Rep. Robin Vos (Photo: WRN)
Assembly Speaker Robin Vos has named members to three new bipartisan task forces. State Representative Jessie Rodriguez (R-Franklin) will chair the Speaker’s Task Force on Urban Education, and would like to address the issue of teacher retention.
“Teachers sometimes are not trained for what they’re going to encounter at urban schools, and from what I’ve heard many of them have been frustrated by the experience and leave,” Rodriguez said, adding that many are good teachers. “Kids and families in the urban setting have certain needs, and if we are not helping our teachers to provide services, they are going to get frustrated, and they are going to end up leaving.”
Rodriguez said the task force will also look at truancy, below-average academic performance and graduation rates, and ways to improve early-childhood education.
Vos has also appointed members to task forces on Alzheimer’s and Dementia, and Youth Workforce Readiness. The chair of the Speaker’s Task Force on Alzheimer’s and Dementia is Rep. Mike Rohrkaste (R-Neenah), and the Speaker’s Task Force on Youth Workforce Readiness is being chaired by Rep. Bob Kulp (R-Stratford). Vos said the goal of each bipartisan task force is to explore possible solutions and recommend legislation to the full Assembly. The task forces will travel around Wisconsin obtaining input and innovative ideas in order to compile recommendations.