The Cost of Non-Family Families

Good intentions, maybe a solution--but the premise is inaccurate.

The home environments of some youths make getting to college nearly impossible, a group called the Wisconsin Coalition for a Public Boarding School said Tuesday

The coalition of philanthropists, educators, politicians and business leaders announced its intention to raise more than $30 million in private funds to open a Milwaukee school for at-risk students in three years. The group also plans to persuade legislators to allocate state funding for the college-prep program...

That State taxpayer contribution would be $10 million or so. Cost will be about $30K/student, roughly 300% of the current MPS spending level. Reason for that cost?

This is a BOARDING SCHOOL.

The root-cause premise is wrong:

“What we have in our community right now is a crisis in education,” said Cory Nettles, former state secretary of commerce and a member of the coalition.

Mr. Nettles: you have a crisis in FAMILIES--or more accurately, in NON-families--which causes a "crisis in education."

As Mr. Harris is wont to say: "It's the Culture, Stupid!!"

A Milwaukee school would provide wraparound services such as intensive tutoring, lessons in conflict resolution and communication skills to young people who struggle in their current school placements. The combination has worked in Washington: 97% of that SEED school’s graduates have gone on to four-year colleges, according to the group’s literature.

The Milwaukee Boarding School Foundation was founded by local philanthropist Marty Stein prior to his death in 2006. Dan Bader, president of the Helen Bader Foundation, is now vice president of that group’s board.

“Marty saw a gap for those kids and those families who needed a really intensive experience in the form of an urban boarding school,” Bader said.

The coalition’s next steps will be to rally support among state lawmakers and to help raise money

Good intentions. Good people.