Colleston

Wisconsin's 32 Most Influential Black Leaders for 2025, Part 1 This is the first of a five-part series. Since our founding in 2015, these annual lists of Wisconsin’s most influential Black, Latino, Indigenous, and Asian American leaders have become the most…

Thank you to @madison_365 for recognizing me as one of WI's Most Influential Black Leaders. I'm grateful to lead our work @cfc_mke to ensure students in MKE and across WI receive the excellent education they deserve, at a high-quality school of their choice.

buff.ly/rsSFMfk

School & District Report Cards Are Out—But They're Still Broken Report cards are supposed to be a mirror and a measuring stick, helping families, educators, and communities see clearly where our schools stand.

In today's special Thursday edition of the Corner, we shared our take at @cfc_mke on the recent School & District Report Card release. Progress in MKE's public charters and private schools, ongoing challenges at MPS - and a continuing mess from DPI.

mkeedunews.substack.com/p/school-and...

Fact Check: How Wisconsin students are counted and schools are paid The Fact: If a publicly-funded student leaves ANY school – district, public charter, or private – during the middle of the year (e.g., after the 3rd Friday count), that school does not receive the ful...

It's the 3rd Fri in Sept - WI's enrollment count date for publicly-funded students. Unfortunately, its also a day when misinformation abounds. Read CFC's Fact Check to get schooled:

Fact Check: How Wisconsin students are counted and schools are paid
mkeedunews.substack.com/p/fact-check...

@the74.bsky.social with a great, thought-provoking piece about the failures of local school boards, and how they echo broader challenges to (small-d) democratic governance. Its an issue here in MKE, but also across the country - & one we must reckon with.

www.the74million.org/article/how-...

A key problem: lowered state expectations+ a sliding scale weighting of Achievement (proficiency) & growth, hard-wired into state law, means that low-poverty schools see 9x the benefit from the changes than high-poverty ones.

We shouldn't expect less from our kids because of their families' income.

School & District Report Card Revamp Better Process, But Unfinished Work

In today's Corner, I shared our take on the recent state Report Card revamp:
"The bottom line: Families, educators, and the public deserve a report card that's honest, accurate, and trustworthy - and right now, WI's Report Cards are failing to measure up."

mkeedunews.substack.com/p/school-and...

You need to give teachers a job that it’s actually feasible to do

www.slowboring.com/p/the-promis...

Our state’s students cannot afford for political leaders to let perfection become the enemy of progress. In a political climate that amplifies the extremes, WI's leaders once again chose the harder, more courageous path of compromise—and all of our schools are better for it."

Governor Evers and legislative leaders on both sides of the aisle...deserve credit for courageously and pragmatically leading from the center, rather than being held hostage by ideology and unreasonable partisanship from the fringes of their caucuses.

The final budget includes a generational, half-billion dollar increase in public school special education funding, the long-overdue $50 million for early literacy efforts—now unlocked from litigation—and real resources to address pressing student mental health challenges.

"By any reasonable measure, securing $1.75 billion in new funding dedicated to education – $1.4 billion for K12 schools, plus $330 million more to address early childhood — is a win."

Kid-First Leadership From The Courageous Center: CFC’s Assessment of the 2025-27 State Budget Too often, fringe activists on both ends of the political spectrum hijack the policy process, preferring ideological purity over pragmatic progress.

In today's Corner, I shared @cfc_mke's take on the state budget, the real wins it delivered for ALL our kids and schools, & why cross-partisan compromise required courage - not cowardice - from @govevers, @repvos, @senatordevin, & @senhesselbein

mkeedunews.substack.com/p/kid-first-...

Just 27% of MPS fourth graders read at a basic level. A second state audit demands change A second state-ordered audit of Milwaukee Public Schools focuses on how the district teaches its students. It found glaring issues with literacy and teacher training.

Had a chance to share CFC’s perspective on @govevers.wisconsin.gov academic audit of @milwaukeemps.bsky.social on @wuwmradio.bsky.social.

“This is not a resource-poor district anymore. And that’s a different place than we’ve been in over the decades.”

www.wuwm.com/education/20...

Wisconsin must follow the lead of Florida and Tennessee on how it funds schools | Opinion We cannot continue to duct-tape our way through a school funding system that funds institutions and fuels fights while failing our kids and schools.

No one got everything - and there's work left undone to address per-pupil funding gaps in MKE - but once again, everyone got something.

