Summit participants include (clockwise from upper left): Peter BlewettDaniel Grego, Alfonzo Thurman, and William Velez.

Who should govern Milwaukee schools? That subject and other critical concerns facing the Milwaukee Public Schools (MPS) are the focus of the fourth annual Henry Maier State of Milwaukee Summit Thursday, Nov. 12. The University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee Urban Studies Programs is at the Hefter Center, 3271 N. Lake Drive from 3:30 to 6 p.m. 

The summit, “Public Education in Milwaukee at a Crossroads,” features panelists Daniel Grego, executive director of the TransCenter for Youth; William Vélez, UWM professor of sociology and urban studies; Anneliese Dickman, research director for the Public Policy Forum; Peter Blewett, vice president of the Milwaukee Board of School Directors and a UWM faculty member. Alfonzo Thurman, dean of the UWM School of Education, will introduce the speakers.

“The current discussion and debate over who should be in charge of MPS make this summit an especially timely event,” says Dean Thurman. Wisconsin Gov. Jim Doyle recently introduced a bill that would give Milwaukee’s mayor the power to appoint the MPS superintendent, while maintaining an elected school board with modified duties.

“The Henry W. Maier State of Milwaukee Summit was conceived as a way to engage our students and the larger community to address the many pressing issues that Milwaukee and the region face today,” says Jamie Harris, associate director of the Urban Studies Program. The Milwaukee Summit is a public forum that brings together university researchers and community leaders to report on and discuss the important issues of the day facing Milwaukee and the region such as economic development, healthcare, or this year’s focus on MPS, he adds.  

“This year’s theme is meant to address several critical issues related to the Milwaukee public school system,” says Harris.  “Although MPS faces many challenges and there is much debate over which educational reforms should be pursued, no one denies that education is critical to improving students’ lives, and to the health of our economy and society as a whole.  It is in this spirit that we decided to make public education in Milwaukee the focus of this year’s Summit.”

The summit, which is free and open to the public, is co-sponsored by the Urban Studies Programs, the Center for Urban Initiatives and Research, the College of Letters and Science, the School of Education, the Center for Economic Development and the Mayor Henry Maier Funds.

The event is free and open to the public. For additional information, call the Urban Studies Programs office at 414-229-4751.