Podcasts about Milwaukee Public Schools

In this episode, Dr. Jody Jedlicka shares insights on auditory processing disorders, learning challenges, and how cognitive training through Learning RX can transform children's lives. Discover practical strategies for parents and educators to support children's development and unlock their potential.   Dr. Jody Jedlicka is a doctor of audiology with more than 30 years of experience helping children who struggle with reading, listening, and learning. She began her career in Milwaukee Public Schools and later helped train clinicians while supporting families firsthand through auditory processing evaluations and treatment. Now the Director of Support for LearningRx, Dr. Jedlicka helps parents understand why learning feels hard and what can actually help. Her work is grounded in research, guided by experience, and designed to help you understand your child better so you can give them every opportunity to succeed.  Website: https://www.learningrx.com/   Asking Why with Clint Davis Sponsors: Wellness by Dr. Natalia — a physician-led integrative and concierge medical practice redefining modern healthcare in Shreveport, Louisiana. Wellness by Dr. Natalia offers personalized care focused on longevity, regenerative medicine, peptide therapy, IV therapy, advanced aesthetics, and whole-person wellness. Their approach is designed to help patients move beyond symptom management and take ownership of their long-term health through innovative, relationship-driven care. Learn more: www.LuraguizMD.com Looking for a more personalized healthcare experience focused on prevention, vitality, and wellness? Visit Wellness by Dr. Natalia to learn more about their concierge medicine and integrative wellness services. www.LuraguizMD.com    

Casimir Pulaski High School's automotive program is the largest in Wisconsin. Created in 1963, it's also the only one left within Milwaukee Public Schools. Episode host Kim Shine takes you inside the shop where students learn everything from changing oil and gas lines to replacing alternators and brakes, as they travel the road to becoming certified technicians.#####Host: Kim ShineUniquely Milwaukee is made possible by the generous support of our members.

At a town hall Tuesday, Milwaukee Public Schools parents and teachers spoke out against budget cuts that will cost 260 people their current jobs.

