Rachel Morello

Every few weeks, WUWM education reporter Rachel Morello opens up her notebook to give us the scoop about what's happening in schools around the greater Milwaukee area. Test your knowledge of headlines big and small with her education news quiz.

Forget how it works? Check out the back-to-school quiz for a refresher.

School resumes this week for most K-12 students, and back-to-school also means back to sports for some kids.

In addition to figuring out schedules and striking a balance with school work, many parents and students start to worry about the potential for injury -- especially concussions.

Up to 20 percent of student-athletes get one each year.

The Trump administration has announced an end to DACA, an Obama-era law that protects undocumented children brought to the U.S. as minors from deportation. And the decision could have a serious impact on a number of immigrant students in Wisconsin schools.

Every few weeks, WUWM education reporter Rachel Morello will open up her notebook to give us the scoop about what's happening in schools around the greater Milwaukee area. Test your knowledge of headlines big & small with her education news quiz! Here's what she brought us at the beginning of the new school year...

Hard to believe it's already September 1, and school is back in session for many (if not most) kids around the Milwaukee area!

Wisconsin's K-12 schools are on target to see more money in the next two years – just not quite as much as they’d originally been promised by the Governor.

It was months ago that we first heard about Gov. Scott Walker’s K-12 funding proposal for the current two-year state budget. Since February, Walker has been touring the state, touting a record $649 million increase for state spending on public schools.

Walker has called education a ‘top priority’ for the new biennium.

As technology develops, the “world of work” is trying to keep up. And one unlikely hero has been quietly working to fill that gap: technical colleges.

As a state that once was a leader in manufacturing and factory jobs, Wisconsin has experienced the rapid pace of economic change firsthand. Like many other job markets, Wisconsin now faces a skills gap.

And tech colleges, traditionally known and created to train for careers in the blue-collar trades, have made moves over the past several years to expand their role, creating programs for newer, middle-skill positions.

Fernanda Jimenez is sixteen. She has a bubbly personality and braids in her hair. She's also an undocumented immigrant -- but that's not how she describes herself. 

"People who have DACA call themselves 'DACA-mented!'" Jimenez exclaims. 

Like law and medicine, education can be a complicated field -- particularly with how many buzzwords people use.

Educators are infamous for having their own lingo – commonly referred to as “edu-speak” -- filled with acronyms and other jargon. And all that terminology adds a layer of confusion for some parents, as they try to advocate for their kids.

Once you immerse yourself in the world of school policy (like anything else) you fall prey to becoming a wonk, and using verbage normal people might not recognize – phrases like “blended learning” or “21st century skills.”

Believe it or not, school starts next week for some kids in the Milwaukee area – and MPS students, parents and staff have a few notable changes on the horizon as kids head back to class.

Led by Superintendent Darienne Driver, the struggling district has implemented a number of reforms that leaders hope will spur gains in student achievement.

Tech manufacturing giant Foxconn continues to make headlines in Wisconsin this week.

Following months of speculation, President Donald Trump confirmed Wednesday that the company will build a plant in Wisconsin over the next few years.  

With just a few weeks left in the summer, teachers are asking themselves what needs to be done to get ready for the upcoming school year.

And preparations are not just about classroom supplies, or lesson plans.

Many Milwaukee-based educators have spent the summer thinking about race and cultural differences. They say they want to break down barriers between their staff and students.

It’s no secret that Milwaukee, like many cities across the U.S., is facing a teacher shortage – due in part to massive retirements after Act 10.

Charter schools of all shapes and sizes populate a sizeable chunk of Milwaukee’s education scene.

But this year, only one new charter is joining the field: Pathways High School. Chartered by UW-Milwaukee, Pathways’ mission is to emphasize project-based learning during students’ teenage years.

But what's also unique about Pathways is the school's leaders.

As Wisconsin's legislature struggles to finish its biennial budget, the UW Board of Regents has already approved its financial blueprint for the upcoming year.

Most school-age kids have to compete to earn spots on athletic teams, and sometimes they're also pitted against one another in the classroom.

But experts disagree on whether competition is an asset or a roadblock to the learning process.