My name is Alex Klaus, and I’m the Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service’s new education solutions reporter and a Report for America corps member.
Solutions to problems in education have been on my mind for a long time.
I grew up in South Lyon, a quickly developing Detroit suburb. Though my school district was highly rated, we didn’t receive as much funding as nearby schools. I felt those impacts while trying to navigate the special education system.
I had an undiagnosed disability and the already under-resourced special education system could not provide me with the support I needed. I’m naturally curious and love learning, but I hated school and couldn’t wait to leave by the time I graduated. I thought I wasn’t capable of being a good student when really I just needed accommodations for my disability.
Making the educational system better
I spent a lot of time as a student thinking about how to make things better.
How could schools ensure no more students with undiagnosed disabilities fall through the cracks?
How can we equip special education programs to meet the diverse needs of students with disabilities?
Most importantly, how can we help students leave school with a love for learning?
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I moved from South Lyon to Detroit in 2022 to pursue a degree in urban studies and public history at Wayne State University. As my degree suggests, I’m a big urban planning and history nerd.
I discovered my love for local government while covering city meetings for Detroit Documenters. I reported on a wide variety of city agencies like the City Council, Board of Police Commissioners, school board, planning department, and more.
Last summer, I got my start in education reporting as a summer intern at Chalkbeat Detroit.
Detroit’s school district has a bad reputation for low test scores, public safety issues, chronic absenteeism and more. The challenges are largely associated with the district’s complex history including divestment caused by white flight and segregation, then being taken over by state emergency management and forced to close dozens of neighborhood schools.
I loved Chalkbeat because I was not just tasked with putting another spotlight on these already evident issues, I wrote about what the district was doing to ensure student success as it recovered.
What does ‘education solutions’ mean? Plus, what I’m looking for from you!
Now that I’m in Milwaukee, I’m talking to folks and already understanding that local schools and school systems have both a multitude of challenges and potential for growth.
Detroit shares many educational struggles with Milwaukee. Seeing Detroit pilot innovative solutions to persistent problems taught me that it is possible for other districts to try innovative things, even if they’ve faced enormous financial and leadership challenges.
As a new superintendent begins her tenure as the leader of the troubled Milwaukee Public Schools system, and charter and other schools also face challenges, it’s a more important time than ever to bring a spotlight to tangible solutions.
So tell me: What problems do you see in our local education system? What solutions do you want to see? What solutions are working and which aren’t having the impact that they’re supposed to?
Let me know your thoughts, or any other Milwaukee-area recommendations you have for a city newbie (bonus if it’s a yummy restaurant). My email is aklaus@milwaukeenns.org.
I’m so excited to serve you as an NNS reporter and Report forAmerica corps member!
Alex Klaus is the education solutions reporter for the Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service and a corps member of Report for America, a national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on under-covered issues and communities. Report for America plays no role in editorial decisions in the NNS newsroom.
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