An independent review ordered by Gov. Tony Evers says Milwaukee Public Schools has no clear vision for teaching, gives principals and teachers too little real support and doesn’t give families a meaningful say.
The instructional review, released June 13, is the second of two reports by MGT, the consulting firm the state hired to look at the district. The first covered operations. Evers ordered both after MPS failed to submit its required annual financial audit reports to the Department of Public Instruction.
From February to May, MGT studied 78 schools, about half the district. Its team observed classrooms, interviewed teachers, principals and senior district staff, held focus groups with students, staff and families and surveyed staff and parents.
What the auditors found
The report’s central finding is blunt. “MPS lacks a clear vision and the systems necessary to activate talent and create the conditions for learning in all schools, districtwide,” it says.
The numbers back that up. Only 42% of the schools in the review met expectations on the 2023-24 state report card. In some regions of the district, average proficiency on the state Forward Exam was as low as 13% in math and 21% in English.
Teachers get little feedback. Sixty percent said their classroom is observed once a month or less, and many said they rarely receive meaningful feedback. Training run by the district is “frequently perceived as disconnected from classroom realities.” Several teachers said they got little or no training before they were expected to start using new elementary reading curricula.
Reading instruction gets special attention. The report found that early literacy teaching is inconsistent, “contributing to low rates of reading proficiency,” and that many school leaders have only a limited understanding of structured literacy.
In about 40% of the classrooms MGT observed, there was no evidence of clear expectations, routines and procedures. Students in grades seven through nine are suspended at a noticeably high rate, and suspensions fall disproportionately on Black students.
Families shut out
The section on families is the toughest to read. “Family engagement practices vary widely from school to school, and there is a lack of clarity around roles and expectations for staff, including Parent Coordinators,” the report says. It adds that “there is a lack of clarity in the district’s vision for family engagement, and the work is not connected to research-based best practices.” And: “Some schools have built strong family relationships while others struggle to communicate with families at all.”
It continues: “The district communicates with families but does not regularly solicit their opinions or provide opportunities for meaningful input.” Families who do speak up say “they don’t see their feedback being applied.”
What happens now
MGT recommends that MPS set one focused vision for teaching and learning, make principals instructional leaders, staff its highest-need schools strategically, improve early literacy instruction and treat families as partners in student learning.
The report also says MPS has many talented educators and “pockets of real success.” It credits Superintendent Brenda Cassellius, named to the job in March, with already restructuring the central office to focus on teaching and learning.
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Quicker than a recall: How the Milwaukee Common Council could remove members of the MPS Board
