
A Brief Intro to Milwaukee Public School District: Faculty and District Info
Milwaukee Public schools represent the largest public school district in Wisconsin. The enrolment as at 2007 stood at over 87,000 students and across the 223 schools it employed over 6,000 teachers which included full time teachers as well as substitute teachers. Considering the enrollment, the Milwaukee Public Schools ranks 31st among all school systems in the nation. Direction and oversight for the functioning of the schools is provided by a school board elected by the public. The administration is however headed by a superintendent.
In its earlier days Milwaukee Public schools operated as magnet schools with independent schools for different areas of specialization. The budget for the schools is $1 billion and enjoys one of the lowest drop out rates across the country. However, when it comes to scores in reading comprehension, the schools continue to figure at the bottom. Lack of adequate funding has been cited as the major reason that prevents desirable improvements in the system.
The first community in the nation that adopted the school voucher program in 1990 was also the Milwaukee schools. Under the program public funding is made available to students seeking to attend schools outside the Milwaukee Public School system. $100 million were paid out through the school in 2006-2007 accounting for some 26% of Milwaukee students.
In modern times, the school system has over 10,000 teachers and academic staff catering to the needs of some 85,000 students. Under a recent program christened as DIFI(Districts identified for improvement), the fortunes of the School system in Milwaukee are expected to turn around dramatically.

