So, what if a group of wealthy people -- some who live in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and some who live elsewhere -- wanted to enact their own political agenda in that city? What if, to enact their agenda, they needed the local school board -- which we'll call the Milwaukee Public Schools Board -- to take certain actions, but the MPS Board doesn't agree with these "Ideologues" and their "Agenda"?
Let's say that, sometime in 2007, these Ideologues looked at the calendar and saw that some of the MPS Board members were up for re-election in 2009. They saw an opportunity to replace incumbents who disagree with the Agenda with new board members who would help them enact the Agenda. All the Ideologues would have to do is to put up candidates who agree with the Agenda, and then get those candidates elected.
But, to make this more interesting, let's say that the Ideologues knew their Agenda wouldn't be very popular with voters. And maybe the Ideologues themselves weren't popular with voters. Or, maybe they had such disdain for the nuts and bolts of serving on the school board that they wouldn't want to do it themselves. So the Ideologues wouldn't run themselves for the board, and they couldn't promote the real issues of their Agenda.
So let's say they recognized that if they were going to enact their Agenda, the Ideologues saw three jobs ahead of them: (1) They would have to downplay the real issues of their Agenda and devise a Popular Agenda instead, to hide their real Agenda behind. (2) They would have to find candidates who not only agreed with the real Agenda and who were willing to run on the Popular Agenda, but who appealed to voters, too. And (3) they would have to present a public face that hides the Ideologues themselves and that isn't threatening to voters.
Maybe the Ideologues would pool their resources and organize a handful of like minds -- a few parents, a few community leaders and a few public figures -- to devise and promote the Popular Agenda, the set of issues and ideas that voters might like. Maybe this handful of like minds would hire a local consultant to help them roll out the Popular Agenda and to serve as the spokesperson for the group, someone who the Ideologues can trust to understand the strategy and to do a good job.
So they send out feelers to identify and recruit the challengers who fit the basic criteria, and they do find some. Maybe they even set up some training exercises for their recruits, to help them become better candidates for office. Maybe they even give those candidates some help in fundraising and campaigning for the primary election, and the general election to follow.
For the Ideologues, so much depends on this election, and the election will be decided by voters. This is the one part of the Ideologues' plan that has the most risk, because voters aren't always reliable. For one thing, voters don't always pay attention. Even if they pay attention, they don't always believe what they hear. Even if they believe what they hear, they don't always agree with adopting radical new ideas or going in radical new directions. And even if they pay attention, believe what they hear, and agree with adopting radical new ideas and directions, they don't always vote.
There are a lot of moving parts that can break down along the way, so it's especially helpful if the Ideologues can count on the local mainstream media to report only what serves the Ideologues' strategy, and not to report anything that might impede its success. In the case of Milwaukee, such a group of Ideologues might be grateful to have the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel as the major local news media. Because if the Journal-Sentinel doesn't report what happens, then did what happens really happen?
Well, it happens that in Milwaukee, a group of concerned citizens says it organized itself about two years ago, called itself "Advocates for Student Achievement," and adopted the motto, "Students are our only special interest." According to its website, ASA -- a few parents, a few community leaders and a few public figures -- says its "sole mission is to identify, recruit and support outstanding candidates for the Milwaukee Public Schools board of directors."
What's clear is what ASA published on its new website:
As the school system that shapes most of our community’s children...as the primary feeder system for our local work force...as the driving factor in thousands of home purchase and sale decisions each year...MPS plays a decisive role in the future of Milwaukee and all of Southeastern Wisconsin. We cannot build a thriving community on a sick public school system. And a healthy school system is built on strong leadership...starting at the top.
If a group of wealthy Ideologues with an Agenda was behind the creation of ASA, then can we determine who those people are? And if its Popular Agenda is to promote a "healthy school system," then what might be the Ideologues' real goals? Good questions, but there aren't many good answers, and finding them requires digging deep for more information.
