Category: State news

A newly formed unit of the Wisconsin National Guard soon will deliver Dairy State know-how to war-torn Afghanistan. Team members received a 40-hour crash course from UW-Madison instructors in topics ranging from beekeeping to fish farming to water management to the ins and outs of growing corn, pomegranates and poultry.

?They are not going to be experts by any means, but at least they won?t be clueless,? said Karen Nielsen, director of the Babcock Institute for International Dairy Research. The institute does a lot of international education, but this curriculum was unique, Nielsen said. ?We haven?t had to train at this level before because most of those we?ve worked with have electricity and machinery, but the people in Afghanistan don?t,? Nielsen said. The institute plans to bring in Amish farmers to help train the next group, Nielsen said.

Gov. Scott Walker said last week he would not push for another budget repair bill to help balance the state?s budget after the Legislative Fiscal Bureau released its most recent report Thursday, revealing a shortfall of approximately $214 million.

Quoted: Scott Rankin, an associate professor of food science at University of Wisconsin-Madison.

Quoted: Charles Franklin, visiting professor of law and public policy at Marquette University Law School and UW-Madison political scientist.

LA CROSSE, Wis. — An alarming number of prosecutors in Wisconsin are leaving their jobs, not long after starting. The turnover rate for assistant district attorneys (ADA?s) is nearing 20% and is much higher than other public sector jobs. That?s according to a recent study published by Dennis Dresang, a professor at UW-Madison?s law school.

Charles Franklin says he?s never done a poll that somebody doesn?t dislike. “Whoever is trailing or who thinks the poll doesn?t make them look good is naturally upset with the results,” says the veteran University of Wisconsin-Madison political science professor and founder of Pollster.com.

Quoted: Charles Franklin, co-founder of pollster.com and a visiting professor at Marquette on leave from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

The state could more aggressively intervene in the lowest-performing publicly funded schools under a proposed accountability system unveiled Monday. The system would rate schools on a scale of 0 to 100 based on student performance and growth on state tests, closing achievement gaps and preparing students for college and careers. Ratings also would be tied to dropout rates and third-grade literacy levels.

“This is light years ahead of where the state is now,” said Doug Harris, a UW-Madison education and public affairs professor who advised the state’s accountability reform task force.

A conservative-leaning think tank issued a report this past week that proposes a Wisconsin teacher compensation system designed to give principals who oversee high-performing schools additional resources to reward educators in the building. The study from the Wisconsin Policy Research Institute (WPRI) — “A Modern Teacher Compensation System for Wisconsin” — is an interesting read, a timely topic and, of course, controversial. In fact, a UW-Madison researcher notes a similar system has already been tried in New York City and failed to produce positive results.

Adam Gamoran, a UW-Madison professor of sociology and educational policy studies, says that while research clearly shows some teachers are much more effective than others, what’s not so clear is which attributes these top educators share and whether or not it’s even possible to lead them to teaching more effectively with incentives. UW-Madison’s Allan Odden, a professor of educational leadership and policy analysis, is glad WPRI took the time to publish its report because he agrees the current structure is outdated.

UW-Madison Scandinavian Studies professor James Leary believes our sense of place in Wisconsin has a lot to do with it. “The root-for-the-home-team stance is a ubiquitous sports phenomenon,” says Leary. “So like fans everywhere, we love the Pack because they?re ours. But because we?re from Wisconsin we have a special relationship with our state and, by extension with our state?s team.”