Post 1 in weekly series. I promised recently that I would begin a new, weekly feature. This is the first installment in fulfillment of that promise: a weekly education post. These are not easy times for education. Perhaps the truest statement is that there are no easy times: school can be difficult even in comfortable…
Education
City, Culture, Education, Local Government, Politics
The Desiccator
by JOHN ADAMS •
Over at National Review, conservative Peter Spiliakos writes in reply to conservative Washington Post blogger Jennifer Rubin on Scott Walker’s campaign. (Rubin thinks Walker has gone too far to the right, but Spiliakos thinks that Walker – and many Republicans leaders – have lost touch with huge parts of their own electorate.) For Rubin the matter…
Education, School District
Whitewater’s ACT Scores
by JOHN ADAMS •
Yesterday, I posted on the below-average ACT participation rate for Whitewater. As with last year, the Whitewater Schools want to tout a high average ACT score, but only while concealing a low participation rate. See, Whitewater’s ACT Participation Rate Near the Bottom of Area Schools. A few remarks on the latest results. Competency on the…
Education, School District
Whitewater’s ACT Participation Rate Near the Bottom of Area Schools
by JOHN ADAMS •
The latest ACT scores for area schools are out, and when one looks at the data with care, one sees that Whitewater yet again lags area schools in the proportion of students taking that test. Relying only on the scores, without thought to the participation level, would be a superficial gloss on a result that deserves…
Education, School District
The Whitewater Schools’ Near Future
by JOHN ADAMS •
Look out a few years (the next three to five, let’s say), and the Whitewater Unified School District has difficult prospects. Beyond that conditions may get better, but getting better may simply mean recapturing lost ground rather than net gains from today’s circumstances. The district faces perpetual, structural deficits, made somewhat less difficult only through…
Education, Elections, School District
On School Board Candidate Jim Stewart
by JOHN ADAMS •
Jim Stewart, as you may have read from his own news site the Whitewater Banner, is running for school board. He last sat on that board about ten years ago, and for twenty-odd years before that. More recently, he was a member of Whitewater’s Common Council. His candidacy in 2015 is a puzzle, three times…
Education, Elections, School District
On School Board Candidate Dan McCrea
by JOHN ADAMS •
One may say a few things with confidence. First, those who have followed Whitewater’s schools & politics know Dan McCrea. He’s a member of the school board now, and is seeking re-election. Second, I’m not typically predisposed toward incumbents. Third, and this matters to me more than either of the preceding: Dan McCrea’s experience, ability,…
Education, Elections, Politics, School District
On School Board Candidate Kelly Davis
by JOHN ADAMS •
Whitewater invites people to choose the city, to live here, and to commit to our community’s civic life. We offer our way of life to others, hoping that they will join us in the improvement of our schools, public institutions, and neighborhoods. Into our small city now comes a talented and educated woman who seeks…
Education, Government Spending, Libertarians, Liberty, Public Relations, School District
On the Whitewater Schools
by JOHN ADAMS •
Today is the first of a series of posts about the upcoming, contested WUSD board elections. Three candidates are running for two seats: Kelly Davis, Dan McCrea, and Jim Stewart. In today’s post, I’ll summarize some of my own views. (I’ve been direct these last several years; it makes sense to state one’s convictions plainly,…
Education, Elections, School District
The Whitewater School Board Candidates
by JOHN ADAMS •
In a community that sees too few contested races, in a time when educational policy is under debate across Wisconsin, the Whitewater Schools have three candidates contesting two open school board seats. I’ve been following this election (as longtime readers would expect), and I’ll post about all three candidates – Kelly Davis, Dan McCrea, and…
Assault Awareness & Prevention, City, Culture, Education, Elections, Law, Local Government, Politics, School District, University, Waste Digesters
Policy Topics for the Spring
by JOHN ADAMS •
In October 2014, I wrote about Four Public Topics for the Fall. They seemed to be the city’s prominent public policy questions, looking ahead from 10.20.14. Those topics were (1) the 2015 City of Whitewater budget, (2) Whitewater Schools referendum, (3) UW-Whitewater’s social relations, and the (4) City of Whitewater’s waste digester proposal. Now, as…
Education, Gov. Walker, Government Spending, Presidential race 2016, University
Gov. Walker, In-State and Out-of-State
by JOHN ADAMS •
Two posts about Gov. Walker this week, one on how he’s come to propose a budget with so many education cuts, and the other on his considerable fundraising potential as a national candidate, are especially informative. Over at Urban Milwaukee, Bruce Murphy write about Waker’s budget proposal, in Why Walker Had to Cut UW Funding:…
Corporate Welfare, Education, Gov. Walker, Government Spending, Innovation Center/Tech Park, Labor, Liberty, Local Government, School District, University, WEDC, Wisconsin
Education: Substance & Spending
by JOHN ADAMS •
Following comments to yesterday’s post on proposed cuts to the UW System schools (Caution arrives late, doesn’t recognize its surroundings), here are nine quick comments about education. 1. Act 10 as a budgetary tool. This centrally-planned idea didn’t work. Reductions in public-union bargaining powers in exchange for the ‘tools’ to balance school and other public…