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MILWAUKEE – The two remaining candidates for Wisconsin Superintendent of Public Instruction squared off Thursday ahead of the only statewide race in the April 6 spring election.
Deborah Kerr, a retired superintendent most recently in Brown Deer, advanced from the February 15 primary along with Jill Underly, the current superintendent for the Pecatonica Area School District.
The Greater Milwaukee Committee hosted the virtual candidate forum Thursday via Zoom. Alan Borsuk, a senior fellow in law and public policy at Marquette, moderated the hourlong discussion.
Predictably, both candidates said returning Wisconsin students to the classroom is their top priority.
“As a parent and as an educator, of course I’m worried about this past year,” Underly said. “I’m more concerned with their mental health, their isolation, their anxiety and how we can help them recover from those feelings.”
Wisconsin United Auto Workers, AFT, AFL-CIO and IBEW endorse Dr. Jill Underly By Dr. Jill Underly - Mar 3rd, 2021 10:52 am
MILWAUKEE, Wis. Pecatonica Area School District Superintendent and candidate for Wisconsin State Superintendent
Jill Underly announced today she has received the endorsement of the American Federation of Teachers Wisconsin, the Wisconsin State AFL-CIO, United Auto Workers of Wisconsin, and the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers. Dr. Underly is also the recommended candidate of the Wisconsin Education Association Council.
“Our membership is committed to advancing high-quality public education in Wisconsin, and Dr. Jill Underly is the candidate who will stand up for kids in our schools,” said AFT Wisconsin President
Wisconsin teachers receiving vaccines on first day of eligibility feel relief, but others may have weeks to wait Rory Linnane, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
Teachers and child care workers talk about getting the COVID-19 vaccine
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In downtown Milwaukee on Monday, teachers filed out of the Wisconsin Center with grins, deep breaths, and a cheer.
For the first time, all education and child care staff were eligible to receive COVID-19 vaccinations, and unlike in other cities Milwaukee health workers had a supply for them. It feels wonderful, said Julia Grams, who has been teaching 4-year-old kindergarten virtually since September for Milwaukee Public Schools. “If this gives us the opportunity to have our children in the classroom, I can’t wait.”
In downtown Milwaukee on Monday, teachers filed out of the Wisconsin Center with grins, deep breaths, and a cheer.
For the first time, all education and child care staff were eligible to receive COVID-19 vaccinations, and unlike in other cities Milwaukee health workers had a supply for them. It feels wonderful, said Julia Grams, who has been teaching 4-year-old kindergarten virtually since September for Milwaukee Public Schools. “If this gives us the opportunity to have our children in the classroom, I can’t wait.”
In other communities, vaccinators were waiting on doses that the state Department of Health Services has committed to providing specifically for educators. Julie Willems Van Dijk, DHS deputy secretary, said last week that some educators may wait up to six weeks.