Three cases of measles has been confirmed in Wisconsin in recent weeks, the latest involving an out-of-state traveler who traveled through Milwaukee Mitchell International Airport to Walworth County on Jan. 29. 

Milwaukee Health Commissioner Michael Totoraitis said during a news conference Tuesday that there were six individuals on the flight from the city of Milwaukee who may have been exposed as well as others.

“We have been in communication with those (six) individuals, and there’s also likely other contacts from the airplane that we do not have,” he said.

Measles is a serious disease that can cause high fevers and a spreading rash and lead to life-threatening complications such as pneumonia. 

Lindsey Page, director of immunizations and communicable disease with the Milwaukee Health Department, said measles is highly contagious and the risk of it hitting the city is real. 

Extremely contagious but can be prevented

According to the Wisconsin Department of Health Services, measles can spread from person to person through the air from coughs or sneezes. The department states that measles is so contagious that 90% of unvaccinated people who are around someone who is infected may also be infected.  

Page said the measles, mumps and rubella, or MMR, vaccine is highly effective at preventing the spread of measles. Still, vaccine rates in the city are below the recommended rate for herd immunity. Herd immunity for measles is reached when 95% of people in the community have the MMR vaccine. 

“It certainly poses a threat, which is why we’re obviously emphasizing the vaccination, which is key in preventing disease from spreading before it starts,” Page said. “The measles vaccine is one of the most effective and well-studied vaccines ever used.”

Three-fourths of 6-year-olds in Milwaukee have received both recommended MMR doses, according to the Milwaukee Health Department. Among 18-year-olds in Milwaukee, that number increases to 88%. 

The Milwaukee Health Department and Milwaukee Public Schools are working to get residents access to vaccinations to increase those rates and keep them safe. 

According to the International Vaccine Access Center, childhood vaccination rates in the U.S. have declined, and only 10 states had MMR rates above 95% during the 2024-25 school year.

Vaccination rates low in many Milwaukee schools

Of the 152 Milwaukee public, private and charter schools with available vaccine data, only 11% have reached herd immunity levels of 95% for the MMR vaccine, according to data from the Washington Post. 

Only two Milwaukee Public Schools for which data was available, Highland Community School and Cooper Elementary School, had an MMR vaccination rate of 95%.

Just 7% of Milwaukee schools have a 95% immunization rate for all required vaccinations.

Milwaukee Public Schools notifies families if immunization records are missing or incomplete, and students may be excluded from school if requirements are not met within a reasonable time, said Stephen Davis, MPS media relations manager. 

Students are allowed to attend school while families work to get their required vaccinations or submit a valid exemption as allowed by state law, Davis said. 

Wisconsin DHS allows vaccination exemptions for medical, religious or personal conviction reasons. Davis said exemption requests in the district have fluctuated from year to year.

Page said the Milwaukee Health Department runs vaccine clinics inside select MPS schools at the beginning of the school year. Students take home vaccine consent forms for parents to sign so those students can get their required immunizations in school. 

In the near future, the department will set up targeted clinics in schools with low MMR vaccination rates, Page said.

MPS prepares for potential measles cases

MPS is monitoring measles in the region and maintains regular communication with local and state public health partners, Davis said. 

Davis said the district has an infectious disease response plan, which the district reviews periodically and updates as public health guidance changes. The district last reviewed the plan in 2025. 

“While no increased risk has been identified within our schools at this time, we are remaining vigilant and prepared to respond if conditions change,” Davis said. 

If a case of measles is identified in the city, Davis said MPS would implement its response plan, including coordinating with key staff and reinforcing illness reporting procedures.

“Schools would follow established exclusion, cleaning and notification procedures in accordance with public health guidance,” Davis said.

Where can I get vaccinations?

The Milwaukee Health Department and the Wisconsin Department of Health Services offer several resources to check your vaccination status and access free vaccinations. 

Page said you can check your vaccination status with your pediatrician or doctor, look up your status on the Wisconsin Immunization Registry or contact the city Health Department at 414-286-6800.

Page said the Health Department offers free MMR vaccines to all residents at three immunization clinics regardless of age or insurance status.

These clinics also offer other vaccines, available for free for people without health insurance. Eligibility for certain vaccines depends on factors like age, and some vaccines are not always available.

Check vaccine availability by calling 414-286-8034.

Immunization clinic services in Milwaukee

Keenan Health Center, 3200 N. 36th St.

Open for vaccines on Thursdays from 1 to 4 p.m.

Northwest Health Center, 7630 W. Mill Road

Open for vaccines on Wednesdays from 3 to 6 p.m.

Southside Health Center, 1639 S. 23rd St.

Open for vaccines on Mondays from 3 to 6 p.m. and Tuesdays from 1 to 4 p.m. 

Alex Klaus is the education solutions reporter for the Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service and a corps member of Report for America, a national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on under-covered issues and communities. Report for America plays no role in editorial decisions in the NNS newsroom.

Jonathan Aguilar is a visual journalist at Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service who is supported through a partnership between CatchLight Local and Report for America.

Measles is in Wisconsin. Are Milwaukee schools vulnerable? is a post from Wisconsin Watch, a non-profit investigative news site covering Wisconsin since 2009. Please consider making a contribution to support our journalism.

When teacher Amanda Glunz started a robotics team at Audubon Technology and Communication High School four years ago, there were just five members. 

Now, the program has grown to 32 students and two teams, including the newly formed all-girls team Av414nche. The newest team was designed to give girls an opportunity to break into science, technology, engineering and math, also known as STEM. 

“We went with Av414nche at first, because you know how avalanches fall down? It’s like breaking down the barriers,” Audubon junior Lily Sanders said. 

The team consists of builders, programmers and a marketing team.

The teams give students an outlet to build confidence and skills in STEM, receive mentorship and improve social skills, Glunz said.

Building the robot

Several steps go into turning a concept from paper into a moving and functioning robot, said Jorja, an eighth grader at Audubon and member of Av414nche. 

It all starts with a sketch. 

“Then we started to actively use Legos,” she said. “Eventually we switched from Legos to Onshape (a computer-aided design (CAD) software program), and then once we had the Onshape model down, we just decided to go from there.” 

After building the robot, the team uses trial and error to get it to function as best as possible. 

For the team’s upcoming qualifier competitions, robots need to shoot balls into a goal. Audubon students compete against other schools across the state in several robotics competitions.

Sanders is part of the team that helps to build the robot. For their most recent competition, she tested out different wheels for their robot to see which ones launched the balls best. 

“Really just figuring out what will work and what will not work,” Sanders said. “It’s really just a lot of trial and error.”

The robot is named Ava, which is short for Av414nche.

Jorja, a programmer on the team, works to make the robots move. 

“The robot does not know anything until we tell it,” she said. “It wouldn’t just do it by itself.” 

She said programmers first worked on the code that operates the wheels to make the robot move, then they code the wheel that makes the ball shoot.

Mentorship and higher education

When they aren’t working on the team’s social media, the marketing team looks for mentors who can introduce students to the fields of technology and engineering.

Most mentors are students from local universities including Milwaukee School of Engineering and Marquette University. The marketing team also has its own mentor who works in graphic design. 

Some students like Davin Dacio, an Audubon junior who takes a dual enrollment course at Milwaukee Area Technical College, get college-level programming experience that is used on Audubon’s co-ed robotics team, DreaMKEepers. 

Starting at a young age

Jaida Campbell, a junior on the marketing team, said they are trying to recruit younger students to the team. 

Middle and high school students at Audubon share a campus. Middle schoolers begin robotics at the school by participating in the FIRST LEGO League. League members work with coaches and teammates to build Lego-based robots for engineering competitions. 

Though Jorja is only in eighth grade, this is her first year on the high school robotics team. 

She started as a fifth grader in the FIRST LEGO League, and by the seventh grade, she and Glunz worked on a coding project in the Fiserv Future Techies program, where they made it to nationals. 

“It really inspired me, the fifth grade LEGO League,” Jorja said. “I love Legos and I was good with technology so I was like, OK, why not join my favorite things?”

Alex Klaus is the education solutions reporter for the Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service and a corps member of Report for America, a national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on under-covered issues and communities. Report for America plays no role in editorial decisions in the NNS newsroom.

Jonathan Aguilar is a visual journalist at Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service who is supported through a partnership between CatchLight Local and Report for America.

Milwaukee high school’s robotics teams help students break down barriers and build skills — and confidence is a post from Wisconsin Watch, a non-profit investigative news site covering Wisconsin since 2009. Please consider making a contribution to support our journalism.

In a classroom turned barbershop on the third floor at Milwaukee’s Rufus King International High School, students sit for a haircut and talk about academics, sports and the latest trends with English teachers Cameron LeFlore and Emmanuel Johnson.  

They’re the latest clients of The Shop in 310, a free on-campus barbershop club for Rufus King students. LeFlore said the cuts help young men feel more confident. 

“Then they don’t need a hat or hoodie,” he said. “They can just walk with their head held high.”

The idea for the shop started when LeFlore brought his clippers to the school, hoping students would want a haircut.

Johnson, who was recently hired at the school, decided to collaborate with LeFlore once he learned they both had an interest in barbering.

Checking out the new club

The Shop in 310 opens daily at 3:30 p.m. except Thursdays. Among the regulars at The Shop in 310 are Rufus King juniors Elijah Ramirez and Demontrey Cochran. 

Ramirez, 17, moved from Chicago to Milwaukee three months ago and was nervous about trying out a new barber for the first time in 10 years. 

“I was scared at first, but then I gained confidence and trust in Mr. LeFlore,” Ramirez said.  

He was pleased with the results of his first mid-taper cut. 

“It came out better than I expected,” he said. 

Since then, he’s gained opportunities with photographers and notices how his cut stands out.

Cochran, 16, is a student in LeFlore’s class and was excited to support the club.

“I really wanted to see how this would turn out,” Cochran said. 

Ramirez and Cochran each encourage their peers to give it a try. 

“Every man can vouch that after they get a haircut, they are going to feel good and that they can conquer the world because of their haircut and confidence from it,” Cochran said.

Financial relief for families

The Shop in 310 initially charged $10 per cut, but after being approved by the Office of Administration at Rufus King as an official club, the trims became free.

“If your child starts off as a freshman coming here, you’d be saving thousands by the time they’re a senior,” LeFlore said. 

Before joining Rufus King, Johnson offered free cuts to students at Marshall High School, where he taught previously, and felt glad to do it. 

“Back then, cuts were $25 to $30. Now barbers are charging $40 and up,” he said. 

Cochran typically spends $35 for a mid-taper cut at his barber. Since coming to The Shop in 310, he’s been able to save money and also values how accessible it has been for his peers.

“There’s a lot of people I know who don’t even have barbershops near them, so it takes them a long time to finally get a cut,” he said.

LeFlore and Johnson use the club’s Instagram to post haircut tutorials for students interested in learning how to cut their own hair at home. 

“I try to take a holistic approach and think back to what I would’ve wanted when I was in high school,” LeFlore said. 

Visiting The Shop in 310 is more than just receiving a haircut for Ramirez and Cochran. It’s a place to feel welcomed. 

“At first I saw them as just English teachers,” Ramirez said. “I like their communication and ability to understand what I’m specifically asking for.” 

Beyond the sounds of clippers, Cochran sees the barbershop as peaceful, chill and liberating. 

“As long as everything is appropriate this is a non-judgment zone,” he said.

Practice leads to improvement  

LeFlore and Johnson are self-taught barbers who learned the skills on their own before bringing clippers into the classroom. 

Johnson started off cutting his youngest brother’s hair as a favor while receiving feedback from his mentor Thomas Mclern, a barber with more than 30 years’ experience. 

“While cutting my brother’s hair I realized that cutting hair was one of the best ways for me to serve the community,” he said. “Cutting hair is now an art for me.”

LeFlore’s path to barbering began after watching a friend cut his own hair, inspiring him to do the same. 

“I told my friend to send me all the products I needed, then I went and brought everything,” he said.  

LeFlore said it used to take an hour and a half to complete a haircut, now it’s only 20 minutes.

Tapping into diverse hair types

As their skills improved by cutting five to 10 heads a week, Johnson and LeFlore became more versatile. 

Having already worked with diverse hair types at Marshall High School, Johnson was able to adjust to the needs of Rufus King students. 

“At Marshall, I was exposed to different hair types and hair thinness, so at Rufus King, I learned quickly and had no problem,” Johnson said. “Every now and then when I get a hair type that’s not my own, it’s still a learning experience.”

Though LeFlore was nervous about cutting different hair textures, he practiced on his dad, whose hair is straighter, and watched YouTube videos to become better. 

“I took my time and it turned out OK, but it wasn’t as good as I wanted it to be,” he said. “I learned that straighter hair is easier, you just have to be more precise.”

Cochran said he has interest in cutting his own hair after graduating high school. 

“I want to purchase my own barber kit eventually, and that should save me at least $100 a month,” he said. 

Johnson and LeFlore want people to know that whether it’s cutting hair or something different, practice is key. 

“Whatever they’re looking to pursue, they need to find like-minded people who do the same things and practice together,” Johnson said.

Jonathan Aguilar is a visual journalist at Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service who is supported through a partnership between CatchLight Local and Report for America.

‘Walk with their head held high’: Barbershop at Milwaukee high school gives free cuts and confidence to students is a post from Wisconsin Watch, a non-profit investigative news site covering Wisconsin since 2009. Please consider making a contribution to support our journalism.

Note: This article contains descriptions of sexual misconduct and grooming behavior toward children.

This reporting was supported by the Pulitzer Center.

After Shawn Umland took a group of his students on a field trip to Florida, licensing regulators at the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction started investigating him. The inquiry followed a media report and involved allegations that Umland touched the tops of a student’s breasts during the trip while applying sunburn treatment in a hotel room, the agency’s records show. 

That was in 2019. Umland had previously been disciplined in 2005 for his behavior in a hotel room with a female student on a school trip, according to the department’s records. 

Umland, who worked at Lakeland Union High School in Minocqua, resigned in lieu of being fired. But he kept his Wisconsin teaching license. Officials at the Department of Public Instruction concluded there wasn’t enough evidence to revoke it, citing inconsistencies in witness statements. 

Michael Igl similarly resigned from the White Lake School District in northern Wisconsin but kept his license in exchange for taking a course on maintaining appropriate boundaries. The Department of Public Instruction opened an inquiry into allegations that he made sexual comments to students, communicated with students inappropriately on social media and gave them rides home unsupervised, department records show. 

Michael Hanson kept his license after he resigned from teaching in the Baraboo School District. School administrators concluded Hanson “did not recognize appropriate student-teacher boundaries and his behavior with two students constituted grooming,” licensing regulators wrote in their case notes. 

The notes say Hanson texted female students “excessively” and often visited their homes unannounced, to the point one student considered a restraining order against him. Again, officials at the Department of Public Instruction cited insufficient evidence to revoke Hanson’s teaching license. 

A yearlong investigation by the Cap Times found the state Department of Public Instruction investigated more than 200 Wisconsin teachers, aides, substitutes and administrators from 2018 to 2023 who were accused of sexual misconduct or grooming behaviors toward students — information previously unknown to the public.  

The department’s internal records show these allegations included educators sexually assaulting students, soliciting nude photos from children or initiating sexual relationships immediately after students graduated.  

Licensing officials also investigated educators accused of grooming behaviors like flirting with children, spending non-school time alone and isolated with students, or invading students’ personal space by rubbing their shoulders, thighs and lower backs. 

Child sexual abuse prevention advocates and researchers say these behaviors have lasting psychological effects on children, making it harder for them to succeed in school and have healthy relationships. The Cap Times interviewed seven academics and advocates about how the Department of Public Instruction investigates and documents educator misconduct. Each said the department’s practices are inadequately protecting students. 

“They need to change. That’s insufficient. That’s not going to keep kids safe,” said Charol Shakeshaft, who authored one of the most comprehensive reviews of teacher sexual misconduct for the U.S. Department of Education. 

Best estimates show one in 10 students experiences sexual misconduct from educators during their K-12 schooling, according to that federal report. In Wisconsin, that rate would amount to more than 93,000 school children. 

Sexual misconduct is a spectrum of physical, verbal and electronic behaviors that don’t belong in schools, according to Shakeshaft, a distinguished professor emeritus at Virginia Commonwealth University. She is also under contract with the Department of Public Instruction, serving as an expert witness in the agency’s grooming investigations.

Grooming, as Shakeshaft defines it, specifically consists of crossing boundaries to develop trust between the educator and student through gifts, attention, desensitization to touch in ways that appear harmless, as well as discussion of sexual or sensitive topics. 

The Cap Times found at least 44% of the Department of Public Instruction’s over 450 educator license investigations since 2018 have involved sexual misconduct or grooming allegations — a number researchers and advocates say is likely an undercount of these cases. 

“That’s what they’ve investigated. That doesn’t even take into account the full scope of prevalence,” said Shiwali Patel, an attorney with the National Women’s Law Center who focuses on gender and sexual harassment in schools. 

The Cap Times investigation also found: 

• The Department of Public Instruction is dedicating scant resources to investigate educator misconduct, raising questions about the quality of its oversight and protection of children. 
• The department, run by State Superintendent Jill Underly, relies on a rudimentary system to track its investigations, obscuring the scale of misconduct for policymakers and the public.  
• Licensing officials also allow educators under investigation to forfeit their credentials in exchange for avoiding in-depth probes.  
• Unlike a different agency that regulates hundreds of other state-licensed professionals — like nurses and accountants — the Department of Public Instruction doesn’t tell the public why an educator lost their license. Advocates say this lack of transparency makes it easier for educator misconduct to avoid detection and happen again. 
• Out of 461 teachers the state investigated from 2018 to 2023 for all forms of misconduct, 207 kept their credentials and could continue working in schools with children. 

Department of Public Instruction spokesperson Chris Bucher said the agency is always looking for ways to improve and that license misconduct investigations are critical to the safety of children. However, the agency is limited in funding and staffing because state lawmakers consistently cut their operating budget, he said. 

In the current two-year state budget, lawmakers approved a 10% annual reduction, a cut of about $1.3 million, to the department’s general operations from previous funding levels. 

“We do as much as we can with the resources and tools and authority that we have,” Bucher said. “That is an area of need.” 

Underly declined requests for an interview. Discussing the Department of Public Instruction’s investigations would create a “conflict of interest” since Underly oversees educator licenses, Bucher said. 

As state superintendent, Underly is Wisconsin’s highest ranking education official. Voters first elected her to office in 2021 and re-elected her in April to another four-year term. 

Ben Jones, the department’s former head of educator misconduct investigations, also declined requests for an interview, citing attorney-client privilege. Jones ran the department’s Office of Legal Services as the chief legal counsel for six years and left in July after Gov. Tony Evers appointed him to a Dane County judgeship. The department’s new head of legal services is Kyle Olsen, who took over in August.  

Umland, the Minocqua teacher, continues to work in education. He is the president of the Lakeland Union High School Board of Education. It’s unclear whether Igl is still working in education or has left the profession. Hanson has since stopped teaching and works at a private biochemical company in the Madison area. 

Umland didn’t respond to a request for an interview or written questions. In their case notes, licensing officials wrote he “generally denied the allegations.”  

Hanson told the Cap Times that during Baraboo’s investigation, school administrators weaved “a narrative that fit, in my opinion, what they wanted to see and what the parents wanted to see.” He said he resigned from his teaching position because the investigation harmed his reputation and he felt burned out from teaching.  

Igl was unable to be reached by social media, email or phone. In a letter to Department of Public Instruction investigators at the time, he said he “would never consider having inappropriate communication” with a student and resigned feeling he had no other option despite denying the allegations.  

Police also investigated Umland and Igl, according to Department of Public Instruction records, although the state’s online court records indicate neither was criminally charged. Hanson was not criminally charged either. 

Madison East graduate: ‘I stopped going to school’  

Students who are sexually abused, harassed and groomed by teachers, principals or coaches often experience lasting psychological and physiological harm, said Shakeshaft, who authored the book “Organizational Betrayal” on how schools enable sexual misconduct. 

“We see then long-term a sort of maladjustment in the world: drug and alcohol abuse, (self) cutting, failure to have the confidence to go forward and go for new jobs and speak out,” Shakeshaft said.  

The trauma affects children’s ability to succeed in school as well, said Jetta Bernier, executive director of the prevention advocacy group Enough Abuse.  

“Their learning is more difficult. They’re involved in more remedial classes. Their graduation rates are less,” she said.  

Lauren Engle and Sydney Marz each described wanting to avoid school and a deep distrust of teachers and school administrators after experiencing educator sexual misconduct. 

“I stopped going to school, and if I did go to school, I did not go into class,” Engle said. “I went to the student services, and I sat there for the entire day. It was so terrible to be around people who either knew or thought they knew and wanted to know more.” 

Both attended the Madison Metropolitan School District and were students of East High School teacher David Kruchten starting in 2016. Throughout their four years at East, Engle and Marz said they went on multiple overnight field trips with Kruchten.  

Kruchten pleaded guilty in 2021 to federal charges of attempting to produce child sexual abuse material. He had placed surreptitious recording devices in students’ hotel bathrooms and sleeping areas while on school trips, according to federal prosecutors.  

“I was just focused on obviously the criminal case and whatnot, and feeling like a shell of a human being basically and just really weird all the time,” Marz said. “I had a hard time focusing. I was always very stressed out, but also very disengaged.” 

Even if an educator’s conduct never escalates to sexual contact, boundary violations like spending time alone together outside of school, gift-giving and hand-holding are harmful to students, Shakeshaft said. These types of behaviors make students easier targets for exploitation. 

“They’re already groomed that this is normal behavior. This is OK,” she said. 

No consistent tracking, short on details 

Sexual misconduct and grooming by teachers is sometimes called education’s best-kept secret, a moniker Shakeshaft said rings true. A failure to track educators who abuse, harass and groom children allows it to go unchecked, she said. 

In Wisconsin, the state Department of Public Instruction is responsible for teacher licenses but doesn’t track data on how many educators have been investigated following allegations of sexual misconduct or grooming. 

Obtaining that information “would require a good deal of manual work to fulfill,” said Bucher, the department spokesperson. 

The lack of information makes it harder to stop sexual misconduct from happening again, said Billie-Jo Grant, a researcher and the CEO of McGrath Training Solutions, which provides instruction on educator misconduct prevention.  

“When we don’t have numbers for how often something is happening, it’s very difficult for the public and for legislators to understand the magnitude of the problem and to allocate funding and resources to solve the problem,” Grant said. 

The Department of Public Instruction routinely gathers and publishes data on other potential signs of student harm, such as how often students are chronically absent, experience homelessness or feel unsafe at school — but not the frequency of educator misconduct. 

Under Wisconsin open records laws, the Cap Times obtained and reviewed a Google spreadsheet used by the Department of Public Instruction to track its more than 450 misconduct investigations from 2018 through 2023. The Cap Times also obtained the department’s case notes showing summaries of misconduct allegations, investigation practices and outcomes from probes spanning 2019 through part of 2022. 

Over 204 of the investigations involved allegations of sexual misconduct or grooming, a Cap Times analysis of the records found. Another 158 investigations involved allegations of physical assault, drug use or discriminatory comments, among other unethical behavior. 

In almost a fifth of the total cases, the nature of the misconduct allegations is unclear from the records. The spreadsheet and case notes either lack enough detail or contain none at all to categorize. 

Parents would likely be outraged to learn the department isn’t more consistently tracking this information, said Charles Hobson, a professor at Indiana University Northwest and a board member of the advocacy group Stop Educator Sexual Abuse Misconduct & Exploitation.  

“It’s appalling to me that these kinds of things continue to happen and that otherwise good people turn their back on this issue. I just, I don’t understand it,” Hobson said. 

Bucher said investigators attempted to “modernize our review process and use emerging technology” by implementing case tracking software from 2015 to 2018. But the department stopped using it. 

“The software did not work as well as we hoped and was expensive,” Bucher said. 

The current spreadsheet has worked well to serve the department’s investigation purposes, Bucher said. He did not specify any plans to change or update to a more comprehensive software. 

Over 100 investigations a year for two DPI employees 

The Department of Public Instruction faces challenges while investigating educator sexual misconduct and grooming, Bucher said. The state needs to ensure sensitivity toward victims while it deals with limited information in redacted police reports, reluctant witnesses, delays in reporting incidents and a lack of clear intent behind alleged inappropriate behavior, he said. 

The department has one full-time and one part-time investigator, which Bucher said isn’t enough staff to handle the 113 investigations opened on average each year. That figure includes misconduct investigations and additional background screenings for license applicants. Both employees also have other job duties outside of license investigations, Bucher said. 

Grant, the misconduct prevention trainer, called the department’s staffing levels “woefully inadequate” given the caseload size.  

“Doing an investigation requires time,” Grant said. “That means interviewing multiple parties and witnesses, and gathering information, and writing a report on how you know what you know, to know if you should (revoke) that license.” 

Bucher said one of the department’s investigations has contributed to a criminal case that put an abuser behind bars, underscoring the importance of their work. He blamed state lawmakers for underfunding the department rather than pointing to Underly or other agency leaders, who oversee how state funding is used internally. 

“The Legislature has consistently cut DPI agency operations instead of funding more staff to work on things such as educator misconduct investigations,” Bucher said.  

In Underly’s most recent state budget request, she sought over $600,000 for modernizing the agency’s online background checks and licensing platform.  

The proposal was rejected by lawmakers. 

Underly requested no additional funding specifically for educator misconduct investigations. 

Surrendering licenses to avoid investigation 

Glenn Buelow and Paul J. Mleziva are among more than 80 Wisconsin educators since 2018 who have given up their teaching licenses after the Department of Public Instruction opened investigations into allegations they had engaged in sexual misconduct or grooming. 

The department’s case notes show a colleague reported they caught Buelow “making out” with a student. Investigators wrote that Buelow also admitted to sending inappropriate images to the student, such as a meme saying, “Elmo loves anal.” 

Licensing investigators wrote Mleziva sent sexual text messages to a student and told her after she graduated that “he wanted to have a sexual relationship,” according to Department of Public Instruction records.  

In both of these investigations, the educators resigned from their jobs and voluntarily surrendered their teaching licenses. Mleziva denied any wrongdoing to licensing investigators, while Buelow did not respond to the department’s investigation notice.  

Buelow worked for the Racine Unified School District until 2019 and Mleziva for the Two Rivers Public School District until 2020. Neither was criminally charged. 

Reached by phone Sept. 24 for comment on the Department of Public Instruction’s investigation, Buelow confirmed he had kissed a Racine student while he was a teacher, but said the student started the interaction.  

“It was taken totally out of context and it was not initiated by me,” he said.   

Also reached by phone, Mleziva said Sept. 24 that his messages with a Two Rivers student were “borderline at best” when asked if the messages were sexual in nature. Mleziva said the student misinterpreted his conversation after she graduated and that it wasn’t about initiating a sexual relationship.  

Voluntary license surrender is the most common way Wisconsin educators lose their teaching credentials across all types of misconduct, including physical assault, financial impropriety and criminal convictions, the Cap Times found.  

Department of Public Instruction investigators offer every educator the ability to surrender their teaching credentials at the start of a case to “resolve the matter,” Bucher said. Educators are also given other opportunities throughout the process.  

State investigators have written in some case notes that “no meaningful DPI investigation” happened because the educator surrendered their credentials. 

When licenses are forfeited, the department closes the investigation without an official finding of wrongdoing. On the Department of Public Instruction’s website showing the status of an educator’s license, no information is provided on why the credential was surrendered.  

Not publishing the circumstances of a surrendered license contributes to a culture of secrecy around educator grooming and sexual misconduct, said Hobson, the Indiana professor. 

“The harassers know that system inside and out. They know that it’s not reported. They know how to game the system,” he said.  

Making the information publicly available is important in case the former educator tries to work with children again, Grant added. 

“You only need a license to teach, but you can serve in other roles in a school or a youth-serving organization and not require a license,” Grant said. “By having information publicly about why your license was … revoked, it can help to deter youth-serving organizations from hiring someone that has a history of misconduct.” 

Bernier, the advocate with Enough Abuse, said public accountability is needed for educators who lose their credentials for misconduct. Officials at the Department of Public Instruction have to make a choice, she said. 

“They can either protect those who would abuse our children, or they can protect the children. But they can’t do both,” Bernier said.  

For hundreds of other state-licensed professions, disciplinary histories are published online by the Wisconsin Department of Safety and Professional Services. Misconduct records for doctors, accountants, manicurists and others are more publicly accessible than similar records for teachers.  

“I think that to kind of single out teachers and to not require that information to be available, especially given that they’re surrounded by kids and the high prevalence of … sexual misconduct, I mean that is concerning,” said Patel, the attorney.  

The Department of Public Instruction has tried to make the information available in the past but its licensing software isn’t equipped for that purpose, Bucher said. The agency would need new software, which would require funding.   

Hobson, an educator himself, said the fundamental mission of teachers is to safeguard the children under their care from harm. Despite that duty, educator sexual misconduct and grooming continues to happen.  

“My God, this is a flawed system, and it’s not protecting our children,” Hobson said.

Editor’s note: This story has been corrected. A previous version inaccurately described a reference to a media report in a public record. The record was unclear about the contents of the media report.

Hundreds of Wisconsin teacher misconduct cases shielded from public is a post from Wisconsin Watch, a non-profit investigative news site covering Wisconsin since 2009. Please consider making a contribution to support our journalism.

This story was originally published by ProPublica.

Following public outcry, the U.S. Department of Education has restored funding for students who have both hearing and vision loss, about a month after cutting it.

But rather than sending the money directly to the four programs that are part of a national network helping students who are deaf and blind, a condition known as deafblindness, the department has instead rerouted the grants to a different organization that will provide funding for those vulnerable students.

The Trump administration targeted the programs in its attacks on diversity, equity and inclusion; a department spokesperson had cited concerns about “divisive concepts” and “fairness” in explaining the decision to withhold the funding.

ProPublica and other news organizations reported last month on the canceled grants to agencies that serve these students in Oregon, Washington and Wisconsin, as well as in five states that are part of a New England consortium.

Programs then appealed to the Education Department to retain their funding, but the appeals were denied. Last week, the National Center on Deafblindness, the parent organization of the agencies that were denied, told the four programs that the Education Department had provided it with additional grant money and the center was passing it on to them.

“This will enable families, schools, and early intervention programs to continue to … meet the unique needs of children who are deafblind,” according to the letter from the organization to the agencies, which was provided to ProPublica. Education Department officials did not respond to questions from ProPublica; automatic email replies cited the government shutdown.

When the funding was canceled, the programs were in the middle of a five-year grant that was expected to continue through September 2028. The funding from the center is only for one year.

“We don’t know what will happen” in future years, said Lisa McConachie of the Oregon DeafBlind Project, which serves 114 students in the state. McConachie said that with uncertain funding, her agency had to cancel a retreat this fall that had been organized for parents to swap medical equipment, share resources and learn about services to help students when they get older. She hopes to reschedule it for the spring.

“It is still a disruption to families,’’ she said. “It creates this mistrust, that you are gone and back and gone and back.”

Oregon’s grant application for its deafblind program, submitted in 2023, included a statement about its commitment to address “inequities, racism, bias” and the marginalization of disability groups, language that was encouraged by the Biden administration. It also attached the strategic plan for Portland Public Schools, where the Oregon DeafBlind Project is headquartered, that mentioned the establishment of a Center for Black Student Excellence — which is unrelated to the deafblind project. The Education Department’s letter said that those initiatives were “in conflict with agency policy and priorities.”

An advocate for deafblind students said he was happy to see the funding restored but called the department’s decision-making “amateurish” and disruptive to students and families. “It is mean-spirited to do this to families and kids and school systems at the beginning of the year when all of these things should be so smooth,” said Maurice Belote, co-chair of the National DeafBlind Coalition, which advocates for legislation that supports deafblind children and young adults.

Grants to the four agencies total about $1 million a year. The department started funding state-level programs to help deafblind students more than 40 years ago in response to the rubella epidemic in the late 1960s. Nationally, there are about 10,000 children and young adults, from infants to 21-year-olds, who are deafblind and more than 1,000 in the eight affected states, according to the National Center on Deafblindness.

While the population is small, it is among the most complex to serve; educators rely on the deafblindness programs for support and training.

ProPublica is a Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative newsroom. Sign up for The Big Story newsletter to receive stories like this one in your inbox.

Students with hearing and vision loss get funding back despite Trump’s anti-DEI campaign is a post from Wisconsin Watch, a non-profit investigative news site covering Wisconsin since 2009. Please consider making a contribution to support our journalism.

The Free Application for Federal Student Aid, or FAFSA, opened for new and returning college and university students on Oct. 1. Students typically have until June 1 to apply for the best chance of receiving aid.

The form connects students with loans, grants and scholarships through the U.S. Department of Education and your higher education institution. 

Students considering attending a two- or four-year college or university should fill out the FAFSA form, even if they haven’t committed to a school or are unsure whether they will pursue higher education. 

Getting started

Carole Trone serves on the board for College Goal Wisconsin, an organization that hosts FAFSA completion events around the state. She said the FAFSA process usually runs smoother when parents let their student take the lead. 

“It works best if the student starts their part of the application and then hands it over to the parent,” Trone said.

Students should first make an account, called a Federal Student Aid (FSA) ID. If a student is a dependent, at least one parent or guardian will need to make a Federal Student Aid ID and contribute to the form.

The Department of Education requires students to provide a Social Security number to fill out the FAFSA form. Contributing parents without a Social Security number can make an account but will need to check a box certifying they don’t have a Social Security number.

When creating a Federal Student Aid ID, Trone said, it’s important to double check that all information, including names and dates of birth, are correct. The Department of Education won’t be able to verify your information if these details are incorrect, which Trone said complicates the process.

If students or parents already have a Federal Student Aid ID, Trone said the ID stays with them forever and they should use the same account.  

Filling out FAFSA

What do I need to fill out the form

FAFSA requires certain information from students and parents to verify income, assets and financial need. 

The Department of Education will use applicants’ Social Security numbers to access their income with the Internal Revenue Service. Parents and students must give consent for the IRS to access information on their tax returns, even if an applicant doesn’t have tax returns to supply. 

The Department of Education recommends still having the most recent tax returns for information that isn’t imported from the IRS. 

The form also asks about assets – the current balance of cash, checking and saving accounts – and the net worth of any businesses and investments. 

Students will also need to provide a list of schools they’re interested in attending. Students should list all schools even if they aren’t committed. 

“The options that FASFA gives you is not just for four-year college, it’s for two-year college, it’s for a number of certification programs,” Trone said. “It doesn’t obligate you to anything.”

Types of aid

The types of federal aid you receive can be split into two main groups: loans and grants. The biggest difference is you need to pay back loans but not grants. Filling out your FAFSA form also helps you become eligible for need-based scholarships through your higher education institution.

Loans

You can make payments while enrolled at least part time (six credit hours, usually about two classes) in school but are not required to until after you graduate or go below six credit hours. After you do either of these, it triggers a six-month grace period before you’re required to make payments. 

The federal government offers several types of loans in two categories: Direct and Direct PLUS. 

The amount of interest on these loans depends on the year you take them out. The interest rate changes each year on July 1. 

Direct loans

Students can receive two kinds of Direct loans: subsidized and unsubsidized.

Subsidized loans mean no interest accumulates on the loan while in school or during your grace period, saving the student money in the long run. 

Unsubsidized loans accumulate interest beginning when the student takes out the loan. 

Direct PLUS

The Department of Education also offers Direct PLUS loans, which are federal loans that parents of dependent undergraduate students, graduate or professional students can use to help pay for school.

Parents of dependent students can take a Parent PLUS loan to support additional education costs that aren’t covered by other financial aid. 

This loan originally did not have a cap, but as a result of the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act,” Parent PLUS loans are now capped at $20,000 per year or $65,000 over the course of an undergraduate school career.

Graduate PLUS loans, which were used to support graduate school education, will be eliminated starting in the 2026-27 school year. 

A new unsubsidized loan program is replacing Graduate PLUS. Students can borrow up to $20,500 annually, up to $100,000 over the course of graduate school. Students attending professional schools like medicine or law will be eligible to take out higher loans. 

Grants

Pell grants: Students in need of a lot of financial aid might qualify for a Pell grant. Unlike loans, these do not have to be repaid. 

The One Big Beautiful Bill Act expanded Pell grant eligibility to shorter workforce training programs. 

Financial need

The amount of aid you receive depends on your financial need. 

After a person submits a FAFSA form, the Department of Education considers several factors like income and other assets and generates a Student Aid Index that determines your financial need. The lower your Student Aid Index, the greater chance of receiving more aid. 

Colleges and universities look at factors like a student’s Student Aid Index, how many credits are being taken and tuition costs to decide how much aid a student will receive. 

Private loans?

Universities and advocates alike caution against using private loans whenever possible because of concerns about predatory lending, potentially high interest rates and a lack of repayment options and forgiveness.

Interest rates and other conditions of the loan often vary on factors like credit scores. If you need to take out a private loan, try to look at offers from several lenders to pick the best one. 

Where can I go for help?

College Goal Wisconsin is hosting events virtually and in several Milwaukee high schools to help students and parents complete the FAFSA form. Any students looking for help with a FAFSA form can attend, even if they don’t attend MPS. 

Trone said each student who attends is eligible to win one of 15 $1,000 scholarships.

Families who can’t make it to a help session can use resources on the College Goal Wisconsin website or the FAFSA YouTube page, Trone said.

Upcoming events in Milwaukee

Veritas High School: Monday, Oct. 13

6 p.m. to 8 p.m. at Veritas High School, 3025 W. Oklahoma Ave. Register here.

Riverside University High School College and Career Center: Tuesday, Oct. 14

6 p.m. to 8 p.m. at Riverside University High School, 1615 E. Locust St. Register here.

Virtual FAFSA Completion Event: Wednesday, Oct. 15

6 p.m. to 8 p.m. virtually. Register here.

Virtual FAFSA Completion Event: Wednesday Oct. 22

6 p.m. to 8 p.m. virtually. Register here.

South Division High School College and Career Center: Thursday, Oct. 23

6 p.m. to 8 p.m. at South Division High School, 1515 W. Lapham Blvd. Register here.

Milwaukee School of Languages College and Career Center: Wednesday, Oct. 29

6 p.m. to 8 p.m. at the Milwaukee School of Languages, 8400 W. Burleigh St. Register here.

Virtual FAFSA Completion Event: Wednesday, Oct. 29

6 p.m. to 8 p.m. virtually. Register here.

Jonathan Aguilar is a visual journalist at Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service who is supported through a partnership between CatchLight Local and Report for America.

Everything you need to know about FAFSA applications is a post from Wisconsin Watch, a non-profit investigative news site covering Wisconsin since 2009. Please consider making a contribution to support our journalism.

Milwaukee Public Schools has rolled out a new emergency protocol designed to standardize and simplify responses to emergencies.  

Staff, families, students and the broader community were tragically reminded of the need for such protocol when, just weeks ago, a gunman opened fire during a student Mass at a Minneapolis school, killing two children and injuring more than a dozen others. 

Shannon Jones, MPS director of school safety and security, said shooting incidents like these prompt staff to reflect and assess.

“I think after every incident that has happened nationwide, actually worldwide, we kind of look at where we are and try to take in consideration the ‘what ifs,’” Jones said. “Overall, it’s about the safety of the kids.” 

What’s new?

On Sept. 2, the first day of the school year at most MPS schools, students were introduced to the Standard Response Protocol, said Kevin Hafemann, emergency operations manager for the district. 

The protocol was developed by the “I Love U Guys” Foundation, a national nonprofit that provides free safety resources to schools. 

Posters explaining each response are displayed in classrooms at MPS’ roughly 150 schools. 

Those responses are: Hold, Secure, Lockdown, Evacuate and Shelter. 

Five emergency responses

Here’s what each response entails for students and teachers. 

• Hold: Students remain in their room or area, while hallways are kept clear. While holding, normal activities can continue. 
• Secure: Teachers lock outside doors to protect people inside buildings. Although awareness should be heightened, normal activities can continue. 
• Lockdown: Teachers clear hallways, lock doors to individual rooms and turn off the lights. Students hide and keep quiet. 
• Evacuate: Students move to an announced location, leaving personal items if necessary. 
• Shelter: Depending on the hazard announced by the teacher, students respond with the relevant strategy. For example, if there’s an earthquake, students should drop, cover and hold.

Easier in an actual emergency

“The neat thing about the SRP (Standard Response Protocol), it’s very simple. There’s only five, so it’s an all-hazards approach,” Hafemann said. 

The posters replaced a much more detailed flipbook. 

“This is where we came from,” Hafemann said, holding up the flipbook. “Very great, excellent information. But during a crisis, you lose your fine motor skills. You’re not going to have time when you’re scared to be able to read what to do.” 

Many community partners were involved in bringing the new protocol to MPS, Hafemann said. This includes the Milwaukee Police Department and the Milwaukee Fire Department.

Fire Chief Aaron Lipski said the collaboration has helped MPS avoid “reinventing a wheel on something that might not work in the real world.”   

For example, he said, it’s important for staff to know that during a fire, one of the safest areas of a building is the stairwell. 

“Through good incident command and communication with folks at the building, that gives us time for them to go, ‘Hey, we got a kid in a motorized wheelchair on the west stairwell, third floor.’ That becomes a major priority for us,” Lipski said. 

Some emergency protocol details cannot be shared publicly for safety reasons, but families are informed whenever changes directly affect school procedures, said Missy Zombor, president of the Milwaukee Board of School Directors.  

What’s the same?

Although the Standard Response Protocol is new for the district, it is part of the district’s ongoing Emergency Operations Plan.

The plan is an overarching safety framework mandated by state law, requiring school districts to coordinate prevention, mitigation, response and recovery efforts across the district. 

A range of emergency drills are also mandated: monthly fire drills; at least two tornado or hazard drills annually; one “school violence” or “lockdown” drill annually. 

MPS also conducts defibrillator drills and, for younger students, bus evacuation drills each year.

What steps can be taken now?

Families should review the Standard Response Protocol poster with their schoolchildren, Hafemann said. 

“Just have those discussions with children about these and that they’re aware of what to do,” he said.

Lipski advised reviewing “the basic stuff” as well. 

“They probably do well to review basic ‘stranger danger’ stuff,” he said. “Yes, we want you to follow instructions that your teachers are telling you, but if you need to leave the building because there’s an emergency and you get separated, make sure you find an adult that you are familiar with.”

As children get a little bit older, Lipski added, it would be helpful for them to get CPR training and some basic first aid. 

“It just reinforces that, ‘Hey, you know what – helping people is a thing you can do,’” Lipski said.

For more information

Families can update their contact information in the online Parent Portal to effectively use SchoolMessenger, the district’s emergency communication tool.

If families have safety and security-related questions, students can reach out to their respective teachers first, while parents can contact Jones or Stephen Davis, media relations manager for MPS, Davis said. 

Jones can be reached at 414-345-6637. 

Davis can be reached at 414-475-8675 and davis2@milwaukee.k12.wi.us.

MPS also provides some opportunities for input from families through school-based councils, district surveys, board meetings and community listening sessions, Zombor said. 

The Wisconsin Department of Justice maintains a statewide portal for reporting safety concerns. People can also call the tipline at 800-697-8761.

Families and students can access key safety and security documents on the MPS website.

Jonathan Aguilar is a visual journalist at Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service who is supported through a partnership between CatchLight Local and Report for America.

Milwaukee Public Schools rolls out new emergency protocol is a post from Wisconsin Watch, a non-profit investigative news site covering Wisconsin since 2009. Please consider making a contribution to support our journalism.

Rochelle Nagorski thought her son was all set to go to Burdick, his neighborhood elementary school, this year. 

“I got an email stating that he was enrolled, but we weren’t getting anything stating who his teacher was,” she said.

Nagorski later learned Burdick, 4348 S. Griffin Ave., Milwaukee, was at capacity and that her son was placed on the school’s waitlist.  

“Why wouldn’t he get into his neighborhood school? It’s literally two and a half blocks from our house.”

She is not alone. Others also have reported similar challenges. 

Steve Davis, media relations manager at Milwaukee Public Schools, explained in an email to NNS that the school district is working to make sure not to exceed maximum class sizes at schools. 

“This means more schools are at capacity and cannot accept new students, even if it is a family’s neighborhood school,” Davis wrote.

Capacity and other issues related to the enrollment process have forced Nagorski and others to scramble to find alternatives.

Frustration with central services

Citlali Torres said she already had enough on her plate after her uncle, Vincent Torres, was killed in front of his home this summer. Then, someone stole her wallet with her ID. 

While she dealt with those challenges, she decided to enroll her 4-year-old daughter at Morgandale Elementary, 3635 S. 17th St. 

“Morgandale is a great school. I went there all the way from K4 to eighth grade,” Torres said.

She tried to enroll her daughter but was told she needed to wait for the year to start to see if the school had space. 

Once the school year started, Torres called MPS central services but was told a picture of her ID wasn’t enough to enroll her. She needed a physical ID card, which was stolen along with her wallet. 

Torres said the staff at Morgandale have been helpful and supportive, but she has struggled to get help from central services.

“All I want is for, you know, to get my daughter enrolled in school.” 

Nagorski also had trouble with central services. When she called, the employee told her she should have put other schools on the list in case her son didn’t get into Burdick.

Nagorski didn’t know it was possible for her neighborhood school to fill up, so she only put Burdick on the list. 

Staff at central services said she’d have to come to the office and enroll her child in another school. Nagorski, who is on medical leave from ankle surgery, asked if there was another option but was told there was none. 

The district has since reached out to her to schedule a home visit.  

Scrambling for alternatives

Since her son was waitlisted, Nagorski has considered whether to re-enroll him in Wisconsin Virtual Academy, where he went last semester. She said online learning didn’t work well for him – she noticed him become disengaged – but it’s better than nothing. 

“I’d rather get them on online learning so he’s at least got some kind of schooling going on and get some kind of structure,” she said.

Nagorski said she wished the district notified her sooner that her son was on the waitlist at Burdick. 

“If I would have been notified a week prior to school starting, even if he was on a waitlist,” she said. “Give me something to work with.” 

Torres was finally able to enroll her daughter in school after NNS connected her with Davis. 

She began classes on Sept. 10 at Morgandale. 

How to enroll your student

Davis said parents will get the fastest service by coming in person to the central services office at 5225 W. Vliet St. 

Parents can apply to enroll their students by checking out this online portal. 

For families who can’t come in person or navigate the online portal, Davis said they can call 414-475-8159 and ask a canvasser to visit. 

The district requires identification when enrolling your student. If you don’t have a government-issued ID card, call the number above. 

According to Davis, one way to help avoid parents’ school of choice reaching maximum capacity is by applying during the regular enrollment period. 

“We appreciate that full classes and schools may present challenges for families,” Davis wrote in an email to NNS. “We do hope they can understand that a classroom filled above its maximum capacity can present a challenging experience for all the students, their families and the teacher.”

Parents face challenges navigating the Milwaukee Public Schools enrollment process is a post from Wisconsin Watch, a non-profit investigative news site covering Wisconsin since 2009. Please consider making a contribution to support our journalism.