Over the next 2-1/2 years, until September 2011, the Racine Unified School District will have the opportunity to use approximately ten million dollars of stimulus funds to improve public education. This opportunity to use federal money to improve student learning is unprecedented in our national history and in my 40 years of experience in public education. According to the Department of Public Instruction and the Department of Education, this money is intended for school reform and the closing of achievement gaps for special education and poor students. Over the next few months, the school district and the Racine community will be engaged in a public process to determine the best way to use the additional funds to improve student learning.
During the past school year, the school staff and the School Board have worked to develop a vision of excellence and equity for all students. The new vision is called the North Star. The North Star spells out the overarching goal of preparing every student to be career and college ready upon graduation, and the specific goals and benchmarks needed at all grade levels in order to improve learning. The school district community knows the priorities. Achievement gaps for poor and diverse students are obvious. Not enough students are enrolled in challenging curriculum and not enough students are able to achieve at the advanced levels. The lack of inclusive practices for special education children in Racine has been widely documented. If all children are to succeed, special education students must be included, by law, in the regular classroom instruction, and special education students should have access to a wide ray of student activities and opportunities. Achievement gaps and the lack of inclusive practice for special education children are clearly the most pressing needs of the Racine Unified School District.
The stimulus funds are an opportunity to address these most pressing needs and make the first steps toward preparing more children to be career and college ready. We will have one opportunity to make a difference in the lives of our special education students and our children who are not attaining the excellence that we want for them. Because of the North Star and because of the preliminary planning that has begun to improve learning, RUSD is positioned to use these funds to improve learning systematically. Specific learning goals will be established for all children at all schools. Inclusive practices for special education children must be implemented at all schools for all children over the next two years. The effectiveness of these efforts to improve learning and inclusion will be measured and publicly reported. The federal government, the Department of Public Instruction, and the Racine community require increased accountability. The stimulus funds are a chance of a lifetime to improve learning for all children. Failure to “move the needle,” on learning and inclusion is not an option. Stimulus funds represent a chance to improve the lifetimes of our children.
*Have a comment or wish to contact the Superintendent regarding this post? Directly email Dr. Shaw at: suptblog.comments@racine.k12.wi.us.
The Superintendent or district staff will try to respond to each e-mail received, so it is important that a valid name and e-mail address are associated with comments to ensure response.
