Wisconsin Public Education Network

09/01/2026

If your school district is going to referenda, please reach out! We would love to be a resource for you!

09/01/2026

Last week Wednesday, we had our first of 3 trainings to help prepare school districts going to referenda! Come to the next two so we can help your district win!

Slides and Recording of the training:
Slides:
https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1RGCgl29w_yxBg-UEMib_V6LzcShFJzyi-WBsCDQPrDI/edit?slide=id.p =id.p

Video:
https://us06web.zoom.us/rec/play/cXQdTvkgSdm-MQ4SFjXKkGRYbICoHp4Q63bkv9gE-lYVg6bokz1OtVltlUBATHoM7_y4Sd8HKjHgN9Fd.Mm2mOwTVXhYatdoY?accessLevel=meeting&canPlayFromShare=true&from=share_recording_detail&continueMode=true&oldStyle=true&componentName=rec-play&originRequestUrl=https%3A%2F%2Fus06web.zoom.us%2Frec%2Fshare%2FilZ8_ohpTnNxtI8bjIZXD7dwT-DGQhuNbub2SKmHgOy9U3qbZB5U3wwOoRMqlUIf.yxqkY1O9ojVW9PGv

It’s about the Kids: Referenda Messaging Strategies Sept. 2nd
https://secure.everyaction.com/zSS3TJ29Okm90alSRcECIg2

Visit Vote Public for information on what is on your ballot, how to register, and more:
https://www.wisconsinnetwork.org/

08/26/2026

Join us tonight! Is your school district going to referendum? Register now! Have a family member or friend whose school district is going to referendum? Share with them!
https://www.wisconsinnetwork.org/events/organizing-to-win-running-a-school-referendum-campaign

🚨🗳 Don't miss our referenda training series starting this Wednesday! Are you in a school district going to referenda this fall? Come join us to learn how to help your district get the support it needs! 🗳🚨

Wednesday, August 26, 2026 6:30 PM - 8:00 PM
Organizing to Win: Running a School Referendum Campaign
https://secure.everyaction.com/jImlZRg1LkChzD5Ck34GFQ2

Wednesday, September 2, 2026, 6:30 PM - 8:00 PM
It’s about the Kids: Referenda Messaging Strategies
https://secure.everyaction.com/OyGHQjUNxE-bktcG4syY6A2

Wednesday, September 9th, 2026, 6:30 PM - 8:00 PM
Building a YES Team: It's All About the Relationships
https://secure.everyaction.com/zSS3TJ29Okm90alSRcECIg2

08/25/2026

A beautiful message from a beautiful soul who did so much good for so many children.

08/25/2026

"What would the United States look like if we tripled union membership? We find a range of economic and social benefits—such as higher wages, greater access to health insurance, and a stronger democracy. This post examines another social good generated by unions: strong investment in public education."

"Investment in public education was one of the key reasons the U.S. became the richest country in the world in the 20th century. Universal education has many positive effects, including creating a more productive workforce and a more informed and engaged democratic society. Unions play a key role in advocating for public spending in education. Figure A shows that states with higher unionization rates spend substantially more per student on education."

Our recent report asks a bold question: What would the United States look like if we tripled union membership? We find a range of economic and social benefits—such as higher wages, greater access to health insurance, and a stronger democracy. This post examines another social good generated by uni...

08/25/2026

“What the best and wisest parent wants for his child, that must we want for all the children of the community. Anything less is unlovely, and left unchecked, destroys our democracy.” ..
From John Dewey's The School and Society, 1899/1915

Still relevant in 2026.

What the best and wisest parent wants for their child — belonging, safety, joy, rigor, opportunity — that is what every child in every public school deserves. Not charity. Not aspirational. Baseline.

The moment we accept a system where some children get that and others don't — where access to an excellent education is determined by your family's income, your zip code, or your parents' ability to navigate school choice — we have accepted something Dewey called "unlovely." And we have taken one more step toward the thing he warned us about: the slow unraveling of the democratic project itself.

Public schools are not just schools. They are the institution where we practice — imperfectly, messily, not always well — the idea that all children belong to all of us.

integratedschools.org

08/24/2026

"A 2025 Education Law Center report, “Making the Grade,” assessed states on how they fund public schools and found that not a single state earned an A grade on three crucial measures of funding: whether state and local revenues are adequate, whether funding is fairly distributed, and whether funding lags a state’s economic capacity."

"In the meantime, the charter school industry continues to expand, with thirty-nine out of forty-three states experiencing growth in charters in 2025, according to charter industry data. And voucher programs also continue to grow, as fifteen states now operate twenty-three programs, and the Trump Administration is set to roll out a nationwide federal voucher program in 2027."

"As the right wing’s “long game” to end public education continues apace, prominent centrist Democrats call for a return to the education policies of the Bush and Obama years."

https://progressive.org/magazine/the-lesson-of-americas-broken-education-politics-bryant-20260824/

Fifteen years ago, thousands of teachers marched on Washington to protest the Obama-era push to privatize public education. Has anything changed?

08/24/2026

What do you remember about your first day back to school growing up? What advice would you give little you on your first day back?

08/24/2026

🚨🗳 Don't miss our referenda training series starting this Wednesday! Are you in a school district going to referenda this fall? Come join us to learn how to help your district get the support it needs! 🗳🚨

Wednesday, August 26, 2026 6:30 PM - 8:00 PM
Organizing to Win: Running a School Referendum Campaign
https://secure.everyaction.com/jImlZRg1LkChzD5Ck34GFQ2

Wednesday, September 2, 2026, 6:30 PM - 8:00 PM
It’s about the Kids: Referenda Messaging Strategies
https://secure.everyaction.com/OyGHQjUNxE-bktcG4syY6A2

Wednesday, September 9th, 2026, 6:30 PM - 8:00 PM
Building a YES Team: It's All About the Relationships
https://secure.everyaction.com/zSS3TJ29Okm90alSRcECIg2