DeAnn Huinker & Melissa Hedges, Math Trajectories for Young Learners, Part 2 ROUNDING UP: SEASON 4 | EPISODE 15 Research confirms that early mathematics experiences play a more significant role than we once imagined. Studies suggest that specific number competencies in 4-year-olds are strong predictors of fifth grade mathematics success. So what does it look like to provide meaningful mathematical experiences for our youngest learners?  Today, we'll explore this question with DeAnn Huinker from UW-Milwaukee and Melissa Hedges from the Milwaukee Public Schools. BIOGRAPHY Dr. DeAnn Huinker is a professor of mathematics education in the Department of Teaching and Learning and directs the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee Center for Mathematics and Science Education Research. Dr. Huinker teaches courses in mathematics education at the early childhood, elementary, and middle school levels. Dr. Melissa Hedges is a curriculum specialist who supports K–5 and K–8 schools for the Milwaukee Public Schools.  RESOURCES Learning Trajectories website, featuring the work of Doug Clements and Julie Sarama  Math Trajectories for Young Learners book by DeAnn Huinker and Melissa Hedges TRANSCRIPT Mike Wallus: A note to our listeners: This episode contains the second half of my conversation with DeAnn Huinker and Melissa Hedges about math trajectories for young learners. If you've not already listened to the first half of the conversation, I encourage you to go back and give it a listen. The second half of the conversation begins with DeAnn and Melissa discussing practices that educators can use to provide students a more meaningful experience with skip-counting.  Melissa Hedges: One of the things, Mike, that I would add on that actually I just thought about is when you were talking about the importance of us letting the children figure out how they want to approach that task of organizing their count is it's coming from the child. And Clements and Sarama talk about the beautiful work about the trajectory, [which] is that we see that the mathematics comes from the child and we can nurture that along in developmentally appropriate ways.  The other idea that popped into my mind is it's kind of a parallel to when our children get older and we want to teach them a way to add and a way to subtract, and I'm going to show you how to do it and you follow my procedure. I'm going to show it. You follow my procedure. We know that that's not best practice either. And so we're really looking at, how do we grab onto that idea of number sense and move forward with it in a way that's meaningful with children from as young as 1 and 2 all the way up?  Mike: DeAnn, I was going to ask a question to follow up on something that you said just now when you said even something like skip-counting should be done with quantities. And you, I think, anticipated the question I was going to ask, which is: What are the implications of this idea of connecting number and quantity for processes that we have used in the past, like rote counting or skip-counting? And I think what you're saying is we need to attend to those things that, like the counting sequence, we should not create an artificial barrier between speaking the words in sequence and quantity. Am I reading you right or is there more nuance than I'm describing?  DeAnn Huinker: I think you're right on target, Mike. (laughs) Connecting those things to quantity. And I mean, the one that's always salient for me is skip-counting. Skip-counting is such a rote skill for so many children that they don't realize when they go, "5, 10, 15" that they actually have seen, "Oh, there's five [items], there's five more items, there's five more items." So it's making that connection to quantity for something like skip-counting, but also on the counting trajectory, then we start thinking about, "What's a ten? And what makes a ten?" And, "What is 30? And how many tens are composing or embedded in that number 30?" And again, it's not just to rotely say, "3 tens." No. "Show me those objects. Can you make those tens?" Because sometimes we find disconnects. Kids will tell us things and then we say, "Can you show me?" And it doesn't match. (laughs) So we continually start thinking about quantities and putting [objects] with quantities.  Let me add one more thing. In the counting trajectory—and this was very intentional for Melissa—is when we have kids count, we'd like to give them like 31 or 32 counters to see whether [...] they can actually bridge that decade and to go beyond. The other thing that we did, so getting like beyond a ten, also we find when kids get to the number 100, they stop. They just think that's the end. I got to 100, I'm going to stop. And then we say, "Oh, what would be the next number?" And some will say 110, some will say 200, some will give us something else that we find bridging 100 is on the trajectory. And that's actually a really critical point. And again, we want it with quantities with objects.  Mike: I really appreciate this part of the conversation because I think for a teacher who's listening, it helps really get to the specific types of details that would allow them to create the kind of experiences that we think matter for children.  I do want to take a step back though and talk about what's going on for students under the hood, so to speak. So as they're engaging in meaningful counting, what are the cognitive processes that they're learning to coordinate?  Melissa: This is Melissa. So I'll start that one and then invite DeAnn to jump in as I work my way through my thinking.  One of the pieces that, in addition to everything we talked about with all of the skills and ideas and understanding that comes to bear when little ones count, one of the big pieces that we're starting to talk and learn about a whole lot more is this idea of executive functioning. And so executive functioning are those skills that help us manage our attention, help us manage our behavior. They help us stay focused. They help us complete tasks, keep track of things. So hopefully as I'm saying this, what you have in your mind is a little one counting and you're thinking, "Oh my gosh, how do they know where to start?" "How do they know when to stop?" "How do they know when this has been counted with that hasn't been counted?" "What am I going to say next?" All of that tends to be couched very strongly in this idea of executive functions. So when we watch kids count, we know that they're really drawing on those executive functions. And it's actually a really beautiful marriage. So again, we're looking for kids to—are they able to stay on task? Can they keep track? Do they monitor themselves as they go? If someone—this happens a lot—if someone bumps into their collection and their collection gets a little shaky because their desk got moved or someone kicked a counter across the floor, do they remember where that goes and what that stood for in quantity? And for us, that really kind of comes down to some of those higher order skills and in particular, those ideas of the executive functions.  So part of what we notice is that in particular with counting, though all of mathematics, much of what we do and ask kids to do, it takes planning, it takes self-monitoring, and it takes kind of a sense of control and agency over their work. We've talked a little bit about some of that other stuff in the way that it's the work of the child, and that's why we will always ask teachers to step back and just watch, just watch what they do, just watch what they do, because it gives us insight into so many skills, understandings, and kind of where they're at.  DeAnn: Yeah. This is DeAnn. I was thinking of that same thing, Melissa, about this is the work of the child, right? As adults, we're kind of prone sometimes to say, "Let me show you how to do it." But if we want to develop these executive function skills, these ideas and cognitive abilities under the hood, we have to give children opportunities. They need the time to think about how to organize that collection. That's always a great one to kind of think about. As adults, we're like, "Well, just line them up." And it's like, oh no, that's actually huge for a child to realize lining them up or organizing them in some way is a strategy, just like we do with larger numbers. It's a strategy for little kids. So again, that work needs to come from the child and they need to do some trial and error and adjustments in order to develop those things under the hood. And as adults, we can't take that opportunity away from children. We need to create the opportunities so they can explore more of their world and the quantitative world that we live in.  Mike: Everything that we're talking about has some pretty major implications for instructional practice, but what I find myself thinking about is my own time teaching kindergarten. And when I reflect on that, I sometimes found myself falling into something that I would call a readiness trap. And what I mean by that is I had this notion that kids had to have a certain set of skills in place before they were ready to do something like counting a collection. And I think what you're going to tell me is that perhaps I had it backwards. Am I right?  DeAnn: So this is DeAnn and I'm thinking, well, maybe it's not so much backwards, but it's a different perspective. So Melissa and I really struggle with this concept of readiness, and that's because we really frame our work from a developmental perspective. And as we think about learning trajectories, that's what they are. Learning trajectories is a developmental view of children's learning. So what really changes the question for us. We don't ask the question, "Are children ready?" What we ask is, "Oh, where are children currently in their learning?" And then we can start at that spot and then think about the experiences that would help support the next step in their learning. So from a learning trajectory perspective, we really view differences in children's understanding and abilities as just different starting points, OK? They're not deficits, nothing that needs to be remediated. Kids are ready to learn every single day.  It's really us as adults. We have to reframe our preconceptions and train ourselves to really look at what children can do, not what they can't do. And that's where learning trajectories are so powerful because they help us identify those starting points and then they help us as educators know more clearly what is the next developmental milestone that we should be working on with that child. So it's our responsibility to be ready for the children that come to us, not the other way around.  Mike: I really appreciate this idea of the progression as a series of starting points. I think that's a really helpful framing device, and it certainly puts the work that we do in the kind of light that you're advocating for.  One of the other things I wanted to talk about is in the book [Math Trajectories for Young Learners], you all make reference to how important it is to develop a playful pedagogy. And I wonder if we could just try to talk about, "Well, what does that mean? What might that look like in a classroom?" Melissa: So this is Melissa. I think in any district or agency that's supporting young children, this is a very hot topic, the idea of play or playful pedagogy. And what I like to do is to think that we can use play as a teaching platform and not just as a break from learning. Play actually can kind of lay the foundation for a lot of those learning experiences. I think it's powerful because playful learning, it nurtures important habits of mind that we can develop in some ways, but for our little ones, they develop very naturally through the idea of play. So we think about curiosity, creativity, problem solving, flexibility, persistence, all of that comes up as kids are playing. And so I think that both DeAnn and I would agree that the idea around playful pedagogy and mathematics learning trajectories really partner well because the trajectories help us see that mathematics develops over time based on experience and opportunity. So the trajectories don't replace play so much as [...] strengthen educators in recognizing during times when kids are playing or during those playful moments that an educator can have a stronger perspective or a more keen eye, I guess, on what they're noticing with their children.  And when we think about playful pedagogy, where we're headed is not free play, but this idea of guided play. So in guided play, the teacher's going to set up the environment, they'll have a learning goal in mind. So for example, if I'm working and deepening my understanding as a classroom teacher around the counting trajectory, I'm going to have an idea of where my children are on the trajectory and what questions might I pose during play or ponderings might I provide to the children during play. So it's not me taking over that time or the teacher taking over that time, but it's really supporting or pushing the learning through some subtle prompts or some shared discoveries or maybe some purposeful questions. So, for example, if the kids are in the block area and they're building a tower or they just have blocks all over the floor, they're making a road, I might ask them, "How long is your road?" or "How tall is your tower?" and let them kind of ponder with that. And then, this is always a fun one, "What would happen if I put two more on?" or "What would happen if your tower grew by two more blocks? or "What would happen if three of them fell off?" And really just engaging in some of those playful conversations—not to take over the play, but to capitalize on the playful moment.  