"Best Place for Education"
--Money Magazine
Madison Metropolitan School District
The Madison Metropolitan School District is the second largest in the state of
Wisconsin, serving about 25,000 students. Its 46 schools include 30 elementary (K-5)
schools, 11 middle (6-8) schools, 4 comprehensive high schools and one alternative
high school. The district also has early childhood programs and alternative programs
at the secondary (6-12) level.
The district covers approximately 65 square miles, including all or part of the cities
of Madison, Fitchburg and Monona, the villages of Maple Bluff and Shorewood Hills,
and the towns of Blooming Grove, Burke, Madison, Middleton and Westport.
Award Winning Schools
In its 1997 annual ranking of the nation’s 300 largest metropolitan areas, Money magazine named Madison the best place for education. Another national business magazine, Expansion Management, ranks Madison the best school district in Wisconsin and one of the six best in the nation. Madison ranked #1 in the November 1997 Ladies Home Journal survey of “Best Cities for Women,” and was the only city to receive a 100% rating in the education category -- which examined high school graduation rates and student/teacher ratios, among other criteria. Madison also is the only district in the country to have schools at the elementary, middle and high school levels rated as National Schools of Excellence by the U.S. Department of Education.
Behind this success is an experienced, award-winning teaching staff. Nearly half of the
district’s teachers have at least one master’s degree and an uncommonly high number have
doctorates. The average teacher in Madison schools also has more than 12 years of classroom
experience. This internationally recognized faculty includes Wisconsin’s Teacher of the Year,
the state’s Earth Science Teacher of the Year and winners of the prestigious Presidential Award
for Excellence in Teaching of Science and Mathematics.
The teaching staff is supported by an ongoing commitment to invest in high quality facilities
and state-of-the-art technology. Because of the district’s sound financial management practices,
Madison is one of only two Wisconsin school districts to have a “Triple A” bond rating, the
highest rating possible.
Safe Classrooms & Hallways
Madison’s schools are safe places to learn. Visitors are impressed by quiet, safe hallways and classrooms which provide positive learning environments for children. A “zero tolerance” policy relating to disruptive behavior coupled with innovative alternative programs have succeeded in keeping the suspension and expulsion rates below the state average. The district also has a higher than average rate of school attendance and low rates of habitual truancy compared to other districts.
Proven Performance
Madison's schools have established an impressive track record of educational excellence. Consider these facts:
- Madison students outscore their state and national peers on basic skills tests
in reading, writing, math, science and social studies.
- Madison students earn scores that are 23% above the national average on the
SAT and ACT college entrance exams. In fact, in 1997, Madison Metropolitan School
District student ACT scores were the highest in Wisconsin.
- Madison's graduation rate is higher than the national average and higher
than the state average in a state with one of the nation's highest graduation
rates.
- Madison students are over six times as likely than students in other districts
to become National Merit Scholars. In the 2001-02 school year, a record 58 students
received the honor.
- Madison schools are perennial state champions in Wisconsin's Science Olympiad
and the state MathCounts competition, and Madison students have dominated the Future
Problem Solving and Odyssey of the Mind contests.
- Madison students chosen as All-State Scholars make up half of the students selected for the honor in Wisconsin's second congressional district, which covers all or part of nine counties and spans nearly 50 school districts. The Madison students represent 6% of Wisconsin's All-State Scholars, while Madison has less than 3% of the state's students.
Improving on Excellence
To make successful schools even better, teams of administrators and support staff provide direct support to the schools to help them meet the goals identified in their individual School Improvement Plans. Each school’s plan sets targets relating to student achievement, attendance and participation in school programs and activities, as well as school climate. These annual plans are developed by school teams of teachers, administrators, parents and students.
