Student Achievement Guarantee in Education (SAGE)
The Student Achievement Guarantee in Education (SAGE) program was established in the 1996-97 school year to improve student achievement through the implementation of four specific school-improvement strategies (see below). Wisconsin’s approximately 449 SAGE schools enter renewable 5-year contracts designed to promote academic achievement through lower class sizes in the primary grades. Schools receive state aid up to $2,250 for each low-income K-3 child.
Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (PBIS)
PBIS is a joint effort between Milwaukee Public Schools Office of Family Services and the Milwaukee Teachers’ Education Association to effectively reduce classroom disruptions and student suspensions through a school-wide systematic tiered-intervention approach. Data shows that schools that implement PBIS with fidelity see decreases in disruptions and suspensions and increases in student achievement.
High/Scope
The High/Scope program offers a preschool to age eight curriculum model that provides appropriate activities for each stage of a child’s mental and physical growth. Teachers are trained to use the High/Scope method and the classroom is equipped to support the child’s learning skills acquired in preschool and elementary school.
Project Lead the Way
Project Lead The Way (PLTW) is the leading provider of rigorous and innovative Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics (STEM) education curricular programs used in middle and high schools across the U.S. STEM education is at the heart of today’s high-tech, high-skill global economy. For America to remain economically competitive, our next generation of leaders — the students of today — must develop the critical-reasoning and problem-solving skills that will help make them the most productive in the world. The PLTW curriculum is founded in the fundamental problem-solving and critical-thinking skills taught in traditional career and technical education (CTE), but at the same time integrates national academic and technical learning standards and STEM principles, creating what U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan calls one of the “great models of the new CTE succeeding all across the country.” PLTW was recently cited by the Harvard Graduate School of Education as a “model for 21st century career and technical education.
Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra – ACE Program
The MSO Arts in Community Education Program is nationally acclaimed and enhances students’ education through the integration of music and art into the school curriculum, accomplished through six ACE program components. ACE integrates music and arts into daily core subjects, giving students a comprehensive learning experience. It is nationally recognized as a model in arts education.