Mike: I love that, particularly the notion of, "What if three fell off?" or "What if I had four more blocks and I wanted to make it bigger or longer?" It's a lovely way of organically injecting or assessing kids' thinking within the context as opposed to imposing a task in a way that it just has an entirely different feel to it. And yet at the same time, it's really informed by the trajectory in a way that helps it be like, "This is the right point for me to ask that particular question." Melissa: Exactly. So I can kind of give an example if, I'm thinking of maybe a 5-year-old and so, one of the levels of our counting trajectory is being able to do 1 more or 1 less, and it really sits around that idea of hierarchical inclusion. So if the kids are playing and I know that that's where this child might need or this group of children are ready to take that next step, those are questions I can pose in a very—you're right—in a very low-stress, not-high-stakes setting, and it's still very valuable information.  Mike: Actually, that's a great segue because I wanted to ask the two of you about some of the ways that teachers are using the learning trajectories and the assessment protocols that are found in the book to monitor their students' growth. So I wonder if you could say a little bit more about that.  DeAnn: This is DeAnn. I'll start and then I'll pass it back to Melissa.  So, you ask us about the assessment protocols. So maybe we should explain what an assessment protocol is. One thing that we've done with the trajectories that were developed by Doug Clements and Julie Sarama, we've taken those trajectories, but as we're thinking about making them useful for teachers, we actually have developed some structured assessment protocols that are aligned to the trajectory with [tasks] and prompts that we can use with children to help find those starting points. As I mention in the book, we have five assessment protocols in there, like one for counting, one for subitizing, one for adding and subtracting and so on. And then teachers can take these and use them to [say], "Let me ask this question. Oh, they did great there. Let me jump up a couple levels. Let me ask a question there." Or maybe I want to back up to a previous level and ask so that we can kind of get a sense of those starting points for then building instruction. All right, and then Melissa, you can share how else teachers are using them in and out in the district.  Melissa: I think one of the important aspects that I firmly believe in when a teacher approaches their teaching of mathematics through the lens of a learning trajectory, a mathematics learning trajectory, is that it really does lay the foundation for equitable teaching and learning opportunities. So not only does it lay the path for a developmental approach, it's also incredibly equitable in that we've looked at trajectories as identifying children's strengths. And in that way, it's not what they don't know, it's, "Where are they, and what are those [experiences] that they need?" So it's not that somebody is never going to learn it. Again, they need more experience and opportunity. And that's, I think, probably been one of the biggest takeaways as we've looked at how we are using trajectories here in the Milwaukee Public Schools, in particular the counting trajectory. So to get a really nice handle on where children are developmentally, if we have, for example, in a first grade classroom where they're moving into composing that unit of 10, and we know that we've got kids that are struggling with cardinality, even counting collections of one, two, three, four, five [objects], we know that that's going to be a struggle. So what is it that we can do to accelerate some of those learning opportunities and give more learning opportunities for children so when they get to those big key milestones, we have an idea of why they may be struggling? And it's not that they can't; it's not that they won't; it's not that they don't understand. They just need more experience and more opportunity and more guidance with that work.  So that's one of the ways I think that has really allowed us to support our teachers and have our teachers feel a great sense of autonomy in making instructional decisions for their students. That it's not, "The book is telling me to do this or this is telling me to do that." It's, "Here is something that's really honored a developmental approach to what kids know, and how can I take that then and apply that in my classroom with my students?"  The other thing that it really has helped us do on a big broad level is think about, "Where do we want children to work towards by the end of 3-year-old kindergarten or 4-year-old kindergarten or 5-year-old kindergarten or first grade or second grade in a way that, again, matches the developmental nature of children's mathematical growth?" Mike: What I really appreciate about what you shared is there's certainly the systems level way of thinking about using this as a tool, but I appreciate the fact that as an educator who might be reading the book, I can also see directly into my own classroom practice and think about moves that I can make to support students and also to understand where they are and what comes next for them. That's super helpful.  Melissa: Yeah. It's those small little moments. It's really as, just staying keyed in and tuned to those small moments.  Mike: I'm going to ask a question at this point in the interview that I suspect is difficult to narrow down an answer, but I want to give it a try just because there's so much from my reading of the book that was powerful. And at the same time, I'm hoping that we can give people a chance to think about how they might start to take action. So here's the question: If you were to, say, recommend one or two small-scale practices for listeners who want to take the ideas we're talking about and put them into action in their classrooms, what might you recommend?  DeAnn: This is DeAnn. I'll get us started.  First of all, [...] developing this book really came out of our own work with teachers. We have spent many, many hours with teachers of the young grades and helping them to improve their practice. And then with them, we started learning about the trajectories and learning with them as they started thinking about and applying these to the classrooms. So a place to start for one's own professional learning and to deepen your understanding is just to pick a trajectory and just read through it. "Ooh, what's happening with children that are 1-, 2-years-old, all the way up through children who are 6, 7, and 8." And just reading through this progression of levels and then starting to deepen your knowledge of what are these kind of steps that we're taking them through.  And I'll use an example. I think one of the biggest surprises I had for myself in this work is I never really understood before studying the trajectories that counting then leads to unitizing, which then leads to looking at groups, which then takes us to place value. And we talk about counting as being the on-ramp to place value. And I didn't really think about that connection until I just started reading and studying the counting learning trajectory myself and thinking about, "How do children go across all these levels?" Mike: I want to just jump in and say thank you for saying that because that's something that I've been pondering as I've been listening to you all the way back, DeAnn, to when you talked about connecting skip-counting to physical quantities. What struck me about that is that it allows me to start to imagine a unit that's not just 1, right? If I'm skip-counting by 2s, and I have 2, that's kind of the starting point for unitizing, which—I think the other thing that jumps out is, that's actually eventually going to lead to a deeper understanding of, say, multiplication. So there's a lot in this that really when you understand what's going on across that trajectory, it really helps you understand what's critical about what kids are learning and what also is critical about the kind of experience that I as an educator want to make sure that I'm offering to students.  DeAnn: I'll just build on that a little bit. (laughs) Melissa might too, is, "Wow, counting is amazing." And I think Melissa would say, "Counting is the foundation of everything." But that counting is much more than I think most of us as adults realized. That counting does take us through this idea of making these groups and then thinking about units and units of 10, understanding the place value or our base ten system and understanding place value. It's just amazing when you really start to dig into a little deeper about the math, and the math learning, but how it goes across so many years. Mike: Melissa, how about you? Do you have a recommendation or do you want to build on something that DeAnn shared? Melissa: I think what I'll recommend might be a build on. One of the best ways that I would encourage folks to get into understanding how a trajectory could be a really powerful tool in the classroom is pick a child, or one or two children, and give that trajectory a try. Just do it as written, don't stray from it. Just kind of give it a feel, and see what it is that you're learning about your children or child as they work through that trajectory. Because again, it's those small moments when we're looking for those small transitions. Like, if a child—one of the tasks in the counting trajectory assessment is counting a collection of 31. And what do we notice? Do they try to count by 2s? Do they just count by 1s? Do they begin to do some of that grouping of 10 and 10 and 10 and 1 more? One of the most fascinating things we found out as we've watched kids work through the trajectory is when they get a collection, a little bit of a larger collection, let's say 43, they might begin to do some of that grouping and they'll go, "10, 20, 30, 40." And then they hit what we would say as "41" and they say "50, 60, 70". (laughs)  So I would encourage folks just to probably start with where DeAnn started us, which is understand the mathematics a little bit that you're looking for, read through that trajectory, get a feel for what that progression is looking like. Maybe you start to very naturally think of a child that you know, maybe they're kind of sitting here, maybe they're kind of sitting there, and then give that trajectory a try, and see what you learn about your kids.  The other thing that I would say is that we've got a lovely set of videos in the book. There's over 50 videos of many of us doing little tasks with children that will help illustrate what some of those assessment tasks look like or what kids' thinking sounds like.  The other lovely part is that we've provided some activities as well. So if you're thinking, "Oh, somebody is at this level or I'm looking to expand my teaching of number and quantity in my classroom," there's lots of really lovely tested, tried-and-true tasks in there that a teacher could pick up and use tomorrow.  Mike: I think one of the things I'd like to do before we close is just give you all an opportunity to share with listeners where they could go if they wanted to buy the book and learn a little bit more. And then I'll also offer, is there anything else that you think might be a reference point for teachers who want to continue learning about the things you've shared today?  DeAnn: So the book we're talking about, Math Trajectories for Young Learners is published by NCTM, so the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics. It can be purchased from them. They even have a nice little website, nctm.org/trajectories, and that will take you right to a website that can give you access for ordering the book. I will also point out that it's available certainly in paperback, but it can also be purchased in digital formats. So you can download a PDF or something to read on your Kindle or some other reading device. Mike: I think that's a great place to stop. DeAnn and Melissa, thank you so much for your time. It's really been a pleasure talking with you today.  DeAnn: Always a pleasure talking with you and thinking with you, Mike, about children's learning.  Melissa: Completely agree. Thank you again for having us, Mike.  Mike: This podcast is brought to you by The Math Learning Center and the Maier Math Foundation, dedicated to inspiring and enabling all individuals to discover and develop their mathematical confidence and ability. © 2026 The Math Learning Center | www.mathlearningcenter.org

