Author Archives: Thomas J. Mertz

by | February 20, 2011 · 3:21 pm

The Other Shoe, or Will You Be Marching in March?


There is so much good stuff out there on what has been happening in Madison and around the state this week that I really don’t have too much to add.  I will point toward the CAST Statement I helped draft, Rep Mark Pocan’s “Scott Walker’s Top Ten Lies” for a good fact check and Alder Brian Solomon’s  “Madison, WI: A Prelude for Economic Justice” for some questions and context.  I’ve been energized and filled with hope by the the rallies and protests this week, but like Brian I have concerns about the limits of the agenda being put forward.

That is why I want to try to focus attention on what comes next, the other shoe waiting to drop, Governor Walker’s Biennial Budget.  It is going to be a giant shoe and we need to be ready to catch it and throw that one back too.

Throughout this, Walker has made it clear that the so-called Budget Repair bill is only a prelude to the Biennial Budget.  The GOP talking points have been that destroying public worker unions is a way to give local governmental units (counties, municipalities and school districts)  the tools to deal with the budget cuts that radical slashes to state aid, shared revenue and unprecedented limits on local control of revenues — all anticipated in the Biennial Budget —  will bring.

I’d be remiss if I didn’t point out that the way to actually help local governmental units and the people of Wisconsin is to provide sufficient revenues.  For more, see the Institute for Wisconsin’s Future/Wisconsin Council on Children and Families Catalog of Tax Reform Options for Wisconsin and of course Penny for Kids.

Scott Walker and the GOP don’t want you to know what is in the budget bill, they especially don’t want this information out there while the people are in control of the Capitol and paying attention.  So, instead of releasing the Budget on Tuesday February 22 as scheduled, they have moved it to March 1.  Whether in the Capitol or elsewhere, we all need to be paying attention and we all need to mobilize on this too.

There have been some hints and leaks about what will be in the Budget and it ain’t good.

What do we know from all this?

  • Anticipated $900 Million in cuts to State School Aids.
  • Unstated, but large cuts to shared revenue
  • Talk of a hard cap in property tax increases equal only to growth in property wealth (se the video above),  taking away the ability of local governing units to mitigate the cuts in state aid.
  • Rumors of new refusals of federal aid, including Title I, a longstanding program targeted at the education of children in poverty.
  • Hard times ahead for Counties, Municipalities and School Districts and all those who depend on them for services.

Geez — Title I.  This is beyond insane.  For me this is the straw that breaks the camel’s back.  Everything else  — tax cuts, aid cuts, revenue limits, union busting…– is maddening and insane, but refusing Title I is so stupid and so offensive that as Marvin Gaye said “It makes me wanna Holler, ” and scream and organize.

AND ORGANIZE!

I know I’ll be marching in March and probably April, May and beyond (even though I should be campaigning for the District 13 seat on the Madison Common Council instead).

Who else will be organizing and marching isn’t clear at this point,  but I’d guess if you contact/join the Wisconsin Alliance for Excellent Schools, The Institute for Wisconsin’s Future, Progressive Dane, The Wisconsin Wave,  Madison Area Urban Ministry, and the Wisconsin Council on Children and Families, you’ll be in the loop and know when to lace up your marching boots.

Save the date.

Thomas J.  (TJ) Mertz

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Filed under "education finance", Best Practices, Budget, education, finance, Gimme Some Truth, Local News, Pennies for Kids, Take Action, Uncategorized, We Are Not Alone

by | February 14, 2011 · 11:07 pm

Primary Election — Vote (For Me)

For more information, click the image.

Voting information can be found at the City Clerk’s site

Learn more about all the races and candidates via the League of Women Voters.

For those in District 13,  Madison, some things on the election where I am a candidate for Common Council.

Video from the Bay Creek Forum District 13 Forum is up on YouTube .  I want to thank the organizers and participants for a great exercise in democracy.  Here is one excerpt:

Capital Times, Laptop City Hall overview(very well done).

The candidates answers from Forward Lookout are here .

