Posted on Friday, 20th March 2009 by Patrick Dorwin
It is time for a change in Wisconsin’s failing educational system, and even the Wisconsin State Journal agrees…
Wisconsin voters have a clear choice in the April 7 race for state superintendent of the Department of Public Instruction.
The race features a consummate and careful insider, Tony Evers, versus a spirited and straightforward outsider, Rose Fernandez.
The State Journal endorses Fernandez.
And they conclude:
Evers is smart and experienced, having worked as a teacher, school administrator and, for the last eight years, as the No. 2 official at the state Department of Public Instruction.
But as DPI chief, he’d be a spokesman for the status quo. His agenda is timid and vague, compared to Fernandez’s. Evers also goes out of his way not to offend the mighty teachers union, which is sure to spend big bucks on behalf of his campaign in the coming weeks.
Fernandez is not a lifelong and well-connected educator. But she has clearly done her homework and is mounting an impressive grassroots campaign. Her experience as a pediatric nurse who managed an emergency trauma unit for children gives her strong leadership skills and a passion for helping kids.
“Lives are on the line in the classroom,” she told the State Journal editorial board this week.
She’s right. Wisconsin has too many dropouts with little hope for a bright future. Wisconsin offers too few approaches to reach children who may learn best in different ways. Wisconsin needs a strong advocate for early education and aggressive attention to Milwaukee public schools.
Fernandez deserves a chance to push for positive change.
I agree! It’s time to Change DPI!
Posted in Home | Comments (2) |
2 Responses to “Time for a change in Wisconsin’s educational bureaucracy”
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.
March 20th, 2009 at 6:29 am
I’m stunned, absolutely stunned. This is the “conservative” newspaper in Madison isn’t it (that’s if Madison can actually have a conservative voice). As a parent who participated in multiple methods of schooling, I always intended to vote for Rose. I had child in public school thru 3rd grade, in private christian school grade 4-6, home schooled grade 7-8, private lutheran high 9-12.
March 24th, 2009 at 1:23 pm
Does “Change We Can Believe In” extend to Wisconsin’s educational system?
Tony Evers is the status quo candidate backed by one of the biggest special interests in this State…WEAC. Rose Fernandez is the underdog who made a strong showing in the primary. The status quo may be fine for many Wisconsin districts…but in those which are struggling, how can a reasonable person argue against a fresh approach?
WEAC’s primary concern is for its membership, not the success of our students. They would have you believe those two concerns go hand in hand, but that’s not always true. That’s not to say the interests always counter each other or are mutually-exclusive, but greater expenditures do not always translate into better school performance. Actually, they desperately need people to believe teacher’s self-interests go hand-in-hand with students’ educational interests…any proposed compensation or staffing cutbacks can be spun as a direct assault our children.
We’ve seen vocal career educators throwing in the towel, saying If you want to fix MPS - financially or academically - fix Milwaukee first…as if societal ills run independently from its institutions. Mr. Bullock’s statement is a powerful one, the impact of which is to say our professional educators have shifted into a “let’s just get through this” mentality. Teachers are convinced the problem is bigger than they can handle…that translates to WEAC merely fighting for greater employment and ever growing wage/benefit packages.
The rest of us need to see this as a call to arms!! The status quo needs be shaken up. A majority of Americans voted for Change back in November 2008. Did that majority just vote for a slogan, or did they vote for something they believe in?
Rose Fernandez will provide fresh thinking to a system that is stuck in a rut for many Wisconsin students.