We Need Bigger Conversations and Coalitions to Improve K-12 Education in America

As our kids head back to school, the topic of education is back in the national conversation – and there’s plenty to talk about. Internationally, American children continue to score in the middle of the pack in science, reading and math. Recent studies show that factors like income inequality, zip code and more play a role – but it’s more difficult to prove with scientific-certainty why they play a role. What is certain, though, is that educational attainment in America has been stuck in neutral for a decade.

I’m passionate about K-12 education – but just not for the obvious business reasons you’d expect to hear from a CEO. Of course, a well-educated community builds the foundation for a skilled workforce. We want to create the industry’s best client experience while maintaining our exceptional financial strength – and we won’t be able to do that without recruiting intelligent digital engineers, data scientists, financial advisors, business consultants, investment strategists, actuaries, marketers, and more.

Students from Milwaukee's Ralph H. Metcalfe School recently took a seat at the table and enjoyed views from our conference room on the 32nd floor, the top of our tower.

In my mind, education’s importance is so much bigger. The future of every American city is dependent on the quality of education we provide our youth.

Our kids’ schools are the heart and the lifeblood of our neighborhoods. They open doors to our past and future, and add so much value to the present. That’s why I’m so passionate and invested in improving educational attainment in my hometown of Milwaukee.

Here in Milwaukee, where classes began about a month ago, school options are abundant. There are neighborhood public schools, private schools, religious voucher schools and more. Quantity is here. Quality, on the other hand, is highly inconsistent.

“No sector has a lock on excellence or failure… all need to do better, no matter what their report cards.”

That’s the analysis of Marquette Law School Senior Fellow in Law and Public Policy Alan Borsuk – and I agree. There are some excellent public schools and some excellent private schools. There are not enough of them. Too many Milwaukee schools in all sectors are underperforming and too few school leaders are working together to share best practices and drive outcomes. Our city’s kids need more quality schools. Period.

There’s a lot of spirited discussion across Wisconsin and across America about the governance model(s) that should lead our kids’ schools in the future: public, private, voucher, charter, etc. This cannot be the only topic on the table. In many ways, that conversation is too narrow and misses the point. Every boy and every girl - regardless of race, ethnicity or family income - deserves a great school and a great life, made possible in part by a great foundation in education.

This is urgent. Right now, we need leaders to work across educational sectors and across the community to help our kids overcome barriers and achieve. We need to work together for the betterment of our community and push Milwaukee education forward overall.

Employees on our STEM Outreach team connect with students across Milwaukee to help build awareness of science, technology, engineering and math careers.

Since 2011, I’ve served as Co-Chair of Milwaukee Succeeds. This group brings together leaders across business, philanthropy and all types of schools to help every child in every Milwaukee school succeed, from cradle to career. Milwaukee Succeeds is agnostic about the type of school that succeeds. Instead, it’s relentlessly focused on Milwaukee’s kids, focusing on skill-building for the future.

Our group focuses on specific outcomes:

• Increasing kindergarten readiness
• Increasing 3rd grade reading proficiency
• Increasing 8th grade math proficiency and
• Increasing high school completion rates.

Research suggests that these are critical outcomes to track and improve to help steer kids clear of failure in school and struggles in life.

Here’s how it works. Leaders in education get together to discuss and test data-driven strategies to drive outcomes and common barriers like insufficient funding, lacking political will, or scarcity of staff.

For example, our coalition posited that many Milwaukee children were showing up in kindergarten without the necessary skills to learn because too few had access to high-quality pre-school daycare programs. In 2012, just 8% of young Milwaukee children were enrolled in high-quality, 4-star and 5-star rated child care programs. Coalition partners banded together to raise private and public funding, committing to double enrollment in high-quality daycares by 2020. Now in 2018, I’m proud to say that enrollment is 17.5%, more than double the 2012 baseline and ahead of schedule two years early.  

Similarly, the group identified low levels of completed FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid) applications as an obstacle to college and career readiness. Businesses and philanthropists again came together to provide counsel and funding for schools and nonprofits. In just three years, FAFSA completion rates jumped almost 15 percentage points (from under 50% in 2016-2017 to 64% in 2018-2019). 

To drive reading proficiency among third graders, Milwaukee Succeeds partners came together with the public sector to fund and implement the Wisconsin Reading Corps, a proven 1-to-1 tutoring model connecting 60 tutors to more than 1,100 students in 26 schools this school year.

This type of collaboration isn’t new. Similar groups have launched in Portland, Ore., Cincinnati, Ohio, and Tacoma, Wash., and they’ve seen exciting results too.

Progress is uneven and doesn’t always materialize as fast as anyone would like it to. What’s clear to me, though, is that this different approach IS making progress. The only thing holding back progress is the size and commitment of our coalition to collaborate. We need bigger coalitions engaged in bigger conversations about our kids’ and their schools – and we need it right away. We know from other cities that change can take years – or even decades - which is why it is so important to make progress now. 

For the well-intentioned corporate citizen or community member looking at the enormity of education, figuring out where to start can feel overwhelming. Even worse, the issue can, at times, get political and volatile.

Let me tell you this. The journey is worth it. Our kids, our communities, and, yes, our businesses are worth it. To me, the key to affecting change in education, like so many other big challenges in life, is to focus attention on the right things, rally the right people together and don’t give up. As a father of six, I have seen firsthand the difference that a quality school can make in the growth of a child. I encourage everyone who cares about kids and their communities to urge their leaders to collaborate so more children can achieve.

In your communities, what successful coalitions are coming together to improve education or other priorities? How are they doing it? Let me know.