DeAnn Huinker & Melissa Hedges, Math Trajectories for Young Learners, Part 1 ROUNDING UP: SEASON 4 | EPISODE 14 Research confirms that early mathematics experiences play a more significant role than we once imagined. Studies suggest that specific number competencies in 4-year-olds are strong predictors of fifth grade mathematics success. So what does it look like to provide meaningful mathematical experiences for our youngest learners?  Today, we'll explore this question with DeAnn Huinker from UW-Milwaukee and Melissa Hedges from the Milwaukee Public Schools.  BIOGRAPHY Dr. DeAnn Huinker is a professor of mathematics education in the Department of Teaching and Learning and directs the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee Center for Mathematics and Science Education Research. Dr. Huinker teaches courses in mathematics education at the early childhood, elementary, and middle school levels. Dr. Melissa Hedges is a curriculum specialist who supports K–5 and K–8 schools for the Milwaukee Public Schools.  RESOURCES Math Trajectories for Young Learners book by DeAnn Huinker and Melissa Hedges Learning Trajectories website, featuring the work of Doug Clements and Julie Sarama  School Readiness and Later Achievement journal article by Greg Duncan and colleagues  Early Math Trajectories: Low‐Income Children's Mathematics Knowledge From Ages 4 to 11 journal article by Bethany Rittle-Johnson and colleagues TRANSCRIPT Mike Wallus: Welcome back to the podcast, DeAnn and Melissa. You have both been guests previously. It is a pleasure to have both of you back with us again to discuss your new book, Math Trajectories for Young Learners. Melissa Hedges: Thank you for having us. We're both very excited to be here. DeAnn Huinker: Yes, I concur. Good to see you and be here again. Mike: So DeAnn, I think what I'd like to do is just start with an important grounding question. What's a trajectory? DeAnn: That's exactly where we need to start, right? So as I think about, "What are learning trajectories?," I always envision them as these road maps of children's mathematical development. And what makes them so compelling is that these learning pathways are highly predictable. We can see where children are in their learning, and then we can be more intentional in our teaching when we know where they are currently at. But if I kind of think about the development of learning trajectories, they really are based on weaving together insights from research and practice to give us this clear picture of the typical development of children's learning. And as we always think about these learning trajectories, there are three main components.  The first component is a mathematical goal. This is the big ideas of math that children are learning. For example, counting, subitizing, decomposing shapes. The second component of a learning trajectory are developmental progressions. This is really the heart of a trajectory. And the progression lays out a sequence of distinct levels of thinking and reasoning that grow in mathematical sophistication. And then the third component are activities and tasks that align to and support children's movement along that particular trajectory.  Now, it's really important that we point out the learning trajectories that we use in our work with teachers and children were developed by Doug Clements and Julie Sarama. So we have taken their trajectories and worked to make them more usable and applicable for teachers in our area. So what Doug and Julie did is they mapped out children's learning starting at birth—when children are just-borns, 1-year-olds, 2-year-olds—and they mapped it out up till about age 8. And right now, last count, they have about 20 learning trajectories. And they're in different topics like number, operations, geometry, and measurement. And we have to put in a plug. They have a wonderful website. It's learningtrajectories.org. We go there often to learn more about the trajectories and to get ideas for activities and tasks.  Now, we're talking about this new book we have on math trajectories for young children. And in the book, we actually take a deep dive into just four of the trajectories. We look at counting, subitizing, composing numbers, and adding and subtracting. So back to your original question: What are they? Learning trajectories are highly predictable roadmaps of children's math learning that we can use to inform and support developmentally appropriate instruction. Mike: That's an incredibly helpful starting point. And I want to ask a follow-up just to get your thinking on the record. I wonder if you have thoughts about how you imagine educators could or should make use of the trajectories. Melissa: This is Melissa. I'll pick up with that question. So I'll piggyback on DeAnn's response and thinking around this highly predictable nature of a trajectory as a way to ground my first comment and that we want to always look at a trajectory as a tool. So it's really meant as an important tool to help us understand where a child is and their thinking right now, and then what those next steps might be to push for some deeper mathematical understanding.  So the first thing that when we work with teachers that we like to keep in mind, and one of the things that actually draw teachers to the trajectories is that they're strength-based. So it's not what a child can't do. It's what a child can do right now based off of experience and opportunity that they've had. We also really caution against using our trajectories as a way to kind of pigeonhole kids or rank kids or label kids because what we know is that as children have more experience and opportunity, they grow and they learn and they advance along that trajectory. So really it's a tool that's incredibly powerful when in the hands of a teacher that understands how they work to be able to think about where are the children right now in their classroom and what can they do to advance them.  And I think the other point that I would emphasize other than what moves children along is experience and opportunity. Children are going to be all over on the trajectory—that's been our experience—and they're in the same classroom. And it's not that some can't and some won't and some can; it's just some need more experience and some need more opportunity. So it's really opened up the door many ways to view a more equitable approach to mathematics instruction.  The other thing that I would say is, and DeAnn and I had big conversations about this when we were first using the trajectories, is: Do we look at the ages? So the trajectories that Clements and Sarama develop do have age markers on them. And we were a bit back and forth on, "Do we use them?," "Do we not?," knowing that mathematical growth is meant to be viewed through a developmental lens. So we had them on and then we had them off and then we shared them with teachers and many of our projects and the teachers were like, "No, no, no, put the ages back on. Trust us. We'll use them well." (laughs) And so the ages are back onto the trajectories. And what we've noticed is that they really do help us understand how to take either intentional steps forward or intentional steps back, depending on what kids are showing us on that trajectory.  The other spot that I would maybe put a plugin for on where we could use a trajectory and what would be an appropriate use for it would be for our special educators out there and to really start to use them to support clear, measurable IEP goals grounded in a developmental progress. So that's kind of what our rule of thumb would be around a "should" and "shouldn't" with the trajectories. Mike: That's really helpful. You mentioned the notion of experiences and opportunities being critical. So I wanted to take perhaps a bit of a detour and talk about what research tells us about the impact of early mathematics experiences, what impact that has on children. I wonder if you could share some of the research that you cite in the book with our listeners. DeAnn: Sure. This is DeAnn, and in the book we cite research throughout all of the chapters and aligned to all of the different trajectories. But as we think about our work, there really are a few studies that we anchor in, always, as we think about children's learning. And the research evidence is really clear that early mathematics matters. The math that children learn in these early years in prekindergarten, kindergarten, first grade—I mean, we're talking 4-, 5-, 6-year-olds, 7-year-olds—that their math learning is really more important than a lot of people think it is. OK? So as we think about these kind of anchor studies that we look at, one of the major studies in this area is from Greg Duncan and his colleagues, and there was a study published in 2007. And what they did is they examined data from thousands of children drawing information from six large-scale studies, and they found that the math knowledge and abilities of 4- and 5-year-olds was the strongest predictor of later achievement. I mean, 4- and 5-year-olds, that's just as they're starting school. Mike: Wow. DeAnn: Yeah. One of the surprising findings was that they found early math knowledge and abilities was a stronger predictor than social emotional skills, stronger than family background, and stronger than family income. That it was the math knowledge that was predictive. Mike: That's incredible. DeAnn: Yes. A couple other surprising things from this study was that early math was a stronger predictor than early reading. Now, we know reading is really important, and we know reading gets a lot of emphasis in the early grades, but math is a stronger predictor than reading. And then one last thing I'll say about this study is that early math not only predicts later math achievement, it also predicts later reading achievement. So that is always a surprise as we share that information with teachers, that early math seems to matter as much and perhaps more than early reading abilities.  There's a couple other studies I'll share with you as well. So there's this body of research that talks about [how] early math is very predictive of later learning, but we're teachers, we're educators. We like to know, "Well, what math seems to be most important?" So there was a study in 2016 that looked at children's math learning in prekindergarten, 4-year-olds, and then looked at their learning again back in fifth grade. And what was unique about this study is they looked closely at what specific math topics seemed to matter the most. And what they found was that advanced number competencies were the strongest predictors of later achievement.  Now, what are advanced number competencies? So these are the three that really stood out as being important. One was being able to count a set of objects with cardinality. So in other words, counting things, not just being able to recite a count sequence, no. So not verbal rote counting, but actually counting things, putting those numbers to objects. Another thing that they found [that] was really important was being able to count forward from any number. So if I said, "Start at 7 and keep counting," "Start at 23 and keep counting," that that was predictive of later learning. And the reason for that is when kids can count forward from a number, it helps them understand the structure of the number system, something we're always working on. And then the third thing that they found as part of advanced number competencies was conceptual subitizing. Now, what that is, is being able to see a number such as 5 as composed of subgroups, like 5 being composed of 4 and 1 or 3 and 2. So subitizing is being able to see the parts of a number, and that was really important for these 4-year-olds to begin working on for later learning.  All right. One more, Mike, that I can share? Mike: Fire away! Yes. DeAnn: OK. So this last area of research that I want to share is actually really important as we think about the work of teachers in kindergarten and first grade in particular. So what these researchers did is they looked at children's learning at the beginning of kindergarten and then at the end of first grade. So, wow, think of the math kids learn from 5, 6 years old. And they found that these gains in what children can do was more predictive of later achievement than just what knowledge they had coming in. So learning gains, what children do and learn in math in kindergarten and first grade, is predictive of their mathematical success up through third grade. And then another study took it even further and said: Wait a minute, what they learn in kindergarten and first grade even predicts children's math achievement into high school. So there's just a growing body of research and evidence that early math is really important. The math learning of 4-year-olds, 5-year-olds, 6-year-olds, and 7-year-olds really builds this foundation that determines children's mathematical success many years later. Mike: This feels like a really great segue to a conversation about what it means to provide students opportunities for meaningful counting. That feels particularly significant when I heard all of the ideas that you were sharing in the research. I'm wondering if you could talk about the features of a meaningful counting experience. If we were to try to break that down and think about: What does that mean? What does that look like? What types of experiences count as meaningful when it comes to counting? Could you all talk about that a little bit? Melissa: Yeah, that's a great question, Mike. This is Melissa.  So I think what's interesting about the idea of meaningful counting is, the more DeAnn and I studied the trajectory and spent time working with teachers and students, we came to the conclusion that the counting trajectory in particular is anchored, or a cornerstone of that counting trajectory is really meaningful counting. That once a skill is acquired—and we'll talk a little bit more about meaningful counting—but once that skill is acquired, it just builds and develops as kids grow and have more experience with number and quantity.  So when we think about meaningful counting, the phrase that we like to use is that "Numbers represent quantity." And it's just not that kids are saying numbers out loud, it's that when they say "5," they know what 5 means. They know how many that is. They can connect it to a context that they can go grab five of something. They might know that 5 is bigger than 2 or that 10 is bigger than 5. So they start to really play with this idea of quantity. And specifically when we're talking about kids engaging in meaningful counting, there's really key skills and understandings that we're looking and watching for as children count. The first one DeAnn already alluded to, is this idea of cardinality. So when I count how many I have—1, 2, 3, 4, 5—if that's the size of my set, when someone asks me, "How many is it?," I can say "5" without needing to go back and count. So I can hold that quantity. Another one is stable count sequence. So we used to call it rote count sequence. And again, DeAnn referenced the idea that, really, when we're asking kids to count, we're asking more than just saying numbers. So we think about the stability and the confidence in their counting. One of the pieces that we've started to really watch very carefully and think carefully about with our children as we're watching many of them count is their ability to organize. So it's not the job of the teacher to organize the counter, to tell the child how to lay out the counters. It really is the work of the child because it brings to bear counting, saying the numbers, maintaining cardinality, as well as sets them up and sets us up to see where they at with that one-to-one correspondence. So can they organize a set of counters in such a way that allows them to say one number, one touch, one object? And then as they continue to coordinate those skills, are they able to say back and hold onto the idea of quantity?  So the other ideas that we like to consider, mostly because they're embedded in the trajectory and we've seen them become incredibly important as we work with children, is the idea of producing a set. So when I ask a child, "Can you give me five?," they give me five, or are they able to stop when they get to five? Do they keep counting? Do they pick up a handful of counters and dump it in my hand? So all of those things are what we're looking for as we're thinking about the idea of producing a set.  And then finally, even for our youngest ones, we really place a fair importance on the idea of representing a count. So can they demonstrate, can they show on paper what they did or how many they have? So we leave with a very rudimentary math sketch. So if they've counted a collection of five, how would they represent five on that paper? What that allows then the teacher to do is to continue to leverage where the trajectory goes as well as what they know about young children to bring in meaningful experiences tied to writing numbers, tied to having conversations about numbers. So the kids aren't doing worksheets, they're actually documenting something very important to them, which is this collection of whatever it is that they just counted in a way that makes sense to them. And so I think the other part that I like to talk about when we think about meaningful counting is this idea of hierarchical inclusion. It's that idea that children understand that numbers are nested one within each other and that each number in the count sequence is exactly 1 higher than what they said before. So, many times our reference with that is with our teachers are those little nesting dolls. So we think about 1 and then we wrap 2 around it and then we wrap 3 around it. So when we think about the number 3, we're thinking, "Well, it's actually the quantity of 2 and 1 more." And we see that as a really powerful understanding in particular as our children get older and we ask them not just what is 1 more or 1 less, but what is 10 more or 10 less, that they take that and they extend that in meaningful ways. So again, the idea of meaningful counting, regardless of where we are on the trajectory, it's the idea that numbers represent quantities. And the neat thing about the trajectory—the counting trajectory in particular—is that they give us really beautiful markers as to when to watch for these. So we tend to talk about the trajectories as levels. So we'll say at level 6 on our counting trajectory is where we see cardinality first start to kind of show up, where we're starting to look for it. And then we watch that idea of cardinality grow as children get older, as they have more experience and opportunity, and as they work with larger numbers. Mike: That's incredibly helpful.  So I think one of the things that really jumped out, and I want to mark this and give you all an opportunity to be a little bit more explicit than you already were—this importance of linking numbers and quantities. And I wonder if you could say a bit more about what you mean, just to make sure that our listeners have a full understanding of why that is so significant. DeAnn: All right, this is DeAnn. I'll jump in and get started, and Melissa can add on.  As we first started to study the learning trajectory, the one thing we noticed was the importance of connecting things to quantity. Even some of the original levels didn't necessarily say "quantity," but we anchor our work to developing meaning for our work. And we always think about, even when we're skip-counting, it should be done with objects that we should be able to see skip-counting as quantities, not just as words that I'm reciting. So across the trajectory, we put this huge emphasis on always connecting them to items, to things, or to actions and to movements so that it's not just a word, but that word has some meaning and significance for the child. Mike: I think that takes me to the other bit of language, Melissa, that you said that I want to come back to. You said at one point when you were describing meaningful counting experiences, you said, "One number, one touch, one object." And I wonder if you could unpack that, particularly "one touch," for young children and why that feels significant. Melissa: That's a great question. And I'll come at this through a lens of watching many, many children count and working with lots and lots of teachers. When children are counting a set, many times they'll look and they'll go, "1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9," and then however many are in the collection, they'll just say, "9" by just looking. And one of the things that we've noticed is that sometimes we need to explicitly give permission to children to do what they need to do with that collection to find out how many. Sometimes they're afraid to touch the items. Sometimes they don't know that they can. And we don't come right out and say, "Go ahead and touch them." But we just say, "Gosh, is there another way that you could find out how many?" And what we notice are some amazing and interesting ways kids organize their collections. So sometimes to be able to get to that "one touch, one, number one object," they'll lay them out in a row. Sometimes they'll lay them out in a circle and they'll mark the one that they started with. Sometimes, with our little guys in particular, we like to give them collections where they have to sit things up, so like, the little counting bears. So if the bears are lying down, the kids will be very intentional in, "I set it up and I count it. I set it up and I count it. " And they all, many times, have to be facing the same direction as well. So the kids are very particular about, "How does this fit into the counting experience?" And I would say that's one thing that's been really significant for us in understanding that it really is the work of the child to do that "one touch, one object, one count" in a way that matters to them. And that a teacher can very easily lay it out and say, "Find out how many. Remember to touch one and tell me the number." Then it's not coming from the child. Then we don't know what they know. So that's been a really, really interesting aspect for us to watch in kids is, "How are they choosing to go into and enter into counting that?" And we look at that as problem solving from our youngest, from our 3-year-olds, all the way up, is: "What are you going to do with that pile of stuff in front of you?" And that's an authentic problem for them, and it's meaningful. Mike: I think what jumps out about that from me is the structure of what you just described is actually an experience and it's an opportunity to make sense of counting versus what perhaps has typically happened, which is a procedure for counting that we're asking kids to replicate and show us again. And what strikes me is you're advocating for a sensemaking opportunity because that's the work of the child. As opposed to, "Let me show you how to do it; you do it again and show it back to me," but what might be missing is meaning or connection to something that's real and that sets up what we think might be a house of cards or at the very least it has significant implications as you described in the research. Melissa: One of the things, Mike, that I would add on that actually I just thought about is, when you were talking about the importance of us letting the children figure out how they want to approach that task of organizing their count, is: It's coming from the child. And Clements and Sarama talk about, the beautiful work about the trajectory is that we see that the mathematics comes from the child and we can nurture that along in developmentally appropriate ways.  The other idea that popped into my mind is: It's kind of a parallel to when our children get older and we want to teach them a way to add and a way to subtract. And I'm going to show you how to do it and you follow my procedure. I'm going to show it; you follow my procedure. We know that that's not best practice either. And so we're really looking at: How do we grab onto that idea of number sense and move forward with it in a way that's meaningful with children from as young as 1 and 2 all the way up? Mike: I hope you've enjoyed the first half of our conversation with DeAnn and Melissa as much as I have. We'll release the second half of our conversation on April 9th. This podcast is brought to you by The Math Learning Center and the Maier Math Foundation, dedicated to inspiring and enabling all individuals to discover and develop their mathematical confidence and ability. © 2026 The Math Learning Center | www.mathlearningcenter.org

