The nature of the American academic workforce has fundamentally shifted over the past several decades. Whereas full-time tenured and tenure-track faculty were once the norm, more than two-thirds of the professoriate in non-profit postsecondary education is now comprised of non-tenure-track faculty. New hires across all institutional types are now…

This report provides educators and policymakers with information they can use to celebrate their successes, understand their unique challenges, and set meaningful goals to increase opportunity for all students. It is important to note that while AP® Exams are valid measures of students' content mastery of college-level studies in specific academic…

In communities nationwide, public charter schools are meeting the growing demand for high-quality education opportunities. This is especially true in communities with underperforming public district schools that are not meeting the academic needs of students, including poor and minority students. Forty states and the District of Columbia have laws…

In this issue brief, the authors explore how former foster youth in Illinois, Wisconsin, and Iowa are faring in the labor market and what explains the variability in employment outcomes for these youth. First, they describe trends in former foster youths' employment from age 17 to 24. Then, they consider how former foster youths' characteristics…

Employer subsidies such as the Work Opportunity Tax Credit (WOTC) and the Welfare-to-Work Tax Credit (WtW) are designed to encourage employment by partially reimbursing employers for wages paid to certain welfare recipients and other disadvantaged workers. In this paper, I examine the effects of these subsidies on employment, wages, and job tenure…

This report, designed as one component of the comprehensive evaluation of the Milwaukee school system being conducted by the School Choice Demonstration Project (SCDP), is based on focus group conversations with low-income families whose children attend Milwaukee public and private schools. The report seeks to elucidate the demand side of school…

This article summarizes African Americans' ongoing struggle for quality education in Milwaukee, Wisconsin by utilizing school district data and secondary sources. The historic integration effort in the Milwaukee Public Schools system is outlined and the impact of sustained segregation, in the midst of significant changes to Milwaukee's social and…

This paper provides a basis for discussion of housing proposals relating to increasing housing opportunities for homeless persons in Wisconsin. Six major topics relating to housing for homeless and potentially homeless persons are presented. Issues are listed under each topic. For each issue, background information is provided and alternatives for…

Physical education majors have become interested in career opportunities that have developed from companies offering employee fitness programs. This study assesses the extent to which corporate fitness programs are offered in Wisconsin. Qualities necessary for employment in corporate fitness programs are identified. (DF)

Online learning programs are designed to expand high-quality educational opportunities and to meet the needs of diverse students. While the primary reason online courses are offered in school districts is to expand offerings to courses that would otherwise be unavailable, the second most commonly cited reason for offering online learning is to…

Growing up in poor quality, unsafe, and/or overcrowded housing magnifies all the other challenges and disadvantages that go along with poverty. Noting that as more and more families in Wisconsin and nationwide struggle to achieve sustainable housing, the connection between housing and child well-being is becoming increasingly obvious, this WisKids…

Rural school districts across the country have seen a serious loss of employment opportunities for families in their communities. Even when jobs exist, they are often low-level service jobs that do not provide wages that encourage young people to grow roots. When good jobs are available, often those jobs are outsourced to other low-wage areas,…

Although occupational sex segregation has decreased over the last 25 years, it is still a major social concern primarily because of the role it plays in perpetuating the gender wage gap. This paper uses data from the Wisconsin Longitudinal Study, a study that followed a random sample of 10,317 high school graduates, to assess the determinants of…

This paper traces the evolution of the choice idea over three generations, from a market model concerned with economic liberty, to a demand for social justice based on equality, to a political movement that translates the idea into policy. Focusing on the last generation, it explains why the market concept has lacked political appeal and how…

In spring 1973 the State of Wisconsin mandated the Council on Indian Education in an effort to involve Indian people, not only as advisors but as a working committee, to assess and promote quality Indian educational opportunities. Objectives outlined at the first meeting included collecting information from state agencies concerning Native…