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Colleston @colleston.bsky.social · 22/09/2026

1/5 In today's CFC Corner: a thriving MPS requires investing in full minds, not half-empty buildings. Right now, 30% of MPS building space sits unused: room for nearly 25,000 students the district doesn't have cfcmke.substack.com/p/mps-still-...

cfcmke.substack.com

MPS Still Needs A Plan: Full Minds, Not Half-Empty Buildings

After a decade of delay, the School Board is out of road to kick the can down.

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Colleston @colleston.bsky.social · 08/08/2026

1/ I joined leaders of two of MKE's leading private schools in the Parental Choice (or voucher) program — St. Marcus and Messmer — for a frank and open conversation on school funding and accountability. www.bizjournals.com/milwaukee/ne... A few numbers worth sitting with:

bizjournals.com

Table of Experts: A conversation about meaningful accountability, funding and the future of educational opportunity in Milwaukee - Milwaukee Business Journal

The Milwaukee Business Journal recently talked with Rich Mannisto, Henry Tyson and Colleston Morgan Jr. about the changes needed to create a funding and accountability infrastructure that better refle...

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Colleston @colleston.bsky.social · 20/05/2026

In the @cfc_mke Corner: Last week, the WI State Senate killed a budget deal that would've finally gotten special ed reimbursement to 50%. Real money. This year. For kids. Our new poll shows how badly the MSN echo chamber is misreading the moment. 🧵 open.substack.com/pub/cfcmke/...

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Colleston @colleston.bsky.social · 15/12/2025

Thank you to @madison_365 for recognizing me as one of WI's Most Influential Black Leaders. I'm grateful to lead our work @cfc_mke to ensure students in MKE and across WI receive the excellent education they deserve, at a high-quality school of their choice. buff.ly/rsSFMfk

madison365.com

Wisconsin's 32 Most Influential Black Leaders for 2025, Part 1

This is the first of a five-part series. Since our founding in 2015, these annual lists of Wisconsin’s most influential Black, Latino, Indigenous, and Asian American leaders have become the most…

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Colleston @colleston.bsky.social · 13/11/2025

In today's special Thursday edition of the Corner, we shared our take at @cfc_mke on the recent School & District Report Card release. Progress in MKE's public charters and private schools, ongoing challenges at MPS - and a continuing mess from DPI. mkeedunews.substack.com/p/school-and...

mkeedunews.substack.com

School & District Report Cards Are Out—But They're Still Broken

Report cards are supposed to be a mirror and a measuring stick, helping families, educators, and communities see clearly where our schools stand.

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Colleston @colleston.bsky.social · 19/09/2025

It's the 3rd Fri in Sept - WI's enrollment count date for publicly-funded students. Unfortunately, its also a day when misinformation abounds. Read CFC's Fact Check to get schooled: Fact Check: How Wisconsin students are counted and schools are paid mkeedunews.substack.com/p/fact-check...

mkeedunews.substack.com

Fact Check: How Wisconsin students are counted and schools are paid

The Fact: If a publicly-funded student leaves ANY school – district, public charter, or private – during the middle of the year (e.g., after the 3rd Friday count), that school does not receive the ful...

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Colleston @colleston.bsky.social · 25/08/2025

@the74.bsky.social with a great, thought-provoking piece about the failures of local school boards, and how they echo broader challenges to (small-d) democratic governance. Its an issue here in MKE, but also across the country - & one we must reckon with. www.the74million.org/article/how-...

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Colleston @colleston.bsky.social · 19/08/2025

In today's Corner, I shared our take on the recent state Report Card revamp: "The bottom line: Families, educators, and the public deserve a report card that's honest, accurate, and trustworthy - and right now, WI's Report Cards are failing to measure up." mkeedunews.substack.com/p/school-and...

mkeedunews.substack.com

School & District Report Card Revamp

Better Process, But Unfinished Work

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Matthew Yglesias @mattyglesias.bsky.social · 11/07/2025

You need to give teachers a job that it’s actually feasible to do www.slowboring.com/p/the-promis...