The Wisconsin Sate Journal overview and answers are here .

Capital Times guest columns are here .

Because of the current attacks on public workers and unions, I’d also like to use this opportunity to encourage all to work to defeat Governor Walker’s proposal.  More information here (linked).

Last, some quotes about voting I put on my campaign literature,  and a couple of songs.

Nobody will ever deprive the American people of the  right to vote except the American people themselves — and the only way they could do this is by not voting. — Franklin D. Roosevelt

Suffrage is the pivotal right. — Susan B. Anthony
Voting is a civic sacrament. — Theodore M. Hesburgh

Chis Stamey and Yo la Tengo, “Vote” (click to listen or download).

Chick Webb Orchestra with Ella Fitzgerald, “Vote for Mister Rhythm” (click to listen or download).

Thomas J. (TJ) Mertz

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by | January 17, 2011 · 11:01 am

Quotes of the — Martin Luther King Jr. — Day

“It is precisely because education is the road to equality and citizenship, that it has been made more elusive for Negroes than many other rights. The walling off of Negroes from equal education is part of the historical design to submerge him in second class status. Therefore, as Negroes have struggled to be free they have had to fight for the opportunity for a decent education.”

“The Negro has no room to make any substantial compromises because his store of advantages is too small. He must press unrelentingly for quality, integrated education or his whole drive for freedom will be undermined by the absence of a most vital and indispensable element — learning.”

“The function of education is to teach one to think intensively and to think critically… Intelligence plus character – that is the goal of true education.”

“Cowardice asks the question, ‘Is it safe?’ Expediency asks the question, ‘Is it politic?’ But conscience asks the question, ‘Is it right?’ And there comes a time when one must take a position that is neither safe, nor politic, nor popular but because conscience tells one it is right.”

Thomas J. Mertz

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by | January 9, 2011 · 9:01 pm

Changes at the High Schools a Done Deal?, An Open Letter

Photo WKOW

I’m running for Common Council and shouldn’t be spending time on this, but the issues are very important to me, so I’m doing it, but as short and sweet as I can.

The issues are the  failure of the MMSD Administration to follow basic practices of open inclusive governance and the implementation of segregative policies.

Below (and here) is an open letter drafted and signed by 18 West High parents on Friday 1/7/2010.  Understanding the letter requires some background and context.  The background  — along with the latest news and some final thoughts –follows.

Background:

On October 15 2010 hundreds of West Students protested proposed changes in our High Schools and their exclusion from the decision-making on these changes.  Subsequently, the proposal was renamed “(Dual Pathways” is in the dustbin of history) and vague statements about a more open and inclusive process were made (AMPS posts on this here, here, here and here).

After a contentious parent meeting at West on these proposals, a group of parents who wanted to have some say in the reforms  began meeting and emailing.  It is important to note that the views of this group on the various aspect of the reforms are diverse, but all wanted to be part of an open process (I strongly favor some aspects and oppose others, see the links to AMPS posts above).  Only some members of this group signed the letter.

Last Thursday these matters appeared on the Board of Education agenda for the first time.  It was a workshop meeting — no public testimony —  and nothing was slated for action.   Not all supporting  materials were linked to that agenda.  I’m not going to do a blow-by-blow of the meeting.

The important development was that it was revealed that the changes in high school structures for English and Social Studies at West and Memorial — the changes the prompted the protest (uploaded here, I don’t believe this document has ever been posted by MMSD) would appear in the handbooks for 2011-12 that had to go to the printer on Tuesday January 11.  Remember, this information was not public prior to the meeting and there was no way for the Board to act on it.  This is what prompted the letter.

At the meeting some Board Members suggested delaying the implementation.  Since the meeting there has been communication between Board Members and between Board Members  and the Administration (note: I said “between” not “among,” which would be a clear violation of open meetings statutes).

Latest News:

I have been informed that the result of this “process” is that  the planned changes, the segrative changes,  will appear in the course catalog that is sent to the printer on Tuesday.

