The Milwaukee Youth Symphony Orchestra’s Community Partnership Programs, which provides access to underserved and underrepresented students who attend school in the City of Milwaukee, has been named a finalist for the 2014 National Arts and Humanities Youth Program Awards. Presented by the President's Committee on the Arts and the Humanities, this highly competitive award honors outstanding after-school and out-of-school programs that are enriching the lives of young people throughout the country by teaching new skills, nurturing creativity and building self-confidence.

For more information about this award, and for a full list of finalists, please visit the following link.
2014 National Arts and Humanities Youth Program Awards Finalists 

By Paul A. Smith of the Journal Sentinel

Wisconsin youth looking for fishing fun this summer will receive an assist from an expanded Department of Natural Resources Fishing in the Neighborhood program.

The agency's FIN program will bring 12 interns to community centers around the state to teach fishing fundamentals and connect people with local aquatic resources.

The six teams of interns serve at the Milwaukee Christian Center and Urban Ecology Center in Milwaukee, the Bad River Boys & Girls Club in Odanah, Bay Beach Wildlife Sanctuary in Green Bay, Warner Park Community Recreation Center in Madison and Indianhead Community Action Agency in Ladysmith.

For more on this story click the link here. 

Celebrating 58 years of excellence in arts education, Milwaukee Youth Symphony Orchestra (MYSO) has grown to become, by several measures, the largest and most extensive youth orchestra program in the country. MYSO fosters creativity, collaboration and critical thinking skills through its highly acclaimed ensemble and music training programs. 

See the video of their performance here: http://www.themorningblend.com/videos/257710041.html

By The Morning Blend

It is our distinct pleasure to inform you that Dr. Michele Bria has been selected as a winner in the Milwaukee Business Journal's annual Women of Influence awards program!!

This program profiles Milwaukee-area women who are leaders in their fields and are making an impact in their professions and communities.

These profiles will be published in a special section in the Milwaukee Business Journal on June 20, with an awards luncheon to be held that same day.

Please Click Here! to view the Milwaukee Business Journal Article.


Congratulations Michele!


News from Milwaukee Public Schools 

Three Milwaukee Public Schools seniors are among just 1,000 students across the country to be announced Thursday as Gates Millennium Scholars, an honor that comes with a “good-through-graduation” scholarship to the college of each student’s choice covering 100% of unmet need.

This news is available online at: http://www5.milwaukee.k12.wi.us/dept/superintendent/2014/05/3-mps-students-earn-life-changing-gates-college-scholarships-covering-100-of-unmet-need/.

By Astead Herndon of the Journal Sentinel


A Catholic, work-study high school aligned with a nationwide network of schools will open in the fall of 2015 on Milwaukee's south side, the Midwest Jesuits of the Wisconsin and Chicago-Detroit Provinces and the Cristo Rey network announced Wednesday.



Read more from Journal Sentinel: http://www.jsonline.com/news/education/jesuit-group-announces-plans-for-cristo-rey-high-school-in-milwaukee-b99254348z1-256380931.html#ixzz2zp7IzvXg 

By Chris Rickert of Wisconsin State Journal

Results from the study of a Madison schools program suggests the district has hit upon an effective way to close gaps in student achievement based on demographics.
Now if only the program served more than a small fraction of students and the district had launched it oh, say, 33 years ago.

The district’s AVID/TOPS (for Advancement Via Individual Determination/Teens of Promise) program serves primarily low-income and non-white students at the middle and high school levels.

These students are different from the ones who have historically made up the bulk of the student body: white, middle class, born of educated parents and generally free of the kinds of out-of-school challenges that can impede learning.

A UW-Madison investigation of the program over the last four years shows participation in AVID/TOPS is correlated with higher attendance rates and grade-point averages and other measures of academic success.

Read More

By Lee Bergquist of the Journal Sentinel

When visitors walk through the stone archway of the 40-acre Milwaukee Rotary Centennial Arboretum, they'll be greeted by an endangered landscape.

The oak savanna in Milwaukee's newest park was built from massive piles of dirt that had to be trucked in and bulldozed into a cluster of undulating, grassy berms, arrayed with newly planted oaks.
Read more from JSOnline: http://www.jsonline.com/news/milwaukee/new-milwaukee-park-creates-an-oak-savanna-in-urban-area-b99100470z1-224745772.html#ixzz2gUW9ucBk 

The MIlwaukee Youth Symphony Orchestra (MYSO) was honored by Governor and Mrs. Walker as special guests at the 2013 National Governors Association summer meeting in Milwaukee. Mrs. Walker personally requested MYSO students to perform for Saturday evening’s reception at Discovery World. The students performed 30 minutes of patriotic tunes, several of which were set to fireworks, for our nation’s governors. The crowd was on their feet at the end of the performance, requesting an encore and cheering enthusiastically to conductor, Carter Simmon’s, reference to MYSO as the “greatest youth orchestra in the country.” Governors from around the country congratulated Mr. Simmons and the orchestra following the concert. Governor and Mrs. Walker also spent several minutes visiting with the group and thanking them for a spectacular performance!

Watch their performance of On Wisconsin below.