NURTURING SCHOOLS
Safe and welcoming schools that ensure time to learn and teach, up-to-date learning materials, and educator input are essential to student success. See NEA Agenda:
WEAC supports policies that include:
Educator Involvement. There is a close relationship between positive school climate and educator voice in discussions of working conditions and school decision-making. All decisions should include meaningful input from educators who will ultimately implement policies and who can guide their own professional growth. See NEA Legis. Agenda, I:H
Safe Schools. Students and staff deserve a safe place to learn and teach. School discipline policies should be solution-based and recognize the need for adequate staff and resources, as well as collaboration with and support for, educators. See NEA Legis. Agenda, I:E
WEAC supports public policy that:
- Embraces diversity and protects immigrant students and their families.
- Funds staffing of mental health services.
- Bases public health and school decisions on science.
- Recognizes public school staff as essential workers and prioritizes them in public health planning and response.
Mandatory Preparation Time. To do their best for students, educators need dedicated duty-free preparation time during the workday.
Class Size Limits. Small class sizes allow for one-on-one interaction between students and educators. Restore classroom size guidelines through legislation like the former Student Achievement Guarantee in Education (SAGE) program. Class size limits should be based on research for the best student outcomes, and any student-teacher ratios used to determine policies should reflect actual student-teacher contact, rather than being based on all campus instructional personnel. See NEA Legis. Agenda, I:J
Equitable Funding. Wisconsin can ensure quality education by providing the funding needed for all Pre-K–12 and technical college students to achieve educational excellence. See NEA Agenda, I:G
WEAC supports policies to:
- Provide more funds for schools with high numbers of low-income students by placing weights in the state school aid formula.
- Close the digital divide and the homework gap by making broadband internet access a public good available to every community in order to remedy the disparate access barriers experienced in Black, Brown, Indigenous, and remote communities.
- Fully fund special education in public schools. See NEA Agenda, 1:J
- Fully fund multilingual-multicultural education in public schools. See NA Agenda, 1:M
- Guarantee per-pupil increases that at a minimum keep up with the cost of inflation.
- Increase the state’s commitment to rural schools including sparsity and high-cost transportation aids, broadband access and grants to hire and keep qualified educators.
- Funding for the WTCS technical colleges should be based on how technical colleges serve their unique learners versus based on standardize performance outcomes.
Equitable Access and Diversity. Racism is a public health crisis and has caused harm to generations of Black, Indigenous and people of color. Public schools and curricula should actively promote anti-racist principles and teaching. Equitable access to diverse public schools – including measures that increase diversity and diminish segregation, developmentally appropriate gender identity and LGBTQ equity education programs – should be pursued. School Districts should be encouraged to employ staff reflective of student and community composition, utilizing diversified staff recruitment and hiring practices. See NEA Legis. Agenda, I:H and I:G
Local Control. The authority of locally elected school boards to govern in the best interest of students should be recognized, including when it comes to school district revenue limits, referendums and takeovers.
STUDENT OPPORTUNITY
All students, regardless of their ZIP code, deserve the support, tools and time to learn from early childhood through adulthood. This means more one-on-one attention, inviting classrooms, a well-rounded, culturally relevant, educator-supported curriculum and solutions like these:
Community Schools. The Community Schools model of education offers a sustainable solution for struggling districts that privatizers cannot offer. Policies to create partnership funding between local school districts, the state and community partners should be advanced. See NEA Agenda, I:A
Enhancing Services for Students. A range of services should be supported and provided in school settings, whenever possible, including:
- research-based intervention strategies and enrichment,
- special education,
- mental health services,
- general health practitioners,
- counselors,
- psychologists,
- social workers,
- English language learning education,
- school nurses and other specialists, and
- career, trade and technical education.
See NEA Legis. Agenda, II:A
End High-Stakes Testing. Too much focus on high-stakes testing takes away valuable time for learning. More focus should be placed on the availability of one-on-one instruction and educational opportunities. See NEA Legis. Agenda, 1:A
Universal Preschool. School readiness should be invested in through early childhood programs, including funding for optional, quality pre-kindergarten programs for all three- and four-year-olds. See NEA Legis. Agenda, I:B
QUALITY EDUCATORS
All students deserve caring, qualified teachers and education support professionals. To attract and keep
the best in our classrooms, our Association supports:
School Employee Rights. Restore unlimited, full and fair collective bargaining rights. See NEA Legis. Agenda, III:A
- Just cause for any disciplinary action with guaranteed due process.
- A competitive and professional wage that includes a raise for all public school educators.
- The right to select materials, methods and strategies without censorship or interference.
Protect the Wisconsin Retirement System. Preservation of Wisconsin’s fully funded retirement system
is key so educational employees can plan for retirement without worrying about changing or reducing benefits. See NEA Legis. Agenda, III:B
Support Educators throughout Their Careers. Wisconsin needs high standards for teacher certification and preparation programs. Programs should balance the art and science of teaching, and alternative certification programs should receive regular review to ensure quality. WEAC supports:
- Incentives and financial support for paraprofessionals who pursue professional certification and training, as well as continuing education and staff development for educators.
- Prohibitions against an individual supervisor/employer from taking away a teaching license.
- Comprehensive induction programs.
- High-quality mentoring, including funding for training, compensation and release time.
- Incentives and financial support to enable staff development that is ongoing and includes components for educators to provide feedback and direct change.
- Allow educators to guide relevant professional development opportunities.
- Professional development around Culturally Responsive Teaching practices.
- Support educator retention initiatives as well as allow retired educators to reenter the classroom to address the substitute teacher shortage without negative repercussions to their pensions.
See NEA Legis. Agenda, I:H
Student Loan Debt Relief. Borrowers should be able to refinance their student loans the same as they
can with mortgages. Loan forgiveness and scholarships should be developed for teachers and education support professionals in high-needs disciplines and hard-to-staff schools. See NEA Legis. Agenda, I:K
High-Quality Instructors in Technical Colleges. Wisconsin’s Technical Colleges need committed,
professional educators with certification and experience in their fields as appropriate. Policies should
emphasize the educational role of Technical College instructors, including supporting preparation time,
the ability to use professional judgement, and access to professional development.
Safe and Fair Elections. Voting is an integral component to freedom and is a tool for accountability and change. Wisconsin should have a system of voting that affirms the state’s progressive traditions and commitment to education. To encourage participation and fairness in voting, WEAC supports:
- Election days designated as federal holidays.
- Fair and accessible elections that remove barriers to voting and address the long-standing practices of voter suppression and discrimination in communities of color, including Black, Brow, Indigenous, and others.
- School districts treating poll working on election day as a protected civic duty, like jury duty.
- Fair and equitable legislative maps.
See NEA Legis. Agenda, IV:B