Final Thoughts:

This is no way to run a school district and it is certainly no way to institute a reform that to be successful requires the confidence and support of parents, students and teachers.   If you don’t like this, let the Board and Supt Dan Nerad know (board@madison.k12.wi.us; dnerad@madison.k12.wi.us).

In conclusion, I want to reiterate that I support much of the reform package and believe in the sincerity of the motives of those behind it.

Thomas J. Mertz

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by | January 3, 2011 · 3:00 pm

Off and Running, for District 13 Common Council

For more information, click the image.

It is official, the last of the paperwork is filed and on February 15 the voters of the 13th Common Council District in Madison Wisconsin will see my name on on the ballot (as TJ Mertz).  Exciting and scary.

I’ve spent the last few years working primarily on education issues. Municipal issues will be a change, but not that big of a change.  My activism in education has been about addressing inequalities, providing opportunities, enhancing democratic participation and promoting good governance and smart budgeting.  These are exactly the things I want to do on the Common Council.

I also want AMPS readers to know that I’m not  leaving education behind.

The city is directly involved in education through libraries, early childhood programs and neighborhood centers.  I want to be part of supporting and improving these efforts.    I also recognize that schools alone are not sufficient (see the Broader, Bolder statement).  Children’s abilities to take advantage of  educational opportunities are impacted by issues of housing, employment, policing, health care and much more.  As an Alder, I’ll make these connections and work for policies and economic development to help all our children.

I will continue to serve on the Board of the Wisconsin Alliance for Excellent Schools and advocate for adequate educational investments throughout Wisconsin.

Regular readers of AMPS will have noticed that there has been little or no activity the past months.  The race for Alder is the big reason why.   It is my intention to continue with AMPS, but I could use some help.  If you’d like to write for AMPS, drop me  a line or leave a comment.

I could also use some help with the Alder race.  You can volunteer or donate by clicking these links.

Thomas J. Mertz

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by | November 8, 2010 · 11:45 am

Community Conversation on Education, November 9th, 2010

Sonny Boy Williamson “Don’t Start Me Talkin'” (click to listen or download)

[Note, no “On the Agenda” post this week, you can access the agendas here.]

I’ll be attending the November 9th Community Conversation on Education sponsored by the Madison Metropolitan School District, the United Way, UW-Madison School of Education, MTI and the Urban League.   I have a lot of misgivings.  To begin with, it is advertised as “sparked by “Waiting for Superman” and I have little desire to take part in anything that is “sparked” by such a dishonest endeavor (see also the Not Waiting for Superman site).  It also strikes me as yet another instance of Madison being reactive, when we should be proactive in public education.  Then there is the whole mysterioso aspect, where you sign up and then get the agenda.

Perhaps most importantly, I don’t see this leading anywhere, or at least I don’t see a plan for it to lead anywhere.  After 200-300 people talk about education, what next?  The recent local record isn’t good.  Task Forces, strategic plans, advisory groups, budget hearings all bring people in, and then they are sent away.  In many instances they are sent away with little evidence they have been listened to or had any influence (I’m thinking of the hundreds of people who testified on the budget in particular).  Community Conversations are not community involvement and the latter has been sorely neglected recently.

Genuine community involvement takes a sustained effort and requires that those giving time and energy also be given influence and power.  Maybe this is the start of that happening in Madison.  I hope so.  If it is, then I suggest that district officials check out some of the publications from the Annenberg Institute to learn about the next steps (more specifically, this series of publications).

Meanwhile, I’ll go and have my say (despite the song at the top, I won’t “tell everything I know”), listen, learn and hope.

Thomas J. Mertz

 

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by | October 29, 2010 · 5:44 pm

High School Reform — New Timeline and More

2012 Mayan Calendar

Gayle Worland Matthew DeFour in the Wisconsin Sate Journal has the story, there is a new timeline pushing implementation back to 2012-13,  an extended input process,  some backgorund, a more detailed rational and  much more for the proposed Madison Metropolitan School District High School Curricular Reforms (now apparently officially dubbed Career and College Readiness).

