Investing in Education Pays Off for States
By Wisconsin School Administrators Alliance staff | August 26, 2013
From the Wisconsin Budget Project . . .
States can raise wages and build a strong foundation for economic success by making investments in education, particularly higher education, according to a new report from the Economic Policy Institute.
The report, “A Well-Educated Workforce is Key to State Prosperity,” makes the following points:
- High-wage states have a well-educated workforce;
- Expanding access to high-quality education strengthens economic opportunity for residents and boosts the state’s overall economy;
- Trying to outdo other states in cutting taxes makes it harder for states to invest in education; and
- Investing in education is good for state budgets in the long-run, since highly-paid workers contribute more in taxes.
The conclusions of this report might seem like common sense to many people in Wisconsin. After all, education has long been an engine of our state’s economic growth. We have depended on a well?educated workforce, shaped by excellent public schools, to lay the foundation for our prosperity.
Unfortunately, recently Wisconsin has been reducing investments in education. Between 2006 and 2012, state General Purpose Revenue (GPR) spending for the UW System fell by 8.6%, as shown in the chart below. GPR spending on K-12 education decreased 16.1%, and GPR support for the state technical college system dropped by a startling 25.4% over this period.
Given the strong link between investing in education and broad-based economic prosperity, Wisconsin should reverse recent trends in education cuts that could do long-term harm to Wisconsin’s economy.
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Evers Releases Common Core Toolkit
By Wisconsin School Administrators Alliance staff | August 26, 2013
Dear Colleagues,
As you know, Wisconsin adopted the Common Core State Standards (CCSS) for English Language Arts and Mathematics in 2010, the culmination of a three year collaborative journey toward higher and clearer standards for Wisconsin. Since then, the CCSS have been a game-changer, helping to ensure all students graduate ready for college and career. Your committed work has been central to enacting these reforms, and your voices are critical in helping Wisconsin stay focused and committed to the CCSS.
While DPI meets frequently with stakeholders to share the transformational work that is going on around the state, the CCSS implementation stories you have at the local level are far more compelling. To assist you in your efforts to communicate about the CCSS, DPI has developed a Wisconsin CCSS Administrator Communication Toolkit complete with info-briefs, a customizable PowerPoint and communications, a CCSS Myths and Facts document that is updated regularly, and other relevant resources. We hope this toolkit is helpful to you as you share your experiences about the CCSS with legislators, school board members, parent groups, local organizations including chambers of commerce and rotary clubs, local news outlets, and others in your community.
If you have any questions about this toolkit or need additional information, please contact Emilie Amundson, Director of DPI’s Common Core State Standards Team at Emilie.Amundson@dpi.wi.gov. Thank you for the work you and your colleagues do every day to advance the CCSS and all of our Agenda 2017 efforts to ensure every child is a graduate, ready for college and career.
Sincerely,
Tony Evers, PhD
State Superintendent
Wisconsin Administrator CCSS Communications Toolkit
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MacIver Institute Rips SAA Over Voucher Entitlement Release
By Wisconsin School Administrators Alliance staff | August 22, 2013
The far-right MacIver Institute, in a lively work of fiction noteworthy for its use of misdirection and deception, ripped the SAA yesterday for its “voucher entitlement” release issued earlier this week.
The obvious care and effort expended in order to spin this lengthy rant validates why I subscribe to the old adage, “You never receive more flak than when you are right over the target.”
I am a bit perplexed that the MacIver Institute assailed the SAA for making essentially the same argument it did in April and May, even though the SAA admitted as much in its news release.
Why did the SAA make the same argument? Because our assertion that voucher expansion is the beginning of a runaway taxpayer-funded entitlement was true in May, and even more so today.
SAA members, let this serve as a classic example of why it is so vitally important that you build relationships with your legislators and communicate with them on a regular basis.
Pro-voucher advocates will challenge any fact that doesn’t conform to their stated objective of “a voucher in every backpack.” They are a very powerful, well-funded political adversary. But at the end of the day, I just don’t believe that what they stand for represents the “Wisconsin way.”
So, let’s keep up the fight. Let’s fight for everything that is good in public education. Let’s fight for all the reasons we made education our life’s work. But, most importantly, let’s fight for our children’s future.
Thanks for listening, and thanks for all your efforts on behalf of Wisconsin school children.
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Americans Oppose Vouchers, Poll Finds
By Wisconsin School Administrators Alliance staff | August 22, 2013
This year’s annual PDK/Gallup Poll on American attitudes toward public schools found that while charter schools enjoy broad support, many of those surveyed—70 percent—oppose vouchers for private school tuition.
The survey, which was based on responses from about 1,000 people, found that nearly 70 percent of those surveyed support public charter schools. And a little over half—52 percent—said they thought students in charter schools receive a better education than those in regular public schools.
But on the question of vouchers, 70 percent of those surveyed said they opposed allowing taxpayer dollars to cover families’ private tuition costs—the highest proportion of opposition to vouchers in the history of the survey and an increase of 15 percent points from last year alone.
Predictably, pro-voucher groups assailed the poll, charging that it features poorly designed questions which lead to a misrepresentation of the public’s feelings about vouchers. On the other hand, the National Coalition for Public Education, which opposes vouchers, said the public was sending a clear message in the poll: taxpayer-funded vouchers are bad public policy.
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Common Core: Myths and Facts
By Wisconsin School Administrators Alliance staff | August 21, 2013
Earlier this month, the DPI released this updated version of Common Core State Standards: Myths and Facts. I am forwarding this link for your information.
Also see testimony from Kathleen Porter-Magee of the Thomas B. Fordham Institute in which she shreds the anti-Common Core argument before a Wisconsin public hearing on May 22, 2013.
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