At a time when Milwaukee schools face issues of declining enrollment and low academic proficiency among students, representatives from area schools and businesses look for greater cooperation.
As part of BizTimes Media’s Milwaukee Education Spotlight event on Thursday at the Italian Community Center, business and school leaders convened to discuss education in Milwaukee and the business community’s involvement.
The event began with a keynote conversation with Tim Gerend, chief executive officer of Northwestern Mutual.
The event then shifted to an overview of Milwaukee student performance from Colleston Morgan Jr., executive director of City Forward Collective.
JoAnne Anton, president and CEO of Herb Kohl Philanthropies, moderated a panel discussion that included Hans Dawson, owner and president of Lannon Stone and board member of St. Augustine Preparatory Academy; Syneathia LaGrant, vice president and global head of talent management and capabilities at ManpowerGroup; Aaron Lippman, CEO of Carmen Schools of Science and Technology; and Mike Roemer, principal of Reagan IB High School.
“Certainly it’s a challenging environment to be attracting great teachers, growing and keeping great teachers in other environments, but I think that just speaks to why the collective efforts … are so important,” said Gerend, who is also a board member of Milwaukee College Prep.
A challenging academic landscape
Morgan provided data that reflected the challenging academic reality of Milwaukee schools, regardless of whether it’s Milwaukee Public Schools, public charter schools or private schools. Fewer than 10% of Milwaukee students met the NAEP’s proficiency benchmark. NAEP is also known as the Nation’s Report Card.
“The conversation we need to have as a city is, how do we, on a citywide basis, address student achievement outcomes and ensure more kids have access to more high quality schools in every sector, in every area?” Morgan said.
Morgan also called for those in attendance to support Brenda Cassellius, who was recently selected to serve as the next MPS superintendent.
“The challenges our students face are not just about MPS,” Morgan said. “It’s neither the sole cause, nor can MPS alone be the solution. Nearly half of our city’s kids are outside of MPS, and they too are in crisis.”
At the end of the event’s panel discussion, Dawson said that Milwaukee’s low performing schools should be closed.
“Imagine an economic system where no matter how awful a business was run, no matter how awful their products were, how unsafe they were, they were never allowed to go out of business, and you just plop their full revenue on their doorstep at the start of the year, just how our economy would function,” Dawson said. “Why is it that we let a school who has zero (students) at grade level (and) we just plop the same amount of money on the front door at the start of every year? That is unethical and it needs to stop.”
‘We need our kids to see that you believe in them’
Roemer, who said he treats Reagan High School like a Fortune 500 company, asked for more support from businesses looking for talent.
“We have talent, MPS across the board and at my school, that right now you would want to hire in a heartbeat, no doubt about it,” Roemer said. “And it’s challenging. We don’t have those type of connections where those kids can just go. They’re ready, but there’s not a lot of knocking on that door. If you are that person, knock on my door. I’m willing to answer. I’ll set you up with kids that’ll help your company, no doubt.”
Lippman, who leads a network of public charter schools that’s looking to secure its future on Milwaukee’s south side with a $55 million high school project, also encouraged business representatives to knock on his door and help Carmen students find their paths. Business and community leaders leaning more into schools can help students see their potential, Lippman said.
“We need our kids to see that you believe in them, that you can show them who they can become,” Lippman said. “I was fortunate to be born into a family that cared deeply about education, and my choice was only going to college, and people around me went to college. That’s all I knew. So many of our kids don’t have that good fortune, and so they need people around them to help them see what they are capable of.”
Exposing more students to businesses, such as through visits, can be a powerful tool to in turn help young people in Milwaukee get excited about their education, Dawson said.
“We tour about 1,000 kids a year through our company, and when they come into our business, their eyes just bug out of their head,” Dawson said. “Getting exposure to what we do makes education relevant. We see that if we can tie something exciting, a cool future (to) something you’re learning at school, and that’s the path to get that exciting future, you can actually then motivate kids, and now all of a sudden they’re more interested in reading and all that stuff.”
For businesses to accept interns through organizations like All-In Milwaukee, that can provide similar exposure for young people, while also allowing room for application of learning. All-In Milwaukee is a nonprofit organization that provides advising, financial aid and career-focused support to help students finish college and begin careers. LaGrant said she recently had three All-In Milwaukee interns at ManpowerGroup.
“It was an opportunity for us to show them that here in Milwaukee, I work for a great big global company, and there are so many more opportunities out there for you, and you don’t have to leave Milwaukee in order to have a really great, successful career,” LaGrant said. “And so it is exposure. It is showing them the what ifs but it’s also the practical application.”
LaGrant encouraged educators, schools and businesses to “partner together in collaboration” to evolve education.
“We need to think differently about how we’re teaching,” LaGrant said. “We need to make it practical application. We need to teach problem solving skills. We need to teach critical thinking skills. We need to show us how to show up. Because even in your business, you don’t know everything, you are figuring that out every single day. You’re collaborating with one another. You’re constantly learning. We have to teach our young people how to do just that.”
