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Yahoo
07-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
New MPS superintendent excesses 181 office staff, pushing many of them into classrooms
In a move to shrink the administrative central office of Milwaukee Public Schools and send more staff into school buildings, newly appointed MPS Superintendent Brenda Cassellius announced May 7 that she was excessing 181 academic office employees, effective July 1. About 40 of the staff will be offered classroom teaching positions, and about 140 could regain their positions after reapplying for them — though some of the job descriptions could look different, as Cassellius wants to move many of them into school-based teams. Employees who stay with the district will be guaranteed to keep their current salaries in their new jobs for at least one year, Cassellius said. New Milwaukee Public Schools Superintendent Brenda Cassellius gets a tour of Bethune Academy from principal Kasonga Kalumbula on March 17. The school houses 5-year-old kindergarten through eighth grade. On May 7, Cassellius announced she was cutting some staff and reassigning others. Unsatisfied with academic outcomes at MPS, Cassellius, who started her job March 15, said the move is meant to fill vacant positions in schools so that more students start the next school year in classrooms led by certified teachers. Without this shift, Cassellius said MPS is anticipating about 80 or more vacant teaching positions. "The central office will become smaller, and we will build capacity within schools that aligns with our academic focus for the upcoming school year," she said. Cassellius referenced reporting by the Journal Sentinel that found hundreds of vacant positions in MPS schools leave students without certified teachers, with a disproportionate impact on Black students, students from lower income families and students with disabilities. The vacancies also impact staff, many of whom have reported on exit surveys that they left MPS because of high workloads and having to cover the duties of unfilled positions. "It becomes a strain on the whole entire school community when you don't have all your vacancies filled," Cassellius said. Cassellius said she also expects the move to save roughly $4 million to $5 million, which she said will be invested in professional development opportunities. Cassellius can make the move without school board approval, she said, under her authority to reassign teachers. School Board President Missy Zombor said she supported Cassellius' action as a way to address vacancies. "I appreciate her sense of urgency," Zombor said. "We know there's a vacancy issue, we know there's a teacher exodus nationwide, and right now we have to deploy our resources in a way that's in the best interest of students." Cassellius' decision follows an operational review of the district by MGT of America Consulting, which called for a restructuring of the district's central office. It found ambiguous roles and overlapping responsibilities. What other changes will MPS Superintendent Brenda Cassellius make? Cassellius didn't share further plans for her budget proposal, leadership team or organizational structure. She said some information will be shared at a special board meeting May 13. Further proposals will come in her full budget proposal, which she plans to share June 2. Cassellius has already telegraphed some changes. The district's lead action plan, responding to widely neglected lead-paint hazards, notes Cassellius' budget proposal will include a lead-risk assessor who will focus solely on the lead paint issue. At a school board meeting April 17, Cassellius said she planned to add a chief of family and community engagement and partnerships. She said she was also supporting advisory groups of parents of English language learners and parents of students with special needs — something the Journal Sentinel reported had been requested in January 2024. Cassellius also requested a review of the district's human resources department by the Council of Great City Schools, which is in progress. Cassellius said her proposals for changes are limited for the next school year because principals were already given their budget numbers, but she's looking at bigger shifts for future years to implement greater equity in staffing and guaranteed programs at every school. Which MPS central office jobs are being cut? According to a district spokesperson, the 40 positions being eliminated from central office include the following, as titled by MPS. The district didn't provide the numbers of each position being eliminated, but Cassellius said in some cases there will still be some staff remaining under the titles. Act 31 Central Office Teacher Type Art Central Office Teacher/Coach Type Bilingual Central Office Teacher Type Early Childhood Teachers (K3 Grant Gordon) Early Childhood Itinerant Teachers ESL Teacher First Nations Teachers Home and Hospital Teachers Instructional Technology Central Office Teacher/Coach Type Itinerant Teacher of the Visually Impaired Literacy Central Office Teacher/Coach Type Math Central Office Teacher/Coach Type Music Central Office Teacher/Coach Type Program Support Teachers Transition Coordinators Trauma Central Office Teacher/Coach Type Violence Prevention Central Office Teacher Type Contact Rory Linnane at Follow her on X (Twitter) at @RoryLinnane. This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: MPS excesses 181 central-office staff under reorganization plan
Yahoo
17-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
New MPS superintendent Brenda Cassellius envisions 'community-led, community-driven' district
As Brenda Cassellius starts her first week as superintendent of Milwaukee Public Schools on Monday, her top priority is handling the lead crisis in district schools. "Making sure that parents know that our schools are safe to send them to and that our students feel comfortable coming to school. So getting underneath that is my No. 1 priority," Cassellius said during a media availability period at the K3 through eighth grade Bethune Academy Monday. Cassellius was at the school having lunch with students, touring the school and meeting students and staff on her first school day. Her contract with MPS began Saturday, March 15. Other top priorities: getting vacancies filled within the executive team and getting the district's academic programming in order, she said. Cassellius also confirmed that 25 school resource officers were in MPS schools Monday. The officers are required to be in MPS schools by the state, under Act 12. A district parent filed a lawsuit last fall against MPS and the city over their failure to have those officers in place more than nine months after the Jan. 1, 2024, deadline. Circuit Judge David Borowski ordered the city and MPS to get it done. "All 25 are on duty and doing well. I checked in with the mayor's office ,and there's been no incidents and there's nothing going on. It's been a great day so far," said Cassellius, though she could not confirm which schools the officers were at. In response to a question about parent concerns over SROs, Cassellius said she the officers would follow a community policing model, which is a good model for building relationships with students. "I know that they were undergoing training, so I think that's really good, important for them to understand youth healthy development and restorative justice practices and positive behavior practices. I think it's going to be good," Cassellius said. As for her lunch with students, Cassellius said she liked the waffles. "I had the chance to say hello to the cafeteria staff back there. (They're) very busy and just really just wanting the best for our kids," she said. Cassellius said since being named superintendent, she's been meeting with many community members. "That's been really enriching. There's a lot of goodwill out in the community, as well. (I'm) just really excited about partnering with our community and having all hands on deck here to be able to ensure that all of our students are getting what they need," Cassellius said. Cassellius said she visited North Division High School and was at the district's administration building Monday morning. She said she also planned to speak to the Milwaukee Teachers' Education Association and principals later Monday. Cassellius also said her vision for MPS is to be community led and community driven. "It's going to be really important that the community feeds that vision, and I've been doing listening and discerning right now," she said. Cassellius also said improving academic achievement and life outcomes are also part of her vision, as well as providing equitable opportunities for each of the district's high schools and neighborhoods. Operationally, she said, her goal is for the district to deliver on the excellence it promises to the district's communities and that the district is a good steward of the public's trust. "I think that that is absolutely critical that we are using their resources that they have entrusted with us well for the benefit of the students and of the community," Cassellius said. Contact Alec Johnson at (262) 875-9469 or Follow him on Twitter at@AlecJohnson12. This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: New MPS superintendent Brenda Cassellius visits schools on first day
