Welcome

I am currently engaged in my 20th year as a teacher in Milwaukee Public Schools, specifically at Audubon Middle School.

I have seen superintendents, school board members, principals, fellow teachers, and thousands of students come and go.

I have been exposed to many district initiatives – some that excited and inspired me and some that left me scratching my head.

I have endured the often unfair and biased criticisms about our public school system in the Milwaukee media.

I have reveled in the supportive and positive comments of parents, administrators, colleagues and neighbors.

I have seen the damage caused by unfair school finance policies, the No Child Left Behind Act and the voucher program.

I have witnessed the passion and dedication of my colleagues as they struggle to educate children of poverty, of limited English proficiency, of various disabilities in classes sometimes in excess of 40 students. I have witnessed them struggle to communicate with parents, often facing obstacles of language barriers and disconnected phones. I have witnessed them struggle to engage students in this technological and media-saturated society. I have witnessed them struggle to provide meaningful educational experiences to their students with fewer resources and higher expectations. I have witnessed a seemingly never-ending supply of dedication and talent as they – we – refuse to give up.

And, I have never been prouder to be a teacher in Milwaukee Public Schools.

At Audubon (and throughout MPS, I believe), staff members use collaborative planning time and staff, department, grade level and committee meetings to improve our teaching practice, to help our students succeed, to involve our parents in a more meaningful way, to provide more authentic learning experiences and better ways to assess student progress. We know the challenges our students and their families face each and every day. We understand and are humbled by the fact that we hold the future of this city in our hands, for without a fair and equitable public school system, what future will be have?

We won’t give up; we can’t give up. We must support each other. We must share not only our challenges, but also our triumphs. And this blog is the place to do just that – to share our stories of success and hope – from the personal success of getting through to that one student to the school-wide initiatives that are improving the educational environment for the entire student body.

If you have a story you’d like to share, please email me directly at mossdj@milwaukee.k12.wi.us or post a comment to this blog.