MPS summer town halls offer community chance to raise concerns
MPS superintendent hosts town hall
Before the first bell rings, Milwaukee Public Schools Superintendent Dr. Brenda Cassellius met with parents, students and teachers to find out what matters to them.
MILWAUKEE - The start of a new school year is just five weeks away for Milwaukee students.
What we know:
Before the first bell rings, Milwaukee Public Schools Superintendent Dr. Brenda Cassellius met with parents, students and teachers to find out what matters to them.
Monday, July 28, was a chance to directly address the superintendent in her second session of her Listen and Learn Tour.
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Important conversations require good listening. About 50 people filled the gym at Congress School ahead of the start of the school year.
The town hall-style meeting discussed everything from literacy and extracurriculars to one of the biggest: dealing with grief when a student dies.
People raised concerns about reading comprehension, to help those in the classroom, to tragedy.
"It feels like there is not a level of alarm going off," former State Rep. David Bowen said. "It seems like we've become so normalized to this that the outrage won't get to that level."
Dig deeper:
The superintendent said close to 30 students have been killed in the community this year.
"This is not normal and I’m trying my best to elevate this issue," Cassellius said.
MPS lead crisis; officials optimistic ahead of new school year
Milwaukee Public Schools is actively working on lead cleanup ahead of the new school year, after multiple schools had high lead levels, prompting closures in the spring.
The listening sessions are meant to help shape how the new superintendent leads the district.
"I think it’s really important that we acknowledge that we have work to do and that we are going to lean in together," Cassellius said.
Big picture view:
The notes taken on the screen will be shared with the school board and leaders to craft a plan for the year to come.
"We need to prioritize what gets done right away and what’s most urgent in particularly when we think about budget and when we roll out the budget next year," Cassellius said.
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There are seven more sessions scheduled before the start of MPS’ school year, including ones happening on Tuesday and Wednesday of this week.
Casselius said similar sessions will happen throughout the year.
The Source: FOX6 News attended the Milwaukee Public Schools town hall on Monday.