Welcome back to the Konfidence in the Klutch Podcast with Donald Nelson (2:30). Konfidence in the Klutch's Deezus gives his Konfident Service Announcement: Celebrate the small wins (3:15).  Deezus then shares his NBA news, including Say Bam Adebayo's name.  Too much hate, the game is the game.  The Lakers are 10-2 this season without Bron, concern?  SGA breaking a Wilt record.  The NBA will hold a vote to accept bids for expansion in Seattle and Las Vegas (10:00). Deezus then shares his WNBA thoughts, including that the league and players' association have held marathon sessions lasting 12-14 hours for seven days straight.  You're not getting gross, ladies (17:45). Deezus gives his NCAA men's and women's final four picks (27:00). Deezus discusses 'Politics as usual', including Iran striking ships and oil fields.  Tragedy on the home front at Old Dominion and a Michigan synagogue.  Iran says the Strait of Hormuz will not be open to American ships and has let select other countries' oil barges through (27:30).  Deezus shares his thoughts on Milwaukee Public Schools and the Milwaukee education scene (34:00).  Deezus gives his "Oscar's" wrap and update on "Paradise", it's heating up now, baby. (38:40).  The podcast was recorded at 3:00 p.m. CT on Wednesday, March 17, 2026.  Host: Donald Nelson Producer/Engineer: Donald Nelson Music by: Konfidence in the Klutch Productions Subscribe, Stream, or Download:

