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COVID testing concerns Milwaukee teachers union
Teachers union calls for COVID testing at MPS schools
MPS is accused of not fully executing the COVID-19 testing program it had in place for schools to reopen.
MILWAUKEE - Milwaukee Public Schools is accused of not fully executing the COVID-19 testing program it had in place for schools to reopen. It s causing quite the concern for many teachers and families.
Eight schools and more than 70 classrooms are now closed because of positive COVID-19 cases. Amy Mizialko, the president of the Milwaukee Teachers Education Association (MTEA), believes that number should be higher. The city of Milwaukee remains in the red high transmission for the fourth week, said Mizialko.
The teachers union for Milwaukee Public School is voicing their concerns about how the district has implemented their COVID testing plan for students since in-person learning resumed in April.
Milwaukee Teachers Education Association President Amy Mizialko says the data regarding which students have gotten tested has not met the standards MPS’ Board of Directors approved in March.
“Only 10-percent of students in 44 (elementary) schools have been tested,” says Mizialko. “20-percent of students in each of the 108 elementary schools should have been tested by now. And every single one of the 137 schools should have been tested once by now.”
Mizialko adds the pooled surveillance testing program that is designed to determine which classrooms and buildings need to switch back to virtual learning is not being followed by district administration.
Case in point: the school board and its administration, under pressure from the teachers’ union, are attempting to undermine a high-performing school Milwaukee College Prep because it operates under an independent charter and not as a fully-controlled district school.
Milwaukee College Prep is celebrating its 24th year, serving 2,000 largely low-income Black and brown students, under the mission of knowledge and character pave the road to college and beyond. MCP is a public school, chartered by MPS. It enrolls its students through a lottery.
MCP students are 30%-plus more likely to be proficient or advanced in reading and math than their MPS peers. Students from impoverished neighborhoods such as Lindsay Heights, Amani/Metcalf and Washington Park are 10 times more likely to be proficient or advanced in reading and math if they attend MCP.