Diverse group of individuals bring unique skills and ideas to school board races

(Editor’s note: a picture of Bruce Thompson was not available at press time.)

Two men and two women from different professions and who have unique philosophies and ideas on education have announced their candidacies for two Milwaukee Public School district seats and for the citywide seat.

Johnna Scott to run for district two school board seat

Friends of Johnna Scott recently announced her candidacy for school board director to represent District 2. In her decision to run, she noted her increasing discontentment with the Milwaukee Public School’s (MPS) truancy and dropout rates and low achievement compared to those of suburban youth.

"The blame game is over! It’s time for us to come together, find solutions and get an action plan in place to improve our young people’s opportunities for success. It’s time for a change," says Scott. As a school board director, my passion and support for youth, teachers and many others who work with them will be evident.

"I will not forget my purpose for serving on the board. I will keep my constituents informed about my decisions and continue to be involved in my community, and most importantly, I will put our youth first."

Scott’s solutions for success in MPS include upgrading the current curriculum to better prepare youth to compete in a global economy, expand special needs programming and work with community partners to offer programs for at-risk youth to increase their chances for success.

In addition, providing teachers and principals with the training and mentoring needed to work in urban schools is also on her agenda.

"Milwaukee Public School youth are continually falling behind other Wisconsin children. As a community, we can work together to fix this," said Scott. Milwaukee has a bright future.

There are a lot of innovate initiatives underway and in the planning stages. Many organizations have plans to make Southeastern Wisconsin a region of choice for residents, businesses and tourism. However, before our city can really be a region people will consider, we must understand and address some of the barriers to success--including the state of our public education system.

Bruce Thompson announce school board bid

Seven years after spearheading a united leadership that passed much-needed education reforms, Bruce Thompson plans to announce his candidacy for the citywide seat on the Milwaukee school board, stressing that area schools are poised to reap the benefits of those reforms.

"We have a unique opportunity to consolidate the positive changes of the recent past so that we can improve student achievement and make our schools even better in the future," Thompson said.

Thompson said he will help provide the kind of leadership required to make the hard decisions required to take Milwaukee schools to the next level of excellence.

"Too often the school board has been distracted by issues that had little to do with improving student achievement," Thompson added.

Thompson’s priorities include boosting student achievement, improving financial management, strengthening the board, solving the health care crisis, and encouraging local public schools to play a central role in making sure Milwaukee has the skilled workforce needed to compete in the global economy.

As a member of the school board from 1997-2001, Thompson helped lead efforts to open up the admissions and enrollment processes, allowed schools to select their teachers, decentralized budgets, convinced the Legislature to support neighborhood schools, the SAGE small class initiative and expanded Montessori, charter schools, and other effective programs.

Thompson said he will make a formal announcement and lay out his detailed agenda for improving Milwaukee public schools after the first of the year.

Stephanie Findley brings passion, commitment to District 3 School Board Race

If elected to the Milwaukee Public School Board, Stephanie Findley will bring her undeniable passion for youth and her commitment to the Milwaukee community with her. A Milwaukee native, Findley, who is running for the District 3 seat, has officially entered the race.

A mother and successful entrepreneur, she is the founder and chief executive officer of Fast & Accurate Business Solutions and she is passionate about public education and Milwaukee’s youth.

"As a mother and business woman, I am confident that I can bring new vision and new leadership to the school board," Findley explained.

"MPS needs board directors that put the city’s youth first and leave the politics to the politicians. I understand that public schools are the backbone of our community because they are key to combating poverty, reducing crime and providing economic stability for Milwaukee’s future."

Milwaukee was one of 14 urban school districts where students have less than a 50-50 chance of graduating high school with their peers, according to a recent "USA Today" article entitled "Big-city schools struggle with graduation rates." Milwaukee Public Schools graduation rate is a dismal 43.1, the article revealed.

Findley has already received powerful endorsements from community leaders including County Supervisor Willie Johnson, Jr. and Democratic Party Official Martha Love.

Her campaign platform includes increasing the fiscal oversight for the district, reducing class size to ensure more individualized student attention, redesigning the current school curricula to ensure that MPS students are able to compete in global markets and ensuring that all MPS children are able to learn in a safe environment.

"This is the right time for a candidate like Stephanie Findley and I am confident she is the right candidate," said Martha Love.

"I’ve had the pleasure of working very closely with Stephanie in her role as the Fourth Congressional district chair for the Democratic Party.

"She is a strong, effective leader who is passionate about the role of parents in their children’s education. Stephanie will be creative in ensuring the needs of teachers, parents, and the community are met."

Findley’s diverse background provides her with a unique perspective on public education and today’s youth.

She is a proud graduate of MPS and Concordia University. She is currently enrolled in the Master’s of Science in Business Management program at Cardinal Stritch University and will graduate in March. She also attended Milwaukee Area Technical College.

Findley is extremely involved and respected in the Milwaukee community. She has participated as a Junior Achievement instructor at Custer High School where she taught Success Skills to 10th graders. She has also mentored at-risk females in the Social Development Commission’s Youth Development Program. She is currently mentoring students at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee and Marquette University.

"Stephanie and I share a passion for the youth," said County Supervisor Willie Johnson, who was also a Junior Achievement consultant for 12 years.

"As a Junior Achievement volunteer Stephanie taught young people the importance of staying in school and graduating. She can also help young people understand that small business development is a viable employment option because she is an experienced entrepreneur."

Michael Bonds wants to help MPS students prepare for fast-paced world

Concerned that many MPS students are being left behind in an ever changing fast-paced world, Michael Bonds, a Milwaukee native and professor of education at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, recently threw his hat into the ring for the third district school board seat.

Bonds expressed concern that MPS students are not being prepared for college or the workforce, adding that if elected, he would provide strong and independent leadership.

He indicated he will be a very strong advocate for MPS students to make sure they will have the skills needed to compete in today’s society.

Bonds is a 1976 graduate of Rufus King High School. Both his sons attended and graduated from MPS.

Bonds indicated he would focus on the following issues:

o Curriculum overhaul in MPS

o Work on partnership with MPS and key institutions in Milwaukee

o Eliminate the academic gap between Black and White students

o Eliminate financial waste in MPS

o Increased funding for the arts, recreation and music band, etc.

o Improve school safety

o Monitor building construction, expansion and school closings in MPS

o Increased state funding for MPS

Bonds has been very active in Milwaukee’s Black community for years. He has been involved in voter registration, the school desegregation issue, tutoring, etc.

He has written books and articles on Black business, welfare reform, education reform, Black politics, housing and the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) program.

Bonds has a long history of speaking up and fighting injustices in the city and views his candidacy as another battle to fight the injustice in the type of education students are receiving in MPS.