What's clear too is that very soon after its formation, ASA made some interesting friends who apparently agreed with their Popular Agenda aims. One was the Metropolitan Milwaukee Association of Commerce, which posted a note at its website under the headline "Qualified MPS Board Candidates Sought." The blurb reads,
Advocates for Student Achievement (ASA) says it's the 1st systematic grassroots effort to identify, recruit & support qualified citizens to run for Milw. Public Schools board next Apr. Anne Curley of its executive committee noted the need because the board controls a $1.2 billion budget.
Who is Anne Curley?
The ASA website reports that Ms. Curley is an "Elm Grove resident, small business owner, co-founder of the Institute for Local Leaders." Another website adds more background:
As president of Curley Communication, Anne Curley specializes in brand management and strategic planning. You may already have been exposed to Curley, whose column runs regularly in Alliance Magazine. We invited Anne to join the program after experiencing first-hand the exceptional value she can provide the Alliance and its members.
Before establishing her consulting practice in 2000, Curley led worldwide communication for S.C. Johnson. In her consulting roles, she has conducted branding, marketing and strategic planning projects for a wide range of corporate and nonprofit clients.
In 2003, she developed a strategy to clarify the Alliance’s brand identity and strengthen our value proposition for members. This strategy provided crystal clarity in focusing both our outreach and our overall resource allocations, in turn driving the success we have since enjoyed, as reflected in record membership recruitment and retention rates. Curley has conducted branding projects and facilitated strategic planning exercises for Alliance members including Neighbor to Family Inc., (Daytona, Fla.), the Adoption Resource Center of Wisconsin (Milwaukee), and Bethany for Children and Families (Moline, Wis.). She has also conducted projects for the Severson Center and two Alliance affiliates—FEI and Ways to Work.
Gordon Johnson, founder and CEO of Neighbor to Family, says of Curley's work: "We had reached a point in our growth where we needed internal consensus about the brand identity we will be working to build—and a plan to make it happen. The Alliance put us in touch with Anne, who offered us a collaborative, customer-focused process that allowed us to get crystal clear on who we should be targeting for our future growth, how we want that target market to view us, and how we can further strengthen the ‘value proposition’ that we deliver to them."
At presumably the same time that ASA was being organized, Ms. Curley published an article in the Fall 2007 edition of Alliance for Families and Children magazine, titled "When Perception Isn't Reality: An Alliance member uses rebranding to alter public views of foster care."
It's plausible to imagine that someone wanting to devise a Popular Agenda and a pleasing public face, someone wanting "to get crystal clear on who we should be targeting for our future growth, how we want that target market to view us, and how we can further strengthen the ‘value proposition’ that we deliver to them" might look for someone with Ms. Curley's background. Especially if they were interested in "using rebranding to alter public views," such a group might find Ms. Curley's services uniquely suited to this work.
It's noteworthy that Ms. Curley's outreach as the spokesperson for ASA led her, as noted above, to the Metropolitan Milwaukee Association of Commerce, to tell that group that her new citizens' group was "the 1st systematic grassroots effort to identify, recruit & support qualified citizens to run for Milw. Public Schools board next Apr." If grassroots efforts don't grow from the grassroots on their own, it's good to ask the local chamber of commerce to help them get started.
What's not clear in the telling of ASA's history is whether the idea for the "systematic grassroots effort" came from Ms. Curley herself, and whether it grew organically, person-to-person, or whether Ms. Curley was engaged once the plans were laid by some other entity -- such as Ideologues with an Agenda.
ASA made one more important friend during its formation in the Greater Milwaukee Association of Realtors, which seized the chance to partner with ASA and its Popular Agenda. The GMAR even posted on the "Governmental Affairs" page of its website,
Interested in Running for the MPS Board?
Advocates for Student Achievement (ASA) is a new organization designed to increase academic achievement for every student in Milwaukee by recruiting and electing knowledgeable school board members to the Milwaukee School Board – the body that sets policies for the Milwaukee Public School System (MPS).
The next election for the MPS board will be in the spring of 2009, for districts 4, 5, 6 and 7 (map below). Recruiting and preparing strong candidates for this vital but challenging job takes time, however. So ASA and the GMAR are asking for your help now -- either as a potential candidate or to identify others who may be qualified and interested in running.