We discuss the growing opposition to the Iran War and new data revealing the war cost $11 billion in the first week. A coalition of antiwar groups launched a national campaign on Wednesday calling for Representative Hakeem Jeffries and Senator Chuck Schumer to step down from their positions as minority leaders. We discuss news from the judiciary this week: conservative State Supreme Court Justice Annette Ziegler is not to run for a new term to the Wisconsin Supreme Court in 2027 and Brad Schimel is blocked by Tammy Baldwin from continuing as U.S. attorney in Milwaukee. We welcome Kristie Tweed, Citizen Action of Wisconsin's statewide Healthcare Coordinator to discuss the BadgerCare Public Option bills' legislative roll out last week and plans for the next month, as grassroots leaders push for more lawmakers to co-sponsor the legislation. Krisite tells us about how you can get involved in the upcoming events in Cashton, Appleton, Milwaukee, and Wausau and she provides an update on the bill's growing co-sponsorship list. The Legislature was sued by Law Forward over its billing of private attorney fees to the public. "Wisconsin taxpayers deserve to know their money is being spent lawfully to advance a valid public purpose." Milwaukee Public Schools announced they will be forced by state underfunding to slash 260 staff, as MPS Superintendent Brenda Cassellius stressed that MPS faces rising costs while receiving a $0 state increase in general aid due to the last disastrous state budget deal. As Wisconsin public school districts make cuts, the UW Athletic Department is coming to the Legislature with hat in hand looking for taxpayers to fund millions to support the UW's NIL program to pay college athletes in football and basketball.

