Students across Wisconsin are returning to classrooms in a heated K-12 debate like nothing America has ever experienced. Among these are school safety, curricula on race and gender, and how to narrow learning loss and failure within metropolitan school districts.

Parental discord caused by the pandemic has upended systems from Arizona to West Virginia, bringing unprecedented momentum to alternatives to traditional educational models.

Wisconsin’s education system hasn’t changed dramatically, but there are opportunities here to improve the learning environment. The grantee we support has shared a consistent theme throughout her four decades of educational philanthropy in Milwaukee and beyond on how to do just that. Here are some.

First and foremost, parents have primary responsibility for their children’s education. From instilling strong values, to choosing the right school, to keeping kids on time, to supervising homework, it all starts with parents. They are ultimately responsible for guiding their children in the right direction.

Schools that take this approach and treat parents as partners rather than patrons create an environment in which children can thrive. Teachers, staff and parents can work together to quickly identify problems and develop plans to meet each child’s unique needs.

Critics of this view believe the opposite is true. Schools have to control their children’s education because there are parents who are irresponsible or unable to know what is best.

We are acutely aware that serious problems hinder and hinder parental involvement, especially in urban areas such as Madison and Milwaukee. It is a hindrance and many children fall through the cracks.

This is where civil society plays a key role and where friends, neighbors, churches and voluntary associations act as society’s most effective safety nets. We have supported hundreds of notable organizations fueled by passionate and motivated leaders with a relentless drive to tackle local challenges.

Even as homeless mothers with trauma histories prepare to live independently and raise strong and nurturing families, they provide housing and healing to young men whose lives are greatly affected by their toxic environment. These leaders are helping people to become responsible fathers, mothers and fellow citizens, even if they are not.

Whatever the circumstances, parents cannot do it alone. Teachers are essential to student success. Educators in the schools we support treat each student as a ‘whole’ by fostering their social, emotional and often spiritual development. A local school leader says that in order for students to learn how to succeed in life, they must also learn how to trust, how to fail, and how to serve.

This is not to say that academic performance is an afterthought. However, students with strong foundational skills are better prepared to meet challenges and build purposeful lives, whether their paths include a college degree, vocational training, entrepreneurship, etc. I’m here.

Finally, lessons learned are most effective when families are able to choose educational options that meet their children’s needs. Whether the choice is private, charter, public school, homeschooling, or hybrid options, the more options available, the better your chances of success.

Parents agree, as we have witnessed over time. The program, which the Bradley Foundation started in Milwaukee in 1990 as his pilot program, is established as part of a vibrant ecosystem of educational options in Milwaukee and the country.

Today, approximately 45% of Milwaukee students who receive publicly funded education attend schools outside of traditional school districts. If enrollment trends continue, that number is likely to more than halve in a few years, adding Milwaukee to the list of cities sharing the same status.

It’s easy to see why, given the wide ramifications of choice. One study found that participating in Milwaukee’s Parental Choice Program in grades 8 or 9 reduced drug convictions by 53%, property damage convictions by 86%, and paternity lawsuits by 38% Did. 25 to 28.

Sharing the lessons learned will not solve all the challenges facing today’s complex K-12 environment, but at a time when every Wisconsin family desperately needs educational opportunities. , can inform efforts to open up educational opportunities.

Rick Graber is President and CEO of the Lynde and Harry Bradley Foundation.

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