As I said in May, WI needs more of this kid-first pragmatic policymaking, & less ideology-driven partisan politics in K12 edu

www.jsonline.com/story/opinio...

Our full take next week; some highlights here:
- $1k per-pupil in charter/choice increases
- 45% public + charter sp.ed reimbursement
- 90% guarantee for high-cost sp.ed, matching SNSP voucher provision
- full release of remaining literacy funds
-$50M to address student mental health

LOTS of sniping from special interests & their lege allies making perfect the enemy of progress, but at City Forward Collective, we see gains for all kids in the budget deal.

@govevers.wisconsin.gov, Sen Hesselbein @senatedemswi.bsky.social, and GOP leaders all deserve credit for a 💪🏿 compromise.

It requires courageous leadership and a willingness to embrace true accountability: transparency AND action. And yes, it requires bold, hard choices.

But, from FL to DEN to NOLA and DC, we’ve seen this approach yield meaningful, sustained gains in student outcomes & school performance.

Big Improvements Require Big Changes: Close Bad Schools and Expand Good Ones Aldeman: New Orleans, Denver & Florida show how implementing a portfolio model of school choice can lead to dramatic academic gains.

👏🏿 We know this formula works:

“Close low-performing, underenrolled schools. Expand high-performing, in-demand schools… As parents clamor for more choices, policymakers should focus on providing a high-quality portfolio of options to choose from.”

www.the74million.org/article/big-...

Here's City Forward Collective's take on the real issues with WI's school funding approach, including the antiquated special education model - and why the Special Needs Scholarship Program is the wrong target in this fight.

www.jsonline.com/story/opinio...

Lawmakers should listen to their own commission and fully fund special education | Opinion The state has the financial capacity to support students with disabilities, to invest in all students, and, crucially, to protect property taxpayers.

Disappointing to see MKE-area supes use misleading talking points, pitting students & schools against each other.

We all agree, WI should increase special education funding - don't demagogue families' choices to make the case.

www.jsonline.com/story/opinio...

The question ahead is whether new MPS leadership can continue to work with urgency to translate its newfound transparency into the sustained transformation Milwaukee's students and families deserve.

We commend Superintendent Cassellius for maintaining focus on students and classrooms, even in the face of loud opposition from leaders of special interest groups defending the status quo.

In our assessment, this budget provides a promising directional framework for the district's more than 58,000 students, and represents a strong start to the long-term work of righting the ship.

The road ahead requires sustained urgency and realistic expectations. MPS didn't get into any of its myriad messes in one day, and it will take time to undo the consequences of past mistakes, missteps, and deferred decisions.

As the Superintendent aptly put it, "MPS must make systemic changes to ensure students – particularly the most vulnerable, are at the center of every decision." It's both an entirely accurate statement and a long-overdue sentiment.

Clarity & Candor Amidst Challenges CFC’s Assessment of the FY2026 MPS Proposed Budget

In today's Corner, I shared CFC's assessment of the FY26 proposed MPS budget -- and some thoughts on the refreshingly direct honesty that the new Superintendent is delivering on the district's academic & financial circumstances.

mkeedunews.substack.com/p/clarity-an...

We at City Forward Collective have joined advocates in calling out the low special education funding levels for public schools, district &charter. That truth stands on its own, without needing to demagogue private schools that are doing the right thing.

mkeedunews.substack.com/p/cfc-policy...

Educators, parents from about 40 Wisconsin K-12 districts have urged lawmakers to increase special ed funding The Wisconsin Legislature's Joint Committee on Finance held public hearings on the state budget in Wausau, Kaukauna, West Allis and Hayward in April.

Great work by @journalsentinel, providing a straightforward and accurate summary of WI's special education funding challenges - & not falling into the trap of making misleading public/private comparisons on reimbursement rates.

www.jsonline.com/story/news/e...

A New Path for Education Reform: DFER’s Vision for Abundance A Democratic Framework for An Abundance Education Agenda

Here’s @dfer.org’s great take on what a better path forward would look like. Embrace innovation & choice, focus on guardrails and goals - not reflexive defenses of an expensive status quo that’s failing far too many students & families:

open.substack.com/pub/democrat...

Great read - so much also translates into Dems’ refusal to embrace education abundance. @WisDems, esp legislators, are repeating this boasting about policy failures with attacks on high-quality school choices.

www.nytimes.com/2025/06/08/o...