The new document only indirectly presents the Dual Pathways proposal (Executive Summary here), but does refer to the initial roll-out as “difficult.  It does assert (in boldface type):

Our Theory of Action, process and end goals have not changed, but how we articulate this work has become more explicit, transparent and responsive.

I don’t know how to read this.  Obviously the process has changed (if nothing else it is longer).  It is hard to know what to make of the idea that what went wrong was not the process, but that they didn’t “articulate” things in a manner that was sufficiently “explicit, transparent and responsive.”  I understand the explicit, but if transparency and responsiveness are confined to articulation, I think they’ve missed the point and are stuck in the top-down mentality that is a death sentence for any education reform.

Here is the “Theory of Action” (from the Executive Summary):

As indicated elsewhere in the new document, it appears that he ACT standards (and the EPAS), tthe AP requirements and the Common Core Standards will remain at the center of the reforms.  There are a lot of “if/thens” in this, some of which I buy and some of which are difficult to accept.  I’d like to see these all of these assertions of causality examined, but apparently that is not part of the plan.

As to the goals, you can’t argue with increased achievement for all students.

Despite my parsing here, I think there is much that is good here.  The rationale (with data) is necessary (I’d like to see data going back some years, but that may be just me).  The next steps include a variety of committees of district and school staff and despite the defensive assertion that the process hasn’t changed, these committees appear to have real potential for shaping the result.

I don’t see any direct role parents and community members except through the Parent Council and “A specially created business and community council that will meet on a quarterly basis to provide feedback.”  As I have noted before, the Parent Council is too large to be a functioning deliberative body and I’m guessing the “business and community council” will be similarly designed for one-way “articulation” not meaningful policy input (I’m not even going to get started on what is wrong with privileging “business” in this manner).

There are no committees or Councils for students with the Student Senate only mentioned in the context of the previously held forum.   Lessons not learned.

Perhaps to take care of this, the district has set up a feedback page.  Use it, to offer your thoughts.

It also needs to be noted that none of this — not the Dual Pathways, not the new timeline and process — has ever appeared on a Board of Education agenda.  Either the Board is out-of the-loop or the basic principles of open governance have been forgotten.

Here is the new timeline:

2010-2011 Including Summer: Planning Year

District-wide K-12 curricular alignment process to occur with the following results:

  • Established k-12 scope and sequence in all four core content areas.
  • Essential Understandings, knowledge and skills established K-12.
  • High School curricular alignment completed in all four core content areas with established course offerings, sequences and essential understandings, knowledge and skills.
  • Establish initial offerings for consistent accelerated courses to be offered 2011-12.
  • Establish scaffolds and supports to be provided district-wide.
  • Plan for Professional Development implementation developed for implementation 2011-12.Implement the EPAS EXPLORE Assessment with all 8th and 9th grade students.

2011-12: Readiness for Implementation

  • Comprehensive budget aligned to the plan and recommended for approval, November 2011.
  • Comprehensive professional development plan implemented for staff across all four comprehensive high schools to fully implement recommendations set forth by district committees from 2010-11.
  • Implement initial accelerated offerings across all four comprehensive high schools.
  • Finalize course offerings and descriptions for including in 2012-13 course catalogs.

Implement the EPAS EXPLORE and PLAN Assessment with all 8th, 9th and 10th grade students.

2012-13: Implementation

  • Implement consistent course offerings in all four core content areas with options for both acceleration and scaffolding and supports.

I’m going to close by pasting something I put near the top of my first post on this:

Before I delve into the mess and the proposal, I think it is important to say that despite huge and inexcusable problems with the process, many unanswered questions and some real things of concern; there are some good things in the proposal.  One part near the heart of the plan in particular is something I’ve been pushing for years:  open access to advanced classes and programs with supports. In the language of the proposal:

Pathways open to all students. Students are originally identified by Advanced Placement requirements and other suggested guidelines such as EXPLORE /PLAN scores, GPA, past MS/HS performance and MS/HS Recommendation. however, all students would be able to enroll. Students not meeting suggested guidelines but wanting to enroll would receive additional supports (tutoring, skill development classes, AVID, etc.) to ensure success. (emphasis added and I would like to see it added in the implementation).

