Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service

Your neighborhood. Your News.

Milwaukee NNSnewsMilwaukee NNSSearch
Subscribe to NNS today!
Advertisement
  • Home
  • News
    • Arts and Recreation
    • Community
    • Economic Development
    • Education
    • Health and Wellness
    • Housing
    • Public Safety
    • NNS Spotlight
    • Special Report
  • Posts From Community
    • Submit a Story
  • Community Voices
  • How To
  • Multimedia
    • NNS Local Video
    • Photos
    • NNS on Lake Effect
    • NNS WGLB 1560 Radio
  • Subscribe
  • Donate
  • About
    • Staff
    • Partners
    • News 414
    • The neighborhoods we cover
Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service

Diederich College of Communication, Marquette University


Language: English English Spanish Spanish

You are here: Home / Home / Carousel / MPS is updating its plan to make the district equitable. Does it go far enough?

MPS is updating its plan to make the district equitable. Does it go far enough?

August 6, 2020 by Sam Woods 1 Comment

Share this...
Share on Facebook
Facebook
Pin on Pinterest
Pinterest
Tweet about this on Twitter
Twitter
Share on LinkedIn
Linkedin

MPS’ equity guidebook includes resources on how art can be a gateway to culturally responsive conversations. In this 2014 photo, MPS students participate in a special program taught by Arts @ Large. (Photo provided by Arts @ Large)

Three years after MPS officials admitted to not effectively engaging students of color, school leaders continue work on a plan to address classroom inequities.

The “guidebook” calls for improving MPS staff’s cultural awareness; recruiting and nurturing more teachers of color; and creating spaces for students, family and the community in district decision-making.

The current version of the plan, the district’s third since 2019, outlines five overarching goals that range from equitable academic outcomes across all schools to requiring cultural awareness and responsiveness training of staff.

The plan was presented to the Milwaukee Board of School Directors last week. Another update is due in October that will detail the specific metrics the district plans to use. 

Some community members interviewed by NNS called the draft incomplete. Monique Liston, chief strategist at Ubuntu Research and Evaluation, a group that consults organizations on issues of equity, said she is concerned the document’s language will be hard for the general public to understand and that it lacks specific directives.

The district’s latest plan builds on the work of the district’s Black and Latino Male Achievement initiative, which seeks to improve academic and life outcomes for students. (Photo provided by MPS)

“One of the things we look for in this work is clear language that is logical and direct to the point,” Liston said. “Right now there’s a lot of clouded and flowery language that sounds nice but obscures what is being said and who was involved in the decision-making.”

As an example, Liston noted the plan requires “all school-based teams operate using an equity lens.”

“What exactly are you asking teachers and staff to do?” Liston asked.

Angela Harris, an MPS teacher and chairwoman of the Black Educators Caucus, also called on the district to be more specific. She wants it to name the problems the guidebook is trying to solve, so the district can confront issues directly.

For example, the latest plan does not mention MPS’ settlement with the Department of Education’s Office of Civil Rights in 2018 that said the district disproportionately suspends Black male students.

The plan, however, does set goals for the maximum percentage of suspensions and behavior referrals for Black male students.

“How can we assist Black boys who are suspended more than anyone else in our district?” Harris asked. “Those are the kinds of questions we should be asking in this guidebook.”

Patricia Ellis, interim director of equity, access and inclusion for MPS, stressed last week that the guidebook is not set in stone.

“This is a living document,” Ellis said. “This guidebook will be updated to reflect changing needs and events.”

The guidebook also contains over 100 pages of resources for staff and students to guide their conversations around equity or implementation of future curricula. 

These resources include anti-bias self-checks as well as resources for starting and maintaining meaningful dialogue about race and gender.

The district has set a deadline to implement the equity plan by the end of the 2023-’24 school year.

Share this...
Share on Facebook
Facebook
Pin on Pinterest
Pinterest
Tweet about this on Twitter
Twitter
Share on LinkedIn
Linkedin

Filed Under: Carousel, Education, Home, Neighborhoods, News

About Sam Woods

Facebook | More stories from Sam

Sam Woods is a staff reporter primarily covering education in Milwaukee. When not reporting for NNS, Sam produces the Bridge the City podcast, a podcast that brings together people, resources, and ideas that inspire Milwaukee to action, with a reach of over 6,000 monthly subscribers across all podcast platforms.

Comments

  1. Steve Baldwin says

    August 6, 2020 at 7:34 am

    For the record, over 80% the MPS enrollment are students of color. This leads to the question of whether the engagement problems are about color or about engagement in general. Nearly 81% of MPS students are economically disadvantaged, and this may be more relevant than color.

    I agree that more teachers of color are needed, and I agree that a wider cultural awareness and inclusiveness is needed in our society as a whole. However, I wonder if focusing exclusively on these issues may be distracting MPS from broader educational fundamentals.

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Advertisement

Recent News

OPINION: An open letter to the police chief: Surveillance and profiling are the not the building blocks for police reform

Post from Community: Looking for a job? Here are some opportunities.

5 things to know and do this week in Milwaukee: Feb. 6 to Feb. 10

Advertisement
Give today to support our mission. Donate to Milwaukee NNS.
Advertisement

News

  • Arts and Recreation
  • Economic Development
  • Education
  • Health and Wellness
  • Housing
  • Public Safety
  • NNS Spotlight
  • Special Reports

Engage with us

  • Posts from Community
  • Community Voices
  • Submit a Story

About NNS

  • Milwaukee NNS Staff
  • Partners
  • News414
  • The neighborhoods we cover
  • Careers
  • Terms of use
  • Advertise

Connect with us

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Instagram
  • YouTube
  • LinkedIn
  • RSS feed

Communities

Contact

mailing address
Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Diederich College of Communication
Marquette University
1131 W. Wisconsin Ave.
Johnston Hall 430
Milwaukee, WI 53233

email
info@milwaukeenns.org

phone & fax
PHONE: 414.604.6397 FAX: 414.288.6494


Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service is a project of Diederich College of Communication and Marquette University.
© 2020 Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service. Terms of use.
1131 W. Wisconsin Ave., Milwaukee WI 53233 • info@milwaukeenns.org

Copyright © 2023 · News Pro Theme on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in