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Colleston @colleston.bsky.social · 08/07/2025

In today's Corner, I shared @cfc_mke's take on the state budget, the real wins it delivered for ALL our kids and schools, & why cross-partisan compromise required courage - not cowardice - from @govevers, @repvos, @senatordevin, & @senhesselbein mkeedunews.substack.com/p/kid-first-...

mkeedunews.substack.com

Kid-First Leadership From The Courageous Center: CFC’s Assessment of the 2025-27 State Budget

Too often, fringe activists on both ends of the political spectrum hijack the policy process, preferring ideological purity over pragmatic progress.

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Colleston @colleston.bsky.social · 02/07/2025

LOTS of sniping from special interests & their lege allies making perfect the enemy of progress, but at City Forward Collective, we see gains for all kids in the budget deal. @govevers.wisconsin.gov, Sen Hesselbein @senatedemswi.bsky.social, and GOP leaders all deserve credit for a 💪🏿 compromise.

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Colleston @colleston.bsky.social · 30/06/2025

👏🏿 We know this formula works: “Close low-performing, underenrolled schools. Expand high-performing, in-demand schools… As parents clamor for more choices, policymakers should focus on providing a high-quality portfolio of options to choose from.” www.the74million.org/article/big-...

the74million.org

Big Improvements Require Big Changes: Close Bad Schools and Expand Good Ones

Aldeman: New Orleans, Denver & Florida show how implementing a portfolio model of school choice can lead to dramatic academic gains.

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Colleston @colleston.bsky.social · 10/06/2025

Disappointing to see MKE-area supes use misleading talking points, pitting students & schools against each other. We all agree, WI should increase special education funding - don't demagogue families' choices to make the case. www.jsonline.com/story/opinio...

jsonline.com

Lawmakers should listen to their own commission and fully fund special education | Opinion

The state has the financial capacity to support students with disabilities, to invest in all students, and, crucially, to protect property taxpayers.

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Colleston @colleston.bsky.social · 10/06/2025

In today's Corner, I shared CFC's assessment of the FY26 proposed MPS budget -- and some thoughts on the refreshingly direct honesty that the new Superintendent is delivering on the district's academic & financial circumstances. mkeedunews.substack.com/p/clarity-an...

mkeedunews.substack.com

Clarity & Candor Amidst Challenges

CFC’s Assessment of the FY2026 MPS Proposed Budget

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Colleston @colleston.bsky.social · 09/06/2025

Great work by @journalsentinel, providing a straightforward and accurate summary of WI's special education funding challenges - & not falling into the trap of making misleading public/private comparisons on reimbursement rates. www.jsonline.com/story/news/e...

jsonline.com

Educators, parents from about 40 Wisconsin K-12 districts have urged lawmakers to increase special ed funding

The Wisconsin Legislature's Joint Committee on Finance held public hearings on the state budget in Wausau, Kaukauna, West Allis and Hayward in April.

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Colleston @colleston.bsky.social · 08/06/2025

Great read - so much also translates into Dems’ refusal to embrace education abundance. @WisDems, esp legislators, are repeating this boasting about policy failures with attacks on high-quality school choices. www.nytimes.com/2025/06/08/o...

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Colleston @colleston.bsky.social · 29/05/2025

Important news - we at City Forward Collective will be watching closely. We've been clear about our position: WI students and families deserve honesty, transparency, and accountability to high expectations - and DPI's current standards fail to meet that mark. www.jsonline.com/story/news/e...

jsonline.com

Wisconsin DPI plans more changes to 'cut scores,' with updates to K-12 report cards

The Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction is updating its state report card system, which annually rates schools and districts.

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Colleston @colleston.bsky.social · 20/05/2025

In today's Corner, I shared reflections on a promising, imperfect, & incomplete start for new leadership at MKE Public Schools. This time must be different, and hope is not a strategy. MPS' students deserve succes, & we can't afford to repeat past failures . mkeedunews.substack.com/p/a-turning-...

mkeedunews.substack.com

A Turning Point for MPS

New Leadership, Familiar Challenges—And Why This Time Must Be Different

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Colleston @colleston.bsky.social · 14/05/2025

I shared our thoughts at City Forward Collective on the need for more kid-first, cross-partisan cooperation on K12 funding in the next state budget -- and the long-overdue need for broader reforms to end the school funding food fights every two years. www.jsonline.com/story/opinio...

jsonline.com

Wisconsin must follow the lead of Florida and Tennessee on how it funds schools | Opinion

We cannot continue to duct-tape our way through a school funding system that funds institutions and fuels fights while failing our kids and schools.

