By Tony Evers
State Superintendent of Public Schools
Democratic Candidate for Governor
Tony Evers
Excellent education leads to better jobs, greater opportunities, and an economy that works for all us. Real progress can’t be made in Wisconsin without working to improve our education system for children and families here in our communities.
But we face big challenges. Wisconsin is ranked among the worst states for kids and families of color. To move forward, we need leaders that bring people together and are willing to directly confront our racial disparities in education, health, employment and incarceration.
That’s why I’m running for governor.
I’ve proposed a major urban education initiative to close the opportunity gap, and as Governor, I will appoint diverse leaders from communities across Wisconsin to lead state agencies, fill judicial vacancies and serve on boards and commissions. I know change happens when people have an equitable seat at the table.
Our five largest school districts (Milwaukee, Madison, Racine, Green Bay and Kenosha) educate roughly 20% of Wisconsin’s kids. However, they also serve nearly 3/4th of all Black kids, almost half of all Latino kids, and large share of Asian, Hmong and American Indian students. If we want to change outcomes, then we need to invest in our kids regardless of their zip code.
Closing the gaps in these urban districts will help improve performance across the board and give our students the chance they need to succeed.
My plan will:
• Fund more after school and fun summer learning opportunities for kids, building off our success expanding summer learning in Milwaukee.
• Invest in mental health services for students and trauma-related training for staff
• Provide an additional $15,000/year to our best and most highly trained teachers who work in high poverty schools.
• Create new ways to encourage parents to get more involved in their child’s education.
• Expand access to quality early childhood education and three-year old kindergarten programs so kids can get the best start in school possible.
• Support community schools and local partnership that bring people together in our schools to building stronger communities and expand services.
• Repeal the Milwaukee and Racine school takeover plan as well as other harmful policies enacted in recent years that undermine teacher quality, waste funds, and undermine community control of our schools.
Eight years of Scott Walker is enough.
We can improve our approach to our students, teachers, schools, and parents.
By investing in our kids, investing in our families, we can give our students the chance they need to succeed and build stronger communities for all of us.
It’s time to change to new leadership.
Thank you for your time today reading this article. I’m asking for your vote this November.
Read more about my plans at TonyEvers.com/Plan
