September 6, 2012Dear Friend,
Committee work is picking up in the Legislature as we tackle issues important to our neighbors in communities across Wisconsin. Continue reading to learn more about the latest public hearings and Legislative Audit Reports.
Sincerely,
Chris Larson
State Senator, District 7
=================
Remembering September 11th
This upcoming Tuesday, our nation will be recognizing the 11-year anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks. We should all take a moment to remember the lives lost and also recall the days afterward and how the United States stood united in our resolve to not be intimidated by these acts of destruction and cowardice.
I was a student at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee then, and remember hearing the news from a friend when I arrived to campus that morning. Like so many across our nation, we watched in horror as the second plane hit the World Trade Center.
September 11, 2001, took too many U.S. lives and changed all of us. The grief of 9/11 brought us closer together as a nation and in each of our communities. Before this tragedy, I had not been interested in politics or paid much attention to how my community was affected by state and national policies. It was only afterward that I became more aware and decided to get involved. I, along with many others, committed to making a better community and ensuring our greatest days as a country remained ahead.
Our nation is still in the process of rebuilding the landmark World Trade Center building that lay in ruins 11 years ago. The project aims to combine modern, safe, and sustainable commercial space, convenient transportation, and a destination cultural center. The New World Trade Center is expected to be completed next year and will boast five new skyscrapers, span over 100 floors, and contain the National September 11 Memorial & Museum.
Click here for more information about the World Trade Center reconstruction project.
Study Shows Voucher Schools Fail to Out-perform MPS
Late last week, the Legislative Audit Bureau released its analysis of a five-year study examining Milwaukee’s voucher program. The Legislative Audit Bureau’s report confirms the methodology used and student samples examined by researchers was flawed and therefore the findings of the study are frustratingly inconclusive.
In 2005, the Wisconsin State Legislature passed Wisconsin Act 125, legislation requiring all private schools participating in the Milwaukee Parental Choice Program to give standardized tests to all students in fourth, eighth, and 10th grades and submit the results to the School Choice Demonstration Project conducted out of the University of Arkansas. Such requirements are already in place for all of Milwaukee's Public Schools.
The School Choice Demonstration Project studied 5,454 students--half in voucher schools and half in MPS--beginning in the 2006-2007 school year. It released several reports per year on the differences between the two school systems. Wisconsin Act 125 also required the state Legislative Audit Bureau to analyze the project's annual reports in order to compare the academic performance of voucher students to their counterparts in Milwaukee Public Schools.
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.