An audit found that Milwaukee Public Schools overspent its budget last school year by $46 million. Now, leaders are considering cuts to jobs.

Dee Anderson was a pastor at West Granville Presbyterian Church for forty years. He retired in 2025, but for years he helped oversee the resettlement of international teachers coming to teach in Milwaukee Public Schools.   You heard from two of those teachers in a previous Status Pending episode - Chigozie Okonkwo and Chioma Mba, from Nigeria. They're part of Dee's congregation, and that's how WUWM's Audrey Nowakowski and Katherine Kokal met him.  Here's Pastor Dee talking about why his church stepped up to meet the moment, and how it's changed them for the better. 

Milwaukee Public Schools recently approved Annie Kubes as the new senior director of Milwaukee Recreation.  Milwaukee Rec runs hundreds of programs in the city – from afterschool care to youth sports and cooking classes.   Kubes has worked for the department since she was sixteen years old. Throughout her career, she's overseen various Milwaukee Rec programs — from Special Olympics to driver education and aquatics. She was most recently working part-time as Milwaukee Rec's special projects coordinator. Lake Effect's Xcaret Nuñez speaks with Kubes about her job experience and the goals she has for this role. 

Milwaukee Public Schools recently approved Annie Kubes as the new senior director of Milwaukee Recreation. She has continuously worked for the department in various part-time and full-time roles since she was 16-years-old.

Milwaukee Public Schools is required to have armed police in some schools. Students are calling for reforms and boundaries for the officers.

Milwaukee Public Schools has announced it will receive a final payment from the state that was previously withheld after the school district missed financial reporting deadlines in 2024.

91% of students in Milwaukee Public Schools cannot read at grade level. But a new literacy plan by the school district promises to change how students learn to read. The plan comes in response to new state legislation, called Act 20, that requires districts to use science-based reading instruction.  WUWM education reporter Katherine Kokal is looking into literacy in her series called Turning the Page: Teaching Milwaukee to Read. She talked with Ana Gabriela Bell Jiménez, the Academic Superintendent for Literacy at MPS, and Jennifer Mims-Howell, the district's Chief Academic Officer. 

2025 was a whirlwind for Milwaukee Public Schools. It hired a new superintendent and dealt with flooding right before the start of the school year. But the biggest story was the school district's multimillion dollar cleanup of toxic lead paint in its classrooms and common spaces.  The project began after a student tested positive for elevated lead levels and the contamination was traced back to the student's school. That was one year ago in January. WUWM education reporter Katherine Kokal is joined by Michael Turza. He's the interim chief operating officer at MPS, and he's been at the helm of the lead remediation project. 

Milwaukee Public Schools announced in December that is has completed lead paint cleaning at 100 of its oldest schools.

This week we present two classic stories from people who got called into action to save an animal they didn't know they'd be called to save.Part 1: While running an errand, Andrea Azarian happens upon a lost horse that needs her help. Part 2: Left in charge of the farm for the first time, Gwynne Hogan panics when a goat goes into labor.Andrea Azarian has an undergraduate degree in Public Administration and Political Science from UW-LaCrosse. She completed her teacher certification and Master's degree in Education at Alverno College. Andrea taught English, Math, Reading, and Family and Consumer Education in grades 5-8 in Milwaukee Public Schools before coming to UWM. She has been at UWM as an Academic Advisor in the Department of Curriculum and Instruction for twelve years. Her time outside of work is spent traveling with her friends and family laughing and being present in the moment.Gwynne Hogan is a reporter and producer in the WNYC newsroom who seems to keep ending up covering disease and communities from measles to COVID-19. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Milwaukee Public Schools -- rated at 2-stars -- wans to kick out a charter school. Chris Conley has more on the WSAU Wisconsin Morning News.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This year, Milwaukee Public Schools ended a program that hired international teachers because of uncertainty over visas. A small police department in Jefferson County has applied to work with ICE on immigration enforcement. And, Wisconsin lawmakers introduce a series of election-related bills.

Dr. Brenda Cassellius started her first full school year as superintendent of Milwaukee Public Schools this week. Here's what she thinks the year will bring and what will improve.

Milwaukee Public Schools spent the summer cleaning lead paint, asbestos and now, dealing with a chemical spill. That didn't dampen the mood outside Browning Elementary Tuesday morning.

Some Wisconsin researchers are sounding the alarm after the U.S. Supreme Court ruling ended some science and health grants. Then, recent disasters have underscored a need for more shelters in Milwaukee. And, Milwaukee's public schools looks to rebuild trust.

A second state-ordered audit of Milwaukee Public Schools focuses on how the district teaches its students. It found glaring issues with literacy and teacher training.

The Wisconsin Supreme Court is refusing to hear challenges to the state's congressional district boundaries. We Energies will keep two aging coal-fired units running at its Oak Creek Power Plant for one year longer than planned. And, teams of painters and cleaners are working to remove lead hazards at 44 schools in Milwaukee this summer.

Wisconsin Democrats have elected a new chair to replace Ben Wikler, the outgoing chair who turned the party into a fundraising juggernaut. Thousands of people across the state protested the Trump administration over the weekend. And, a new audit shows Milwaukee Public Schools isn't supporting its teachers and doesn't have adequate systems in place for student learning.

Milwaukee Public Schools has missed another deadline to submit financial data to the Department of Public Instruction. And now, additional state aid for this year is being withheld. Wisconsin Democrats are reintroducing gun regulations after Republicans stripped those measures from the state budget. And, an elk was illegally killed in Wisconsin in March. Now conservation groups are offering a reward for information about the person responsible.

We debrief the historic Capitol Day of Action this Tuesday which called on the Governor to veto any budget that does not meet basic standards. It was organized by Citizen Action Wisconsin in partnership with Wisconsin Public Education Network, and WISDOM; and co-sponsored by: Wisconsin Education Association Council (WEAC), AFT-Wisconsin, WECAN, Progress North, Madison Teachers Inc, Milwaukee Teachers Education Association, Green Bay Education Association, Kenosha Education Association, Racine Education Association, and Wisconsin Democracy Campaign. 200 citizen-lobbyists met with their legislators, attended a media event with all the partner organizations, who then marched to Governor Tony Evers' office with a jointly signed letter encouraging the Governor to veto any budget from the Legislature that fails to properly fund public schools, expand BadgerCare, fund childcare, and close Green Bay Correctional and builds no new prisons. We review multi-millionaire Ron Johnson's abandonment of Wisconsin's working families by demanding even deeper cuts to Medicaid and food assistance to pay for tax cuts for the wealthy. In addition, this week Johnson declared that Milwaukee Public Schools should get no help from the federal government for cleaning up lead that is poisoning our children. Johnson also rejected science and life-saving measles vaccine requirements for children. Derrick Van Orden emerged again from his bunker and started lying about his broken promise not to cut Medicaid. The Congressional Budget Office is clear that 13.6 million Americans will lose health coverage due to cuts to Medicaid and the Affordable Care Act in the House Budget Bill, with 11,000 in Van Orden's district losing Medicaid because of his vote. We encourage listeners to call or visit his office and remind him he broke his promise to voters and now he is lying. We welcome the President of SEIU Wisconsin Healthcare, Pat Raes, to discuss the historic 5 day strike at Meriter Hospital in Madison launched by nurses this week. Pat is a 35 year veteran of the hospital and tells us about why they are striking and how you can support their effort to protect the safety of their patients by fighting the corporatization of healthcare which puts profits over care.

Milwaukee Public Schools leaders announced their lead remediation plan for the 106 schools in the district built before 1978. It comes as the CDC has denied the city's request for help.

Milwaukee Public Schools leaders announced their lead remediation plan for the 106 schools in the district built before 1978. It comes as the CDC has denied the city's request for help.

