I’ve written a number of times about how impressed I am with South Milwaukee schools, and that belief is stronger than ever.
It starts with passing the “eye test” — what you see first-hand and every day in how they educate kids and prepare them for future. It’s a difficult test to pass, but what I see from my Rawson Elementary first-grader shows me a lot of what I need to know about our local schools.
Add in the district’s commitment to long-range planning — devising solutions to some of the major problems all area schools face — and my dealings with what I view as a first-class leadership team, and they pass the “eye test” with ease.
But that’s one person’s opinion. It’s nice to see it validated by a (somewhat) scientific report in a respected local publication.
Milwaukee Magazine rated the area’s 33 K-12 school districts in its most recent edition. You can see the story here.
Admittedly, the overall ranking of the South Milwaukee district — based on factors like test scores, spending per pupil and student-teacher ratio — is a bit disappointing. The magazine ranks the district 28th out of the 33.
Then you read more of the article … and see the strongly positive results for our local schools.
- For starters, the overall rankings are clearly influenced by local economics. More low-income communities fared worse. So that is instantly strike one against the South Milwaukee School District.
- But dig deeper, and you see clear signs of hope. According to the piece, our local schools were called perhaps the area’s biggest “After-School All-Star … ranking first in the academic category (among 33 area K-12 districts),with 37 offerings per school, second in athletics with another 37 and third in music with 11.” The quote from Superintendent Rita Olson: “We’ve taken a funding hit like everybody else but we’ve really tried to protect athletics and music and keep the clubs going. In some cases, we rely on volunteers, and a number of teachers are leading clubs without compensation.”
- Then dig even deeper. And the article rates South Milwaukee High School the No. 2 “overperformer” in the area — using statistics that compare districts only to those with similar economic standing.
So, I give South Milwaukee’s showing in the magazine article a solid B. Let’s hope that others read it and recognize that our schools are strong — and a real reason to love living here. They’re certainly at the top of my list.
Of course, I’d like to know what you think about this. Read the article, and check out more on MilwaukeeMagazine.com, and then post your comments below!
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