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Colleston @colleston.bsky.social · 07/05/2025

I shared my thoughts on why chaos & confusion in federal edu policy is hurting MKE's students and schools, esp as an AmeriCorps alum thru @teachforamerica.bsky.social. Destabilization & destruction without direction is a distraction, and an impending disaster. open.substack.com/pub/mkeedune...

open.substack.com

Chaos & Confusion Is Not A Solution

The Need for Student-Centered Federal Education Policy

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Colleston @colleston.bsky.social · 15/04/2025

In today's Corner, I shared CFC's recent work on WI's school funding, the need for a new approach, & our hopes that bitter partisan rancor will once again give way to kid-first, pragmatic compromise. Finding Common Ground in Wisconsin's School Funding Debate mkeedunews.substack.com/p/finding-co...

mkeedunews.substack.com

Finding Common Ground in Wisconsin's School Funding Debate

As we approach the 2025-27 biennial budget negotiations, Wisconsin stands at a crossroads in how we fund our schools.

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Colleston @colleston.bsky.social · 01/04/2025

It’s not enough to just know that one is backed by the blues and the other by the reds. Underly’s performance has been poor. The performance of our public schools is lagging. Kinser shows promise to be a change agent. And change is what we need. yellowstripsdeadarmadillos.org/2025/03/30/m...

yellowstripsdeadarmadillos.org

More on My Kinser Endorsement

Some of my liberal friends have expressed their unhappiness over my endorsement of Brittany Kinser for State Superintendent of Public Instruction. So, let me expand on my reasons. When I was at the…

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Reposted by Colleston

Wisconsin State Journal @madison.com · 30/03/2025

Brittany Kinser and Jill Underly met with Wisconsin State Journal editorial board, before it recommended a candidate to voters in the April 1 election for Department of Public Instruction

madison.com

Our endorsement for Wisconsin superintendent of schools

Brittany Kinser and Jill Underly met with Wisconsin State Journal editorial board, before it recommended a candidate to voters in the April 1 election for Department of Public Instruction

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Colleston @colleston.bsky.social · 26/02/2025

Really appreciated @danshafer.bsky.social's take on the WI State Supe race, and broader edu policy debate. It's necessary & important that voices on the left are willing to be forthright about the problems with the K12 edu status quo, and the need for change. open.substack.com/pub/recombob...

open.substack.com

Could Brittany Kinser win the race for State Superintendent?

This could be the most competitive race for the Superintendent of Public Instruction in decades.

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Colleston @colleston.bsky.social · 20/02/2025

👏🏿 💯 👏🏿 @jecausey: "If the @MilwaukeeMPS school board continues to accept the status quo in the face of these challenges, there needs to be accountability & a thorough reevaluation of their positions. This is non-negotiable...Years? Time is running out."

buff.ly

New MPS superintendent says fixes could take years. Kids can't wait that long. | Opinion

As a proud MPS graduate, I am deeply invested in its success. It is crucial to recognize that meaningful progress can no longer be delayed.

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Colleston @colleston.bsky.social · 18/02/2025

I shared our thoughts at CFC on another turbulent week for Milwaukee Public Schools, including a new Supe, a damning set of audit findings, and yet more operational and compliance shortcomings This Time Must Be Different mkeedunews.substack.com/p/this-time-...

mkeedunews.substack.com

This Time Must Be Different

Breaking the Cycle of MPS's Generational Failure Demands Real Change

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Colleston @colleston.bsky.social · 29/01/2025

I'm not usually one for AM hot takes, and there will be a more complete analysis to come from us @cfc_mke, but even on an early read, the @NAEP_NCES scores tell a clear - and troubling - tale of 3 gaps for MKE and WI bit.ly/4hCpezU

bit.ly

The Nation's Report Card

provides national results about students' performance; access to state and district results, data explorer, questions tool, item maps, and other NAEP resources

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Colleston @colleston.bsky.social · 18/01/2025

As someone said to me this week - we need to complexify convos about private school choice programs. This is a great example of why that’s exactly right: Private Schools Can Give Students With Disabilities the Flexibility They Need – The 74

buff.ly

Private Schools Can Give Students With Disabilities the Flexibility They Need

Peshek: School choice programs provide students and families with new opportunities while taking no existing options away.

