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Health & Fitness

Reforming Education: Speaker's Briefing for September 27, 2013

I'm State Representative Robin Vos and this is the Speaker's Briefing. 

Report cards are now available for every Wisconsin public school. I'm pleased to see that 88% of schools either achieved or exceeded expectations. But we can still do more to improve the quality of education our kids are receiving. 

The Department of Public Instruction says that rural schools serve 40% of state students. I've put together a bipartisan Task Force to deal with declining enrollment and encourage partnerships to maximize resources. Members will begin meeting in October across Wisconsin, looking for solutions to problems shared by schools statewide. 

Additionally, this week I selected a bipartisan group of legislators to study the national Common Core Standards to address concerns and questions raised by many. Wisconsin adopted the standards for English and Math in 2010, however this past spring we paused further implementation. We want to make sure the educational standards fit with Wisconsin values while being rigorous enough to exceed federal guidelines. The Select Committee on Common Core will begin meeting soon. 

A good education is one of the most important things we can give to our children. I am proud of what we have already done to transform education and look forward to continuing to help schools and the future leaders of the state.

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