Last week, I spied a copy of the new Great Schools school finder which rates all the area public, charter and private schools to help parents make informed choices.
The schools get a number rating, from 1 to 10, based on test scores, school climate and improvement. The rankings are also online.
Despite keeping an eye out, I haven't yet found a copy of my own so that I can really sink my teeth into the ratings. But today, a reader and concerned Milwaukee parent contacted me to share a little number crunching achieved with the new school finder.
The results may surprise you.
His analysis showed that of the K-8 and K-5 schools earning a 5 or better on the overall rating:
- 32 are in MPS
- 9 are private schools
- 9 are chartered through MPS
- 6 are chartered through UWM or the City of Milwaukee
Three of those MPS schools scored 8 or above and one private school and one independent charter got 9s.
Among high schools scoring 4 or above:
- 5 are in MPS (all offering moderate to intensive special education services)
- 4 are private (three of the schools offer no special education services, the fourth offers basic services)
- 1 is an independent charter that offers only basic special ed services
Born in Brooklyn, N.Y., where he lived until he was 17, Bobby received his BA-Mass Communications from UWM in 1989 and has lived in Walker's Point, Bay View, Enderis Park, South Milwaukee and on the East Side.
He has published three non-fiction books in Italy – including one about an event in Milwaukee history, which was published in the U.S. in autumn 2010. Four more books, all about Milwaukee, have been published by The History Press.
With his most recent band, The Yell Leaders, Bobby released four LPs and had a songs featured in episodes of TV's "Party of Five" and "Dawson's Creek," and films in Japan, South America and the U.S. The Yell Leaders were named the best unsigned band in their region by VH-1 as part of its Rock Across America 1998 Tour. Most recently, the band contributed tracks to a UK vinyl/CD tribute to the Redskins and collaborated on a track with Italian novelist Enrico Remmert.
He's produced three installments of the "OMCD" series of local music compilations for OnMilwaukee.com and in 2007 produced a CD of Italian music and poetry.
In 2005, he was awarded the City of Asti's (Italy) Journalism Prize for his work focusing on that area. He has also won awards from the Milwaukee Press Club.
He has be heard on 88Nine Radio Milwaukee talking about his "Urban Spelunking" series of stories, in that station's most popular podcast.
