Green Bay Reporter

Rep. Mike Gallagher (R-WI) today released the following statement on the situation within the Green Bay Area Public School District. 

“The situation unfolding within the Green Bay Area Public School District highlights a bigger concern: Wisconsin’s education system is in crisis. Despite schools receiving billions of dollars in pandemic relief, our kids (who lost years of learning due to unscientific school closures) are falling further behind. Business as usual will not work. We need bold reform to revitalize Wisconsin as an educational superpower, including (1) returning to science-backed methods of teaching reading; (2) realigning incentives to keep excellent teachers in the classroom; (3) modernizing the education bureaucracy to make choice work; (4) funding students fairly; and (5) creating 529 savings accounts for blue-collar apprenticeships, in partnership with our awesome technical colleges. Parents deserve answers not just on the specifics of this plan for school closures, but also on the broader plan to prevent the continued erosion of our educational system."

In 2021, Gallagher published "Wisconsin 2030: The Education Path to Prosperity Within the Decade", a report that outlined key reforms that Wisconsin and other states can take to combat decades of declining test scores and restore the promise of our educational system.

The paper proposes a number of ideas across four categories, including:

• Transforming the classroom by bringing back phonics-based reading instruction, getting high-quality teachers into the profession, and helping these teachers mentor the next generation of educators.
• Expanding choice, in both rural and urban areas, by funding students fairly and making better investments in rural broadband.
• Modernizing school bureaucracy by creating easy-to-use information systems on schools, moving school board elections to increase participation, and making the State Superintendent a Governor-appointed position
• Promoting working-class college by encouraging "Guided Pathway" reforms at technical colleges, creating more flexible technical college programs and funding mechanisms, and allowing 529-style accounts to cover apprenticeship expenses, not just college costs.

You can read the full report HERE.

Issues: Education

Original source can be found here.