Rising To The Challenge Of Great Schools

In difficult economic times with jobs leaving Wisconsin, families out of work, and governments struggling with huge budget deficits, our challenge is to maintain our commitment to providing the support, the tools, and the environment that our communities need to fulfill the promise of great schools. It would be easy to conserve resources by turning our backs on public schools and ignoring the evolving needs of our students, but walking away from our commitment to great schools in Wisconsin would be disastrous. We must rise to meet this challenge.

Technology brings new challenges as well. The fast-forward pace of technological innovation has been exciting and rewarding, but it means that education must keep up with that pace. Computers in classrooms and multimedia centers are no longer luxuries; they are necessities for helping students prepare for the future. In the coming decades—and even now to some extent—a student who cannot comfortably use these high-tech tools will be functionally illiterate in the same way as someone who cannot read a book. If we want to prepare our children for tomorrow’s jobs, we must provide them with tomorrow’s essential skills.

As important as computers and new technologies are, other traditional factors remain just as essential to our students’ success: smaller class size, which helps teachers give our students the individual attention necessary to meet their individual needs; safer schools and better classroom discipline, so disruptive students do not interfere with our kids’ ability to learn; and professional, well-trained teachers who are prepared to help our kids reach their full potential. Currently, under strict new federal standards, 98.6 percent of Wisconsin’s teachers rate as “highly qualified”—the highest percentage in the nation! However, maintaining the excellence of our teachers in Wisconsin will require commitment, and obtaining adequate resources to meet some of these basic needs remains a real challenge.

Even with all our progress and positive results, some interest groups still work to cut school funding and erode public support for our great schools. Harmful state interference in community education decisions squeezes local school budgets tighter and tighter every year, forcing too many schools to make drastic budget cuts. As a result, students wait in line for access to computers, building maintenance suffers, and teachers struggle to provide one-on-one attention in overcrowded classrooms. Students’ overall education suffers from fewer choice offerings.

Despite these challenges, we are buoyed by the overwhelming endorsement of Wisconsin citizens. In a recent statewide survey, 98 percent of respondents affirmed the need for a strong, successful public school system.

However, our first responsibility is to stay engaged in the efforts of public schools in our communities and throughout our state. We have to make sure that we are aware of the needs and challenges that our schools face, and we must celebrate their achievements and recognize their success. We also must remain vigilant for threats to great schools in Wisconsin and stand united against those who would compromise their quality.

We are fortunate to have many great schools today; and we are also fortunate to have the kind of public support—and the remarkable dedication of thousands of caring teachers, education support staff, and devoted parents and their communities—that can guarantee that we have great schools for many years to come.

Wisconsin's technical colleges

Wisconsin’s technical colleges are a critical part of Wisconsin’s system of great schools. Technical colleges represent the backbone of our state’s economy. They provide opportunities for hundreds of thousands of state residents to realize their full potential through training for new jobs and re-training for career advancement. And they truly benefit everyone throughout Wisconsin.

Graduates of Wisconsin’s technical colleges are our neighbors, co workers, and friends. They are nurses, foresters, salespeople, business executives, truck drivers, childcare workers, and others who have used a Wisconsin technical college to improve their lives.

And they are the mothers with young children who have used their technical college education to leave the welfare rolls and become productive participants in the economy. And the benefits of Wisconsin’s technical colleges extend far beyond the students who move through the system to improve their own lives. These schools are a wise investment for all taxpayers. For every tax dollar invested in Wisconsin’s technical colleges, system graduates generate more than $2 in new tax revenue, an extraordinary 100 percent return on our investment.

In addition, Wisconsin’s technical colleges fuel economic development throughout the state. They provide an educated and highly skilled labor force immediately ready to contribute in the workplace. In fact, more than 95 percent of all technical college graduates find jobs within six months of graduation. They are productive employees who stay in Wisconsin, contributing to their communities and helping to build strong local economies.

Indeed, Wisconsin’s technical colleges benefit the students who attend them, and they benefit the rest of us as well.

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Posted June 15, 2004