If you are a resident of the City of Milwaukee and live in the 4th, 5th, 6th or 7th districts – or if you are interested in running for one of the other seats at a later date – please contact Anne Curley by email at anne@curleycommunication.com or by phone at 262-785-9300.
Anne will be able to tell you what exactly is involved in running for, and serving, in this part-time position.
If you have questions, please feel free to contact GMAR Governmental Affairs Director, Marne Stück, at mjs@gmar.ws.
The GMAR page included a handy-dandy school district map here. But what is more interesting is that the notice to promote ASA appears next to a menu of links that apparently reflect GMAR's own public agenda; the only agenda item with its own link is called "School Choice."
In recognizing the importance of the quality of life that is inextricably related to property, it is in the Association’s interest to influence activities and organizations which impact the quality of life associated with property, at its discretion. Examples of GMAR activity in this capacity include advocacy on lead-based paint issues, land use proposals and property tax debates.
The quality of schools is a significant component of the quality of life associated with property. In fact, the quality of schools is often the primary factor in the decision by families, and even businesses, on where to purchase property. With this knowledge, the linkage between real property and the quality of schools must also be of significant concern to REALTORS®, because the quality of schools is directly related to the ability of REALTORS® to conduct their business.
In general, the image of schools in the metropolitan Milwaukee area is highly regarded, with one exception. That exception is the Milwaukee Public School system (MPS). MPS has schools that span the quality spectrum – some excellent, others struggling; whereas in most suburban communities whole school systems are rated highly.
In the late 1990’s, there was a movement within the City of Milwaukee and MPS School Board to improve the quality of public education and public schools – and, by extension, quality of life – through the introduction of competition in the form of school choice. In broad terms school choice implies offering parents the choice of where to send their children to school, reasoning that parents will send their children to the best schools (whether they are public, private, sectarian, or charter) irrespective of where their home is located.
The Greater Milwaukee Association of REALTORS® recognizes that unless and until Milwaukee public schools are substantially improved, the metropolitan area will not realize its full potential – either in terms of economic development or quality of life. Therefore, the GMAR strongly condemns efforts to maintain the educational status quo in the Milwaukee public school system and instead supports all changes necessary to effectively reform MPS and create a world class metropolitan education system.
In 1999, the GMAR adopted a policy supporting school choice on the basis that REALTORS® sell the quality of life associated with a given property, and the quality of schools are a significant component of the quality of life. School choice entails offering parents the opportunity to send their child(ren) to private, charter or MPS schools.
The GMAR supports the Milwaukee Parental Choice Program because we believe the alternative it offers has helped many poor students who attend the Milwaukee Public Choice Program schools as well as spurred the Milwaukee Public School System into making reforms that have helped public school students. At the same time we are very concerned with the cost of public education in general, the MPCP program and MPS alike.
Is school choice the real issue -- the real Agenda -- behind ASA and its Popular Agenda of replacing MPS Board members? It's hard to say, since ASA doesn't mention "school choice" on its website.
Another one of ASA's allies does, though: In fact, Coalition for an Educated Milwaukee publishes its own motto, "School choice is a vital community asset," across the top of its endorsement of ASA and its goals.
Advocates for Student Achievement, a Milwaukee organization dedicated to raising "academic achievement for every student in Milwaukee" by electing talented individuals to the Milwaukee Public School Board, this week released the results of a poll on how Milwaukee residents view education in their city. Among the findings, the majority of Milwaukee residents support reforms like the MPCP and Charter schools.
Which brings us to the poll.
Why did ASA commission a poll, and what sort of poll was it? What questions did they ask, and what were the poll results? Are Milwaukee's realtors the wealthy Ideologues behind "Advocates for Student Achievement," and is school choice the real Agenda? If so, have any mainstream news media made these connections and reported on them? In fact, what does the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel say about ASA? About the Milwaukee Public Schools Board? About the upcoming board elections?
Stay tuned.