Tuesday, April 23, 2013
Reading, math scores of voucher students in private schools are behind their counterparts in public schools, but choice advocates say the numbers don't tell the whole story.
Students who attend schools under Racine Unified's voucher program are not performing as well in statewide reading and math tests as those in the district's public schools, new data from the state Department of Public Instruction shows. The DPI on Tuesday released the results of the 2012-13 Wisconsin Knowledge and Concepts Examination, the state's standardized academic achievement tests. On those tests, 24.1 percent of the students who attended schools under the Parental Private School Choice Program were proficient or better in math. By comparison, 27.8 percent of RUSD students scored proficient or better in math tests. Both figures were significantly under the statewide proficiency rate of 48.1 percent. The reading proficiency rate for …
Tuesday, April 16, 2013
Area state Democrats hosted a budget listening session Monday at the Racine campus of Gateway Technical College.
Most people at Monday's budget listening session with area Democrats Monday weren't pleased with the prospect of expanding vouchers. But, citizens also talked about Gov. Scott Walker's refusal of federal money for Medicaid, cuts in transportation, funding for the arts, and cuts to conservation programs. Reps. Peter Barca, Cory Mason and Tod Ohnstad were joined by state Sens. John Lehman and Bob Wirch for a three-hour budget listening session at the Racine Campus of Gateway Technical College. Bob Lang, director of the non-partisan Budget Fiscal Bureau was also on hand to record residents' remarks. During his opening remarks as the emcee of the night, Mason said he is a better representative when he hears directly from the community. Lehman …
Friday, March 29, 2013
A round table discussion was split along party lines, but everyone agreed that to make sure Racine Unified gets what it needs, officials need information.
Legislators for the Racine Unified community met with school board members and lead administration Thursday to talk about the future of funding for the district. Democratic Representatives Cory Mason (Racine) and Peter Barca (Kenosha) were joined by state Sen. Bob Wirch, D-Kenosha, and Assembly Speaker Robin Vos, R-Burlington, at the RUSD administrative offices for what BOE member Pam Handrow called an informal conversation to talk about funding for education, especially for RUSD. Some of the conversation was clearly divided along party lines with the Democrats calling Gov. Scott Walker's budget "wrong-headed" and Vos defending it. There was also talk about vouchers and whether or not they're really harming the district, with the party …
Friday, January 25, 2013
If you were thinking about registering your student for 4k or 5k, sending your elementary school student to an RUSD school other than their neighborhood school, or wanting to know about private school vouchers -- here is what you need to know.
Keeping all of the dates straight for when to register your child for kindergarten or when to enroll them into a school that isn't their neighborhood school can be a daunting task. So we've made it a little primer on these topics. Enroll a student for 4- & 5-year-old Kindergarten Avoid long lines, and delays in getting transportation information by enrolling your child early for Kindergarten, which starts on March 6. Enroll in the elementary school choice program (open enrollment) This program allows Racine Unified School District parents and guardians to apply for their student to attend an attendance area school other than their own. Acceptance depends upon space considerations, and the family must provide transportation. Applications …
Wednesday, August 15, 2012
Seniors Speak Out About Paul Ryan events are being planned all over Wisconsin. The Racine event was held Wednesday at Wilson's Coffee in West Racine on Washington Avenue.
Critics who live in Paul Ryan's current congressional district gathered at Wilson's Coffee in Racine to make it plain to the newly-named Republican vice presidential candidate that his budget isn't going to fly with them come November. Seniors Speak Out About Paul Ryan was organized by the Democratic Party of Wisconsin. The invitation asked seniors to attend and let them know they might be asked to hold signs during the event. The crowd of about 60 residents - most of them seniors - listened as people explained how Ryan's plans to revamp Medicare and Medicaid could impact seniors and threaten the middle class. "We're here to tell Paul Ryan that his plan is a very, very bad idea," said Jane Witt, chairwoman of the Racine County Democratic …
Saturday, August 6, 2011
Racine Unified parents can submit applications for schools in and around Racine as well as Shoreland Lutheran in Somers.
It's official now. Seven area schools turned in their applications to the Department of Public Instruction by the Aug. 1 deadline. While these schools still need accreditation by Sept. 1, according to a story on jsonline.com, the following schools are expected to welcome school choice students this fall: Students must live in the Racine Unified area and come from families that earn up to 300 percent of the poverty level. Families that want to apply for school choice have until Aug. 20 or until the cap of 250 students is reached, whichever comes first. If interested, parents should have the following documents for the application as listed on The Racine Journal Times website: If more applications are received than spots available, families …
Wednesday, May 18, 2011
Gov. Scott Walker wants to expand the voucher program in Racine County.
State Superintendent of Schools Dr. Tony Evers will join Racine Unified School District officials in Racine Thursday, May 19, to outline the potential impact of school vouchers. A press conference is scheduled for 1:30 p.m. at Walden III Middle/High School, 1012 Center St. RUSD Superintendent, Dr. Jim Shaw, and RUSD School Board member, Don Nielsen, will join Evers. Nielsen, who serves as School Board treasurer and chairs its audit committee, said Wednesday that expanding a state-supported voucher system to Racine “would exacerbate the problems we have.” Gov. Scott Walker told a national school choice advocacy organization on May 9 that he wants Racine, Beloit and Green Bay residents to be able to use taxpayer-funded vouchers to attend …
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Tuesday, April 19, 2011
Mount Pleasant-Sturtevant Patch resident Soren Gajewski is Principal of Jefferson Lighthouse School, and he offers his view of the voucher system.
As the Directing Principal for Jefferson Lighthouse, and as a former teacher in the Milwaukee Public School system, I feel obligated to warn my neighbors about the impending expansion of the school voucher system. Initially, the idea was sold as a way to give poor children an opportunity to attend private schools. The competition, in theory, would give public schools an incentive to “do a better job.” Meanwhile, poor students would have an opportunity to attend alternative types of programs, including religious, in hopes that those programs would raise achievement. While the idea has some good will in it, the outcome should be of great concern for everyone. Warning signs, for me as a classroom teacher, were seen shortly after the …
Brian Schoessow
12:28 pm on Monday, April 29, 2013
My son transferred to public from private school for his senior year due to a personality conflict. He was 18, and had authority issues with the Dean. That last year, he got As in public school and barely made minimum attendance. He laughed and said he learned all that already in the other school the year before. Now, he is looking at private school for his girls. more ›