Wisconsin Schools

    Wisconsin requested over $5.7 billion on education in for the 2006-07 school year, spending just over $9,000 per student. In addition to state spending, Wisconsin will also receive $1.8 billion in federal education funding including monies for implementation of No Child Left Behind. This money is earmarked for grants and student loans, and programs to ensure every child can read by third grade and money to support students who are learning English.

In addition to Labor Day, Veterans Day, Columbus Day, and the other well-known federal holidays (that are not days off of school), Wisconsin observes a total of 20 “special observance days” including POW remembrance day, Casimir Pulaski Day, American’s Creed Day, and Mildred Fish Harnack Day. The Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction states on their website, “Honoring observance days can teach the elements of tradition that preserve U.S. society and foster an awareness of our cultural heritage. Observance days can be part of a rich social studies curriculum that gives these individuals and events proper emphasis, both in the context of Wisconsin and U.S. history and in relation to their effect on or improvement of our political, economic, and social institutions.”

Wisconsin is ranked 8 out of 50 in the Smartest State rankings for the 2005-06 school year. The ranking is based on 21 factors taken from Morgan Quinto’s annual reference “Education State Rankings 2005-06.”. The rankings are based on student achievement, positive outcomes and personal attention from teachers.

For more information on Wisconsin schools, visit Wisconsin’s Department of Public Instruction at http://dpi.wi.gov.