January 17, 2006	Volume 5, Number 2

On the Road

On January 8, State Superintendent Elizabeth Burmaster attended a national board meeting of the Council of Chief State School Officers. Burmaster serves on the board, is President-elect of the organization, chair of their Early Childhood Task Force, and a member of their International Education Committee.

On January 9, The State Superintendent's Professional Standards Council for Teachers met in Madison to discuss cross-agency team and professional development issues regarding the Quality Educator Initiative, PI 34. The group reviewed the application process for mentoring grants, Professional Development Team training and continuous improvement strategies, and other issues. The Professional Standards Council represents a broad spectrum of interests in the education community. Council members include teachers, pupil services professionals, administrators, school board members, a parent, a student enrolled in a teacher preparation program, and faculty members of institutions of higher education.

Later that day, the state superintendent introduced a performance by MULTICO, a company of West High School students that tours elementary and middle schools with an original thirty minute production focusing on the concerns and experiences of children and adolescents in a multicultural, multilingual, urban environment. The group writes and performs short sketches that provide younger children with role models from their own and other racial and ethnic groups who are working together. The group performed for an audience of DPI personnel interested in exploring approaches to addressing diversity in education.

On January 11, Burmaster hosted the New Wisconsin Promise Conference, a meeting of more than 1,400 Wisconsin educators who come together annually to explore strategies to help schools raise the achievement of all students, and close the achievement gap between economically disadvantaged students, students of color, and their peers. The New Wisconsin Promise conference is the state’s largest and most successful professional development conference for educators. Conference presentations focused on engagement in learning, literacy, mathematics, and school improvement. National experts in school reform, mathematics, and literacy shared their knowledge and expertise with participants.

“Closing the achievement gap and ensuring the academic success of all students is not just an education issue—it is a social justice issue, an economic development issue, and an issue of morality,” Burmaster told the group. “The opportunity of a quality education is a civil right of every child. By investing in children and education and closing the achievement gap, we can ensure a well-educated, highly-skilled workforce. The future of our democracy depends on a well-educated citizenry.”

That afternoon, Burmaster gave a presentation on her International Education Council recommendations and initiatives to the January meeting of the PK-16 Leadership Council in Madison. The meeting theme was International Education: A World of Opportunity, and featured demonstrations by students and their teachers, showing how Wisconsin is taking the lead in educating students to succeed in a global society.

On January 12-13, Burmaster conducted a meeting of her Advisory Council on Rural Schools, Libraries and Communities, and led a Rural Policy Network Forum in Mosinee. The meetings are part of the comprehensive Advancing Rural Wisconsin initiative announced by Burmaster in 2004 to focus on a range of community concerns that affect rural areas, including education and overall quality-of-life issues. The advisory council examines the challenges facing rural school districts, and works to identify services and resources needed to support rural schools, libraries, and communities.

“Wisconsin has a proud progressive tradition of offering excellent public education to its children. To a large degree, that success is built on the success of Wisconsin’s rural schools,” said Burmaster. “Citizens recognize schools and public libraries as the hub of local activities and a major community resource. In small school districts, community is more than a buzzword. It is the heart and soul of school life. The more young people are involved in their community, the more this next generation will stay invested in their rural communities.”

Last updated on 1/17/2006