In this impactful episode of the Leaders Coaching Leaders Podcast, Dr. Latish Reed, a trailblazing equity specialist and author of the upcoming book, The Complexities of Equity: Navigating Shades of Gray in Schools and Organizations, shares her unique and deeply personal insights on equity in education, drawing from her tenure as Milwaukee Public Schools' first equity administrator. Through her “shades of gray” framework, she explores the complexities of addressing equity in schools and other organizations, highlighting the transformational power of leadership, moral courage, and intentional action. From her reflections on building shared understanding of key equity concepts to practical solutions for navigating challenging political and organizational contexts, Dr. Reed inspires leaders to leverage their spheres of influence for meaningful change. You'll also hear heartfelt stories of her dedication to creating better educational outcomes for all students, as well as her personal motivation to make schools work for every child—including her own son. Whether you're leading a school, tackling DEI challenges, or interested in fostering equitable practices, this conversation with Dr. Reed is filled with actionable insights and hope for the future of education. Don't miss this fascinating discussion, and prepare to think deeply about how we can all do better for our students, staff, and communities!Let us know what you think!

Some conservative groups filed a federal complaint against Milwaukee Public Schools over the district's gender inclusion policy. A rare species of crustacean was spotted in Menomonee Falls. And, this week's spring election caught national attention. WPR's politics team will recap what the results said about the state of Wisconsin politics.

Dr. Brenda Cassellius is Milwaukee Public Schools' new superintendent. What are her priorities for her first year on the job?

MPS district leaders and city health department officials said Thursday that cuts at the CDC are having an impact on lead remediation projects in schools.

In Wisconsin's Supreme Court race, Susan Crawford won the entire state of Wisconsin by 10 percent. Democrats are seeing this as a positive sign. The director of facilities at Milwaukee Public Schools is being reprimanded and fined by the state for misrepresenting himself as a registered architect. And, La Crosse voters have elected the city's first Black and first openly gay mayor.

Thr new superintendent of Milwaukee Public Schools shares what she hopes to accomplish. We explore the history of school choice. We stage a game show for Milwaukee wine enthusiasts. The meaning behind the Milwaukee Public Market rooster mascot.

Can Congress get away with taking away health care from millions to fund huge tax cuts for the rich? We preview Medicaid Town Halls in Wausau, La Crosse and Eau Claire that will help organize resistance to proposed slashing cuts to Medicaid. Meanwhile, Rep. Van Orden continued to hunker down in his basement bunker, holding a virtual town hall where he can avoid answering tough questions after misleading his own constituents about Medicaid cuts he rubber stamped in Congress. We cannot win by surrendering in advance. We continue to encourage Governor Evers to veto any budget the Legislature produces that fails to expand BadgerCare. The Spring Election is around the corner and Brad Schimel rehashes voter fraud conspiracies about Milwaukee that he knows are false. So much for his phony stance as a high minded judge above politics. This week the only debate in the State Superintendent of DPI election was held by WPEN and other allies. This race remains about Jill Underly's dedicated support for improving and properly funding our public schools vs. her opponent who is a supporter of siphoning even more money to private unaccountable voucher schools. Robert educates us on a legal case against Greenpeace who was found liable for $645 million for Dakota Access Pipeline protests that has huge implications for the Constitutional right of free speech and protest. Will this be the beginning of a legal strategy to bankrupt progressive nonprofits to silence free speech and assembly? We close with a soul-searching discussion with James Causey, a longtime columnist with the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, on adults forcing police officers back into Milwaukee Public Schools without ever listening to the kids.

The election rumor mill sped up recently after some Wisconsin voters received postcards with wrong information about the upcoming April election. Police officers are back in Milwaukee Public Schools. And, last year's Republican National Convention in Milwaukee may not have been the economic boost to the city that supporters had hoped for.

On Thursday's "Dan O'Donnell Show," Milwaukee Public Schools faces contempt charges. Plus, a shocking celebrity death mystery, the release of the Epstein files (sort of), and the return of "Forgotten History!"

A Milwaukee County judge ordered the state's largest school district and the City of Milwaukee to split the cost of putting school resource officers in schools. That judge also put a strict deadline on when those officers are in Milwaukee Public Schools and the clock is ticking. In this episode of Open Record, FOX6 Investigator Bryan Polcyn invites FOX6 political reporter Jason Calvi on to talk about the controversial law MPS never asked for and the long battle over who should foot the bill for police officers in schools. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

MacIver Institute content director Bill Osmulski and economist Michael Lucas tackle some tough mysteries about Wisconsin public policy in this edition of the MacIver Report. The state senate just introduced a bill this week that would give electric transmission companies a monopoly over future projects in the state. Also, Milwaukee Public Schools' audit came back exploring why the district is a constant financial basket case. And last, but definitely not least, a mom complains about the food her kids get at school while Gov. Evers demands every kid get free breakfast and lunch at school.

Milwaukee Public Schools has not had a permanent superintendent since June 2024, when Keith Posley resigned amid allegations of mismanagement.

On Thursday's "Dan O'Donnell Show," Dan wonders which is worse—Milwaukee Public Schools, which is the worst district in the country at educating black children, or the Milwaukee Housing Authority, which illegally took federal grant money from the poor to give to its employees?

Assembly Speaker Robin Vos said local communities should be required to cooperate with federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement. School resource officers must return to the Milwaukee Public Schools district after a legal ruling. And, Madison Police Chief Shon Barnes leaves his post.

Democratic Vice Presidential hopeful Tim Walz was back in Wisconsin yesterday. Republican candidates for office have run up the numbers in Wisconsin's suburbs, like conservative Waukesha County, for years. But that GOP support has been slipping recently. And now both parties are competing for votes there. WPR's Shawn Johnson will have more on how suburban voters could tip the scales for Wisconsin.

Wisconsin environmental groups are grappling with how a recent Supreme Court decision will be felt here. Milwaukee Public Schools will lose more than 81-million-dollars as fallout from its financial reporting scandal continues. And Anya van Wagtendonk reports on how Wisconsin's election clerks are getting ready for the presidential election -- and the spotlight that comes with it.

Milwaukee Public Schools may face an audit by the state Legislature. That's the latest fallout from the district's financial crisis. The Wisconsin Supreme Court unanimously ruled that lower courts violated the First Amendment rights of an abortion protester. And Wisconsin construction companies are trying to get more women to join the industry.

Govenor Tony Evers announced he is proceeding with plans to direct resources to support two additional audits of Milwaukee Public Schools. The Wisconsin Elections Commission approved Tony Wied to be on the ballot for the state's 8th Congressional District despite challenges to his nomination paperwork. And, Milwaukee County is seeing more unsheltered homeless people on the streets. Evan Casey will have the latest on how community members are handling the situation.

Milwaukee Public Schools might not lose millions of dollars in state funding, after submitting missing financial data to the Department of Public Instruction. The warden and eight other employees of Waupun Correctional Institution were criminally charged in connection to the deaths of two inmates. And, Margaret Faust will have the latest on a bakery in Menomenee Falls that is continuing to raise money for queer youth despite safety threats.

Candidates have filed their paperwork to run under Wisconsin's new legislative maps. And that means most districts will be competitive. The Superintendent of Milwaukee Public Schools is resigning after more than 100 community members called for him to be fired last night. And, community frustration is bubbling up in La Crosse around the city's response to a large number of unsheltered people.

Wisconsin's new state voting maps have shaken up state legislative races. Nearly half of all lawmakers have announced they won't run in their old districts, and many will leave the Legislature entirely. The family of a man who was killed by Appleton police is suing the city and the police officer who shot him. And, Wisconsin's Department of Public Instruction is threatening to withhold funding from Milwaukee Public Schools unless the district completes a corrective action plan.