MPS presents "TEACHES" strategy and Morris Middle School reports lower suspensions, higher attendance

Milwaukee Public Schools administrators presented a bimonthly update to the PACE committee on efforts to enhance educational communities and school climate, describing a targeted support model called TEACHES and reporting preliminary results from participating schools.

John Jagman, discipline manager for MPS, told the committee TEACHES (Team for Equitable Education Coaching and Holistic Support) currently targets 15 schools that accounted for roughly half of the district’s suspensions and combines academic, behavioral and special‑education supports into a single team of aligned needs (TAN) that provides regular, school‑based coaching and interventions.

Jagman said early indicators in the participating schools include increased student attendance, reductions in suspensions at 10 schools, lower student mobility rates and higher participation in student well‑being surveys. “Teaches is 15 schools. At the beginning of the school year, we looked at data. And we identified that 15 schools had 50% of all suspensions,” he said.

Morris Middle School for the Gifted and Talented reported marked improvements. Dr. Tansey Carrington, principal at Morris, said the school’s suspension rate is down 26.1% year‑to‑date and attendance is up 3.9%. Carrington described restorative practices, daily morning meetings and expanded mentoring as contributors to the changes and said the school has shifted away from separate honors classes to integrated instruction intended to raise achievement for all students.

Administration described other work tied to school climate: a districtwide staff readiness and mindset survey to be conducted in April; a planned collaboration with the University of Wisconsin–Madison on restorative‑practices readiness; student leadership committees and the Students Organized Against Racism series; anti‑vaping curriculum planning; and a new contract to pilot a program with Imagine Learning for students needing alternative settings.

Data and equity note: Jagman reported that 75.42% of suspensions year‑to‑date were for Black students, down almost 5 percentage points from the prior year-to-date figure. He also said the district is documenting classroom strategies in Infinite Campus (about 117,000 strategies recorded through February) and that under MTSS, most students with repeated referrals have documented intervention plans.

Questions from directors focused on TEACHES scale, frequency of school visits and how the model will expand beyond the initial 15 schools. Interim Superintendent Eduardo Galvan and Jagman said the model is a work in progress, intended to be scaled if results hold; administrators emphasized capacity constraints and the need to coordinate staff across departments.

The item was informational; no formal action was taken.