The school improvement planning process is the direct result of
Raising Expectations for Teaching and Learning
The centerpiece of the Madison Schools 2000 plan is the recommendation to establish and implement new district wide learning standards in all core subject areas. This recommendation is the driving force behind the district’s teaching and learning reform initiative which raises academic standards. That’s no small task in a district where students already are over five times as likely than students in other school districts to take advanced math courses and nearly three times as likely to take advanced science courses.
Madison participates in the state's SAGE (Student Achievement Guarantee in Education) Program,
reducing K-3 classes to 15 or fewer students (23 of the 30 elementary schools are in SAGE).
Madison schools have smaller than average class sizes, with a licensed instructional staff member
for every 12 students, compared to the state average of one for every 14 students. More of the
school budget goes to the classroom because Madison spends a smaller percentage of its resources
on administration than the state average.
Community Support: The Secret of a Success Story
At the heart of the Madison school district’s success is community support. Madison invests more in its public schools than other Wisconsin communities, spending over $8,000 per student compared to the state average of less than $6,700 per student. The percentage of children attending private schools in Madison is well below the state average, another strong indication of public confidence in the public schools.
And, from the development of the Madison Schools 2000 strategic plan to daily volunteer
work in schools, parents and other community members play an essential role in the success of the
schools. Community members serve as tutors and mentors, enriching their own lives as well as those
of the children with whom they work. Citizens also serve on a number of Board of Education committees
and special task forces and study groups, providing valuable input on school-related issues.
Community involvement in the schools doesn’t stop there. Parents and local residents devote countless
hours to the school teams that monitor progress and develop school improvement goals that challenge
Madison’s schools to build on the district’s tradition of excellence.
Satisfied Customers
The combination of smaller-than-average class sizes, an excellent staff, rigorous
academic standards, and community involvement and support is a proven recipe for
success. The result is widespread satisfaction with the quality of the community's
schools. Three-fourths of Madison residents surveyed in a poll by the city's
largest daily newspaper said they think Madison schools are doing an "excellent"
or "good" job. Among parents of students in the district, 85% gave the
schools an excellent or good rating.
Special Programs
Madison's schools provide special education services covering a wide spectrum of disabling conditions, ranging from learning disabilities and speech and language difficulties to autism and emotional disturbance. For more information, contact one of the special education coordinators serving the four high school attendance areas:
- East/La Follette Elementary: 608-663-8489
- West/Memorial Elementary: 608-663-8487
- Middle Schools: 608-663-8486
- High Schools: 608-663-8491
For over twenty-five years, Madison has provided secondary students the opportunity
to enroll in alternative programs. Madison’s alternatives are voluntary, serving
over 600 students each year. The alternatives provide a continuum of choices that
contribute to keeping the dropout rate significantly lower than other large Wisconsin
cities, and reflect our goal that all students graduate. Programs range from Malcolm
Shabazz City High School’s enrollment of 150 students to the Accelerated Learning
Academy, a small, personal and supportive program for students who fall behind academically.
For information on the district’s array of alternative programs call 608-663-1907.
In addition, all schools provide specialized academic programming for students identified
as talented and gifted. The district’s TAG office can be reached by calling 608-663-5245.
Madison’s schools have a rich tradition in athletics, with both boys and girls winning
conference and state championships in recent years in sports such as basketball, track,
cross country, swimming, hockey, golf, volleyball, gymnastics, tennis, baseball and softball.
In addition to a full range of interscholastic athletic programs, Madison offers youth recreation
opportunities including sports clinics and leagues, after school clubs, arts classes, and aquatics
instruction through the district’s Madison School-Community Recreation department. For information
about athletic programs, call 608-663-5243. Information about MSCR programs can be obtained by calling
608-204-3000.
Want to Know More?
For general information about the schools and the school district, interested citizens are invited to call 608-663-1879. Also, the school district has a web site for those with access to the Internet. The site includes the school calendar, a district map, information about all of the schools, as well as news releases and other essential district information. The Internet address is: www.madison.k12.wi.us/
Remember, you're ... "At Home In Madison!"