The Madison Metropolitan School District is weighing a moratorium on out of school suspensions for young students. The moratorium would prohibit the punitive practice for students from 4-k through fifth grade. At a school board committee meeting yesterday, MMSD’s Coordinator of Progressive Discipline Bryn Martyna told board members that suspensions disproportionately affect students of color […]
The Benefits of Universal 4K
After receiving increased funding through the passage of an operating referendum last fall, the Madison Metropolitan School District will begin offering full-day 4K (four-year-old kindergarten) programming for certain school boundaries in the 2021–22 school year. Today, we discuss the importance of early childhood education and the possibility of a universal 4K program in Madison with […]
Madison school board approves employee handbook changes
The Madison school board voted four to three last night to approve changes to the district’s employee handbook. The changes mean a switch to how the district reviews its teachers for personnel decisions. Notably, the changes remove seniority as the sole factor determining which teachers get laid off first. Under the new policies, seniority would […]
Gutierrez Rescinds Acceptance of Superintendent Position
Photo by Feliphe Schiarolli on Unsplash. In less than two months, Dr. Matthew Gutierrez was slated to become the new superintendent of Madison’s public schools. But late last night, the Madison school board announced Gutierrez would not be working in the position come June. He is instead staying in Seguin, Texas, where he […]
Some Black Community Leaders Oppose Superintendent Hire
Matthew Gutiérrez is currently the superintendent of the Seguin Independent School District near San Antonio, Texas. Later this year, Gutiérrez will become the next superintendent of the Madison Metropolitan School District. The school board unanimously chose him to lead the district last month, but a group of leaders in Madison’s black community have expressed concerns […]
Savion Castro on Work Left to Do with School Board
Savion Castro was appointed to the Madison Metro School District Seat 2 last year. Now, Castro is running for the remainder of the term in a special election this spring. Speaking with WORT producer Shaun Soman earlier this week, Castro shared his current work helping students in the district, and some of his priorities for […]