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Colleston @colleston.bsky.social · 17/01/2025

This is great reporting from @journalsentinel, and the data are striking: more than 3k calls per year, clustered at 11 @milwaukeeMPS high schools.

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Colleston @colleston.bsky.social · 14/01/2025

In today’s Corner, I shared @cfc_mke’s New Year’s call for bold, student-centered leadership for students in MKE & across WI. From @jillunderly and @wisconsindpi lowering standards, to @milwaukeemps’ rudderless approach, we face critical choices ahead. open.substack.com/pub/mkeedunews/p/……

buff.ly

Wisconsin Needs Bold Education Leadership Now!

Continuing Our Call for a Fresh Start & a Student-Centered Approach to the Challenges at MPS and DPI

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Colleston @colleston.bsky.social · 07/01/2025

@govevers, we @cfc_mke agree - @drjillunderly & @wisconsindpi's decision to lower standards in a secretive, closed door process (complete with NDAs) for our state's students was a mistake. buff.ly/3BZUVDQ

x.com

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Colleston @colleston.bsky.social · 31/12/2024

This is a troubling story - & why I’m wary of unregulated ESAs. Choice is a means to the goal of quality education & student outcomes; it’s not the end. Transparency and accountability for performance has to be part of the deal for ANY entity that receives public funding to serve students.

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Colleston @colleston.bsky.social · 27/12/2024

This piece is about college students, but also applies to K12 school performance. It’s why WI school & district report cards - which in MKE weight growth at 9x proficiency - need to be fixed. “High marks are for excellence, not grit.” www.nytimes.com/2024/12/26/opinion/……

buff.ly

Opinion | No, You Don’t Get an A for Effort

High marks reward excellence, not grit.

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Adam Grant @adamgrant.bsky.social · 26/12/2024

I’m seeing a growing number of students complain: “My grade doesn’t reflect the effort I put into the course.” Public service announcement: An A is for excellence, not for effort. The true measure of learning is not the time and energy you put in. It’s the knowledge and skills you take out.

nytimes.com

Opinion | No, You Don’t Get an A for Effort

High marks reward excellence, not grit.

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Colleston @colleston.bsky.social · 25/12/2024

From our family to yours - Happy Holidays!

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Colleston @colleston.bsky.social · 10/12/2024

"No district will increase its property taxes by more than @MilwaukeeMPS, whose 29.6% increase amounts to $94.7 million, or more than a quarter of the total statewide levy increase. In April, the district passed a $252 million recurring operating referendum." bit.ly/4goc74u

wispolicyforum.org

School levies rise more rapidly, county levies slow down

Gross K-12 property taxes in Wisconsin are expected to rise by the largest amount since 2009, spurred both by per pupil revenue limit increases and a historic number of approved school district…

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Colleston @colleston.bsky.social · 08/12/2024

This month's @MilwaukeeMPS committee meeting presentation is yet another example of the issues with @WisconsinDPI's School & District Report Cards, and why MKE students, families, and stakeholders need honesty, transparency, and accountability.

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Colleston @colleston.bsky.social · 03/12/2024

Today is Giving Tuesday - so we're giving MKE an honest look at how our city's K12 schools are doing, with updates to our State of MKE Edu At-A-Glance one pager, and several of our data tools. Find links and our summary of the data in today's Corner mkeedunews.substack.com/p/the-truth-...

mkeedunews.substack.com

The Truth About Milwaukee Schools: Looking Beyond Lowered Standards

CFC's Assessment on 2023-24 School Performance Data

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