagement at the neighborhood level is imperative with accountable leadership.