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“Closing gaps:” Milwaukee Public Schools no longer required to take part in OSPP
"Closing gaps:" Milwaukee Public Schools no longer required to take part in OSPP
MILWAUKEE -- Milwaukee Public Schools is no longer required to participate in the Opportunity Schools Partnership Program (OSPP). That is according to a letter released on Wednesday, October 12th by the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction.
The letter informed MPS it will not have to take part in the program because the district is no longer in the bottom category in the state school report card. Only school districts in the lowest category of the state report card for two consecutive years are required to participate in this turnaround program.
Mark Sain
"Obviously the OSPP law is what it is and we're happy we're not participating in it at this time," said Mark Sain, MPS Board President.
Educators have fought the OSPP legislation for months over concerns about funding, staff involvement and curriculum.
Overseen by Milwaukee County Executive Chris Abele, the goal of OSPP was to take a failing school and put it under the direction of an outside commissioner who would then take steps to help it recover.
Dr. Darienne Driver
Milwaukee Superintendent Dr. Darienne Driver said this announcement shows that teachers and community partners' hard work is headed in the right direction.
"We've done a lot of work closing gaps. Making sure we're closing the performance and the distance between our students of color and our Caucasian students," Driver said. "Our work is not completed until we are in the top category of the state report card and then some."
MPS officials said they have committed to rethinking high schools by expanding college-level Advanced Placement and International Baccalaureate classes as well as career and technical education offerings.
Last year, the Wisconsin Legislature made changes to the school report card to improve transparency and authenticity. That included weighting school performance to account for student poverty rates, student disabilities and the length of time a school has had to influence a student's academic progress.
President Kim Schroeder released the following statement:
State Sen. Alberta Darling offered this statement: