Wingra School Sends Largest Out-of-State Team in Nation to California Education Conference

Madison, Wis. (Oct. 1, 2007) – As the nation debates the value of ‘No Child Left Behind’, one local school that is bucking the standardized-testing trend will send 18 staff members to San Francisco next week for the first-ever national conference on progressive education, Challenging Assumptions: Revitalizing our Educational Vision for America. The conference runs Thursday, Oct. 4 – Saturday, Oct. 6.

Wingra School’s team is the largest out-of-state group participating in the conference, which will include presentations on topics such as “The Conditions Under Which we Best Learn,” by former Harvard Graduate School of Education Professor Roland Barth; “What’s Progressive about Progressive Education: Teaching the Taboo,” by Bill Ayers, a 1960s Weather Underground activist who is now a distinguished professor of education at the University of Illinois; and “Teaching the Drug War,” by Jeanne Polk Barr of the Francis W. Parker School in Chicago.

“Our teachers are delighted to have an opportunity to join with progressive educators from across the nation at this important event,” said Wingra School Director Joyce Perkins. “Wingra’s reputation for academic excellence grows from its commitment to treating children as individuals and providing a safe, nurturing environment where students are engaged and challenged. This is an important opportunity to share what we have learned here in Wisconsin, and to learn from educators across the nation who are committed to using teaching methods that are not built around standardized testing.”

Perkins will attend the conference along with 16 members of the teaching staff: Angela Baker, Mary Campbell, Kim Cotant, Allen Cross, Quinne Haugen, Lisa Kass, Tessa Michaelson, Kathy Oker, Colleen Pardun, Josh Rankin, Holly Reif, Tresi Smyth, Angie Sparks, Linnette De La Texera, Lyn Ungrodt, Claire Weiss, and Barbara Westfall.

Wingra School opened its doors 35 years ago in the Dudgeon Center on Monroe Street in Madison. Today, it educates children from throughout Dane County in multi-age classrooms in grades K-8. More information on Wingra School is available by calling (608) 238-2525. The website offers more information about the Progressive Education Network Conference.

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