Right now there are great and at times irrational barriers in place.  These need to go.   I hope this does not get lost as the mess is cleaned up.

I still think those basic ideas of removing barriers of access and providing sufficient supports are essential.  I fully support the extended process, more openness and responsiveness throughout the process, but would like to see those barriers come down and supports go up as soon as possible.  There is no reason to wait another year on this portion.

Thomas J.  Mertz

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by | October 25, 2010 · 7:24 am

Keep Russ Feingold in the Senate!

There are thousands of reasons to keep Russ Feingold in the Senate.  Hundreds of these have to do with him being one of the few voices of sanity who has gone against the Washington consensus on top down Education Policy based on underfunded sham accountability and “market forces.”

Read what he had to say about NCLB reauthorization (excerpt):

“NCLB has hamstrung state and local decision-making by establishing a federal accountability system that measures and punishes our students and our schools based on, among other things, annual high-stakes standardized testing,” Feingold said. “This is the wrong approach, and the groundswell of opposition to the NCLB – from parents, educators, and administrators alike – shows just how flawed it is.”

Check the rest of his positions and actions on his Education page.

Then go to his campaign site and sign on to help help re-elect Russ. If you can’t fit volunteering into your schedule, hit the phone and email and Facebook and whatever else to contact everyone you know in Wisconsin and remind them how important it is to keep Russ Feingold in the Senate.

For inspiration, here is one more commercial from 1992 (amazing how little the issues have changed).

Thomas J. Mertz

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by | October 24, 2010 · 10:04 pm

On the Agenda, MMSD the week of October 25, 2010

Note: For awhile, I’m going to be illustrating the “On the Agenda” posts with various graphs documenting achievement gaps in MMSD as revealed by the admittedly flawed and limited WSAS/WKCE results. I think regular reminders may do some good.

A busy week for the Madison Metropolitan School District, with the biggest item being the finalization of the 2010-11 budget and tax levy.  This is somewhat anti-climactic,  with most of the action coming in the Spring and only relatively minor changes now on the table.

The budget will be voted on at the 5:00 PM Monday meeting (Doyle auditorium).  I’ll be at work at that time, but there will be public appearances and it would be good to give one more reminder that people in Madison support public education and are willing to support it via increased property tax levies when the state doesn’t do its part.   Speak now or forever hold your peace.  More on the changes below.

This will be followed at 7:00 PM by the regular Board of Education meeting.

On Tuesday at Noon in Doyle rm 103, the Ad Hoc Hiring and Diversity Committee meets.  Other MMSD meetings for the week are: MMSD Wellness Committee (Tuesday, 3:00 PM, Doyle rm 103);  Common Council/Board of Education Liaison Committee (Tuesday, 5:30 PM, Doyle rm 103);  and the Madison School & Community Recreation (MSCR) Advisory Committee (Tuesday, 6:30 PM, MSCR/Hoyt building,  rm 21).  Agendas for all of the above are here.

The short version of the budget story is that MMSD will levy about $10 million less then they allowed for educational programs, at best limiting the improvements to education in Madison; at worst harming the educational opportunities of our children (there is also about $2 million in Fund 80 “underlevy).  The slightly longer version is that the Board — like Boards around the state — caught between a state budget that cut educational investments and property taxpayers who are struggling  sought a happy medium between cuts and tax levies (helped by some real savings due to efficiencies), nobody ended up happy.  The way to start changing this story and get to a happier ending is Penny for Kids.

There are many documents linked off the agenda for the budget meeting ( and more here from the report of the October 11 Operational Support Committee).  The two most enlightening are the Recommended Motions and the Budget Amendments and Tax Levy Adoption.  The first refers to the second.  Here is what it says:

Many of these changes are related to (slightly) higher than (and still inadequate) state aid.   This also resulted in some recommendations for “add backs” from the administration.  An interesting list (and note half is designated for tax relief):

Item #2 is further described as including (among other things)  “resources to address possible high school curriculum revisions.”

