Borsuk: Milwaukee voucher schools are improving, but challenges remain

The voucher sector in Milwaukee is growing stronger and better. Quality overall is improving. Many of the private schools are doing more to get their act together.

Why do I say these things? Here are a few reasons:

A lot of weak schools are gone. School Choice Wisconsin and the Wisconsin Institute for Law & Liberty issued a report last week with a lot of data on schools that have survived and schools that have closed. The two organizations are strongly pro-voucher, but the data deserve attention. Since 1990, 268 private schools have received voucher payments. About 120 are in the program now. All those others? Many were cut off because of state regulatory pressure; many closed just because they were small and badly run. And few of the departed should be mourned.

At the same time, fewer schools are opening. This is good. In the early days of voucher expansion, from about 1998 to 2004, too little was done to control the gate for public money. Unqualified and unprepared people opened many schools. Especially since 2009, the gate has been guarded much better and sure-to-be weak schools just aren’t opening. 

This fall, only one new voucher school is opening in the city, the big and highly ambitious St. Augustine Preparatory Academy on the south side. In addition, there are five schools outside the city new to the Milwaukee voucher roster, but they are not expected to enroll many kids from the city.

The stronger are surviving, generally. The School Choice/WILL study says voucher schools that are doing better academically have been more likely to stay in business and schools with poor track records have been more likely to close. The specific lists support that conclusion.

The Center for Urban Teaching is on a rapid rise. This is a factor that has gotten little general attention. CfUT recruits undergraduate students from a broad list of universities and offers them summer programs and other support to get them on track for teaching jobs, many — but not all — of them in local religious schools. It also works with teachers who want to move into school leadership. More than 300 people took part in its training this summer. Originally affiliated with Wisconsin Lutheran College, it is now an independent organization. Many of the better private school leaders in town see it as an important part of improving teaching in their schools.

Seton Catholic Schools is entering its second year. Its drive to improve the performance of a roster of Catholic schools serving low-income students in the Milwaukee area is showing early signs of progress.

The same with the HOPE and LUMIN schools. Both have ties to Lutheran denominations, both work with small networks of schools and both are earning respect. A side note: The rise of mini-school districts like these is an important development and is probably a positive thing overall.

Voucher schools finally are part of the state’s school report card system. Year by year, the information in the report cards will become richer and provide a better public view for how these schools are doing.

None of this is to say everything is rosy. Overall results of the voucher program remain disappointing in the big picture, especially for those who once argued that it would do so much to improve academic outcomes.

Why haven't voucher schools done better? In broad terms, because achievement in high-poverty communities doesn’t come easily. The majority of private schools in the city serve kids with much the same dynamics as public school kids.

Furthermore, when I look at the full list of schools enrolling voucher students this year, there are still more than a few about which I have had long-time qualms. Quality concerns remain. (The same is true for all other sectors of schools in the city.)

One issue that should be mentioned: Has the rise of vouchers left Milwaukee Public Schools with disproportionate obligations to educate kids with special education needs? My best reading of reality is: generally, yes. But the picture is more complicated and subtle than some advocates say. Private schools overall have more kids who actually have special ed needs than critics say. And some private schools are dedicated to special ed. But MPS advocates have valid points on this front.

In the big picture, the roster of voucher schools looks stronger now than at any point in the program’s past. Improvement deserves recognition. Now, if we can just see future results in line with this.

JS Online