"ACT Scores 'Phenomenal'" News and Views, September 1998 Wisconsin’s top ranking on a major college entrance exam is more proof that the state’s public schools are on the right track, according to WEAC President Terry Craney. “Wisconsin moved up from a tie for first place on the ACT assessment to sole possession of first place," Craney said. "This year’s scores were the highest ever for Wisconsin. We topped Iowa and Minnesota, who were tied for second place.” Wisconsin’s average composite score was 22.3, up two-tenths of a point from last year, and 1.3 points higher than the national average of 21.0. Sixty-four percent of Wisconsin’s high school graduates took the exam. The ranking includes only states in which 25% or more of the students took the ACT. “Our public schools, teachers, support staff, administrators and parents deserve a pat on the back for keeping schools successful in spite of state-imposed restrictions on school districts,” Craney said. “We fear Wisconsin public schools’ top ranking will begin to slip as the effects of revenue controls worsen. School districts are already being forced to increase class size, delay building maintenance, reduce programs and services, and defer or reduce technology.” “So far, districts have been able to maintain a top quality of education in spite of revenue controls, but they are fast running out of places to make cuts that do not harm programs and the children they serve.” State Superintendent John Benson said this year’s ACT results were “phenomenal.” “The achievement of Wisconsin’s 1997 high school graduates on this national examination again shows the strength of education in this state and especially highlights that Wisconsin’s college preparatory curriculum is solid,” Benson said. Benson noted that about 62% of the students who took the ACT study the college preparatory core curriculum. That curriculum consists of four or more years of English and three or more years each of mathematics, science, and social studies. Those studying the core curriculum scored, on average, 1.9 points higher than students who didn’t.

SAGE was just one of many victories WEAC was able to achieve in the face of great opposition in the 1990s. The successful effort to make changes in rules governing teacher preparation and licensure in Wisconsin is a reflection of the national movement to strengthen the teaching profession, but would not have come about without WEAC’s advocacy and activism. WEAC was aggressive in its support for the new licensure rules, working closely with the DPI and legislators to formulate a strategy to guide existing teacher preparation, establish 10 teacher standards that define competent teachers, establish competency-based teacher preparation and licensure, guide the development of alternative preparation programs, determine the acceptability of out-of-state certification for Wisconsin licensing, and serve as career-long guidelines for teacher evaluation, license renewal, and professional development. The new licensure rules are based on sound research and provide a strong platform from which to combat anti-teacher and anti-public education alternative licensure schemes.

The Vincent v. Voight school finance case undertaken by WEAC’s attorneys resulted in a Wisconsin Supreme Court decision in 2000 establishing one of the highest standards in the nation for a child’s right to a sound, basic education; one that will, in the words of the Supreme Court justices, “equip [them] for their roles as citizens and enable them to succeed economically and personally.”

And WEAC’s team of attorneys continued throughout the 1990s to defend teachers who were unjustly fired or non-renewed. In Epstein v. Benson (2000), the court’s ruling chastised the Department of Public Instruction for “unconscionable” delays and the denial of due process to a teacher, ordering the immediate reinstatement of her teaching license.

By decreasing class sizes, SAGE allows Wisconsin's youngest students more one-on-one contact with great teachers.

WEAC formed the Professional Development Academy (PDA) in 1991 and developed it throughout the 1990s as a vital force in the continued improvement of the teaching profession in Wisconsin. The PDA is a 501c.3 nonprofit corporation supported by WEAC and housed in the Teaching and Learning campus to serve as a catalyst for promoting and delivering quality, meaningful staff development to members and school districts throughout Wisconsin. To accomplish this, the PDA works collaboratively within WEAC and with other agencies, associations and institutions. The Academy is staffed by a director and a secretary, and supported by a Board of Directors made up of elected WEAC members. Activities of the Academy include staff development programs, the ESP Certificate Program, the Professional Development Certificate program, substitute teacher training, and labor studies classes.

WEAC also continued the fight on behalf of retirees for improvements in retirement benefits for public employees. In 1999, after a long process and high stakes negotiations, WEAC helped pass a major pension improvement bill that provided a substantial 10% increase in initial pension calculations and made various other improvements in the Wisconsin Retirement System. WEAC members contacted their legislators and the governor by e-mail, letter, and telephone, and in the end the bill was signed into law.

In part because of WEAC’s many victories throughout the years—and especially its success in the face of adversity during the 1990’s—the union was in a prime position to seize the moment at the end of the century and launch an initiative that would build on its recent success and establish a new direction for the union at the beginning of the new millennium: Great Schools.

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