February 27, 2006	Volume 5, Number 6

On the Road

On February 21, State Superintendent Elizabeth Burmaster met with her Collaborative Council, a group of education leaders from across Wisconsin that works to improve education in the state. Council representatives presented testimony regarding their experiences with the No Child Left Behind Act. Testimony was given by Mike Zelmer, Wisconsin Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development; Jim Lynch, Association of Wisconsin School Administrators; Kathy Champeau, Wisconsin State Reading Association; Andy Gussert, AFT-Wisconsin; Don Mrdjenovich, Wisconsin Association of School Business Administrators; Philip Knobel, Wisconsin Council of Administrators of Special Services; and Stephanie Petska, Director of Special Education at the Department of Public Instruction.

On February 23, the State Superintendent’s International Education Council met in Van Hise Hall on the UW-Madison campus. Agenda topics included A Vision for Wisconsin: Connecting Internationally; The French Triangle, a presentation by UW Dean of International Studies Gilles Bousquet speaking on Wisconsin initiatives in Aquitaine and Aix-Marseille; Introducing Mandarin Chinese to Wisconsin Schools, presented by Clare Kotenbeutel of the Wisconsin Association for Chinese Language Teachers and Madeline Uraneck of the National Council of State Supervisors for Languages-China Delegation; and a presentation on the States Institute for International Education in Our Schools by Wendy Wink, Executive Director, Educational Communications Board and Liam Goldrick, Governor Doyle’s Education Policy Advisor. Regional alliances and dissemination plans also were discussed, as well as recommendations regarding policy and legislation opportunities in the area of international education.

On February 24, Burmaster joined WEAC President Stan Johnson for school assemblies at Parkway Elementary, Glendale, and Franklin Elementary, West Allis to participate in a Read Across America program. Read Across America, a program sponsored by the National Education Association (NEA), was originally created as a one-day event to celebrate the joy of reading on March 2, Dr. Seuss's birthday, and has grown into a nationwide initiative that promotes reading every day of the year. Burmaster and Johnson read excerpts from Dr. Seuss to a general assembly of students, education staff and administration, and local community leaders. The events were sponsored by WEAC; the West Allis-West Milwaukee Education Association; the School District of West Allis-West Milwaukee; Glendale-River Hills Education Association; and the Glendale-River Hills School District.

On February 25, the state superintendent, along with Gilles Bousquet, Dean of International Studies at UW-Madison, co-hosted a statewide meeting of French educators. About 75 educators and representatives from the French Consulate in Chicago attended the meeting. In May 2005, the State Superintendent signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the French Ambassador to the U.S., Jean-David Levitte, in Madison. The agreement will facilitate partnerships in all areas of education, including business and technical education, to connect Wisconsin with specific regions in France. In November 2005, Burmaster and Bousquet visited Aquitaine and Aix-Marseille to explore projects that would implement this cooperative agreement. French is the second most commonly taught language in Wisconsin’s public schools, with about 15 percent of all students enrolled in language classes in grades 6-12 studying French.

Last updated on 2/27/2006