Other documents directly related to the budget being voted on include an Update (overview),  Salary Savings (and open enrollment offset), Budget Profile by Department, and a Technology Breakdown.

There is also an update on ARRA funds, that if I read it correctly says that 59.92% of this money (over $7 million) has not been allocated to any project!  The clock is ticking…I’m not sure why this money is not being used.  More on ARRA things in the Operations Support Committee Report.

There is also a document with options for 4K funding in 2011-12 and the following years. As expected these include EduJobs money and Fund Equity.

That’s about it for the budget.  I’m only going to highlight a limited number of things from the regular meeting that follows.

Some info on Leadership, Teacher, Parent and Staff Councils (no membership lists).  I don’t know about the rest, but with one parent from every school (selected by the Principal, so you’ll be sure to get those with  “issues”) the Parent Council is so large that it is unwieldy.

There is an update on 4K sites.

Some updates on Key Student Performance Measures (here and here).

Nothing of note on the La Follette Attendance Area Planning (there may be an oral report that tells more).

There are some items from the Ad Hoc 5 Year Budget Committee, including recommended parameters from the Administration.

On the consent agenda is a donation of $28,510 from the Reading Recovery Council of North America to support tuition, texts and travel for teacher training.

Just a once over lightly this week.  Maybe some follow ups later.

Thomas J. Mertz

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by | October 20, 2010 · 9:28 am

Quotes of the Day (and some links on “Pathways”)

Click on image for GoogleBooks page.

While debates over purposes and programs in education continue unabated, a conservationist perspective can help citizens to be more deliberate about what to preserve and what to change in their schools. It will not be easy. The work of the educational conservationist, like that of the defender of wild animals, is a challenging one. It takes energy and smarts and political savvy to preserve Mongolian gazelles or good schools.

David Tyack, “The Conservationist ethic in Education.”

Juggling the varied democratic, meritocratic, and practical purposes embedded in high schools along with intense parental aspirations for their children — all within the framework of the comprehensive high school — has produced severe strains among reformers and confusion among parents, especially since World War II. Writers have often reduced these conflicting purposes to labels of “conservative” and “progressive.” While what happens in schools is far more complex and nuanced than these labels allow, these words appeared constantly in public discussions of school reform among policy makers, media, and elected officials.

Larry Cuban ” High School Reform Again, Again, and Again: Some History Lessons” part 1, part 2, part 3.

Some deep background from two of my favorite historians of education.  Note that the “Multiple Pathways” reform mentioned in part 3 of  Cuban’s post is not the same as the Dual Pathways proposal under consideration in the Madison Metropolitan School District, but shares some inspirations and characteristics.

For more on Multiple Pathways see this from EdSource and here from NCEP,  The Multiple Perspectives on Multiple Pathways: Preparing California’s Youth for College, Career, and Civic Responsibility series, introduction and overview by Jeannie Oakes and Marisa Saunders (people who don’t like Jeannie Oaks because of her detracking work should still check this out you might be surprised at points of agreements).   Other papers in the series are linked here and here and here and in keeping with the deep background theme ” Reforming the 19th Century High School: “Weak” and “Strong” Approaches to Multiple Pathways,” by W. Norton Grubb.

Pathways seem to be the word of the moment.  I found some other “Pathway” papers at the Association for Career and Technical Education site (it isn’t clear how many of these fit under the Multiple Pathways umbrella).  These, and many of the other things I read in preparing this post remind me that — at least rhetorically — the Dual Pathways proposal is about preparing all students for college.  While that may be a noble goal and “life long education” is  a must, I think this bias toward college is unrealistic and shortchanges some very capable students whose talents and inclinations lead them down other “pathways” (the Multiple Pathways approach addresses the needs of these students).

Thomas J. Mertz

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