No. It was a decision made without consulting milestones, the school board or the community.

I think the decision was ill-advised. Milestones has consistently offered a high level of care in Whitefish Bay. There was no reason to make any change.

I have not used the programs myself, but the families I know who do really appreciate it as it is. Milestones goes above and beyond what a traditional school run after/before school program does. I think the decision made by the school board was the wrong one.

It's an awful decision. The school board has already posted the parameters of this new care. The student teacher ratio for their new program will be 18:1. Milestones it is roughly 5:1. The school board has stated they will not be state regulated. Milestones is. State regulations impose student:teacher ratios as well as space required for the students. You can see where this is all headed with the district program. And they want to charge the same price as Milestones. OK, so let me see if I understand this; you want me to pay the same price for substantially less care for my child? Gee, where do I sign up? Nope, the kids will be walking to St Monicas each day if the school board doesn't reverse this bone headed decision.

Milestones was a powerful, loving and supportive part of my daughters' young years in Shorewood. The care cannot be duplicated by a district run program. Shorewood tried to make this same change a number of years ago and reversed the decision, to the best of the district.

NO! My children attended MIlestones for many years when they were younger. It was an excellent program. There was NO need to discontinue it. I do not think the school district can offer what Milestones did for children. This is a big mistake.

All three of my children (who are now adults) benefited greatly from Milestones. The plan to replace Milestones makes no sense. We loved the program, the teachers, the consistency. Why mess with success?

Nope. Bad choice WFB. Milestones is a quality program. I wonder if wfb schools are going to work with the state to help those families who can't afford afterschool care like Milestones does..humm???

No, especially if it's 18:1. Very disappointing. I would at least like to see a well thought out plan first before moving forward with the change. We aren't remodeling old school bathrooms, we are helping families with their children!

Has anyone heard if Camp Milestones in the summer will still be around?

Claire, Milestones is not being "replaced"; it will continue to be available, although at nearby sites instead of on-site at the schools. The new, alternative, on-site care will be a for-profit scheme run by the Whitefish Bay Rec Department at much worse student-teacher ratios.

The next open meeting of the Whitefish Bay school board is Wednesday, Feb. 13 at 7pm in High School Room 47. It is the best opportunity to have your voice heard by people with the ability to reverse this decision. Plan now to attend and to speak your mind about this plan.

As a childcare lead teacher in one of the highest quality accredited schools in the northshore and a parent who is still using the Milestones Before/Aftercare program I am outraged! Unless the WFBS & the Rec dept plan on licensing AND accrediting their program or can guarantee they will meet these high standards I plan to continue to stay with Milestones care! They served my older two children well for 10years and they are doing a fantastic job this year serving my K5 daughter. I do support the local Recreation dept and my children enjoy the various classes they offer and will continue to do so. But again, its a recreation department that isn't expected to undergo all that is entailed in meeting the standards a licensed/accredited agency is regulated by.

Milestones offers consistent, high quality, accredited care - a fabulous value for the dollar. I can easily, and honestly say that Milestones taught me a lot about parenting and has been a great partner as I've brought up my 3 sons through the Milestones programs. This WFB decision sounds like a decision made on paper without a good understanding of what quality child care means to parents. Parents are not just looking for a babysitter, but need what Milestones offers - well-trained and committed caregivers who have a true relationship with your child and honestly care about their happiness.

Both of my children attended Milestones for many years. The program was excellent! I can't imagine that the school district will be able to replicate the success of this program, built and honed over so many years. I think there should have been much more communication and oversight before making such a drastic decision that will affect so many families.

God no!! There is not another before-and-after school program that can compare. One does not have to compare many others in the surrounding areas to see this truth. As a teacher that has interacted with many after school care providers, Milestones is a cut way above the rest. White Fish Bay should be ashamed of themselves for having their priorities so far off of what is really important: their students and families.

Milestones Programs offers the highest quality of care with the most involved teachers you could ask for. As a former teacher for Milestones, I have seen first hand the difference this program has made in the lives, well being, and in the happiness of the children apart of this before/after school program. Milestones is irreplaceable, and plays such an important role in this community.

I have worked for the Milestones Program and have had experience with others. It is hands down the program that I would choose for my own children. The key ingredient being the commitment by the entire organization to children and their well being. What a shame it will be for the children they serve and the parents who count on these caring people to help raise their kids. Was this decision made to save a few bucks? To save a struggling Rec Dept.? Have we learned nothing from the events in our past? How about we make some deliberate decisions about how we raise our kids and the people we choose to help us do this important job. In my time working in WFB for Milestones I was under the impression that the parents of WFB felt that way too.

I am outraged by this decision...I am a past employee of Milestones who worked many years with kids and families in WFB. Cant believe the school board would pass such a plan. Spend one day in any Milestones program and most people would see what a bad idea this was. Kids are Milestones main priority.

So proud to be a FASP (Milestones) alum. This child care was crucial to my growth and development. Much needed in WFB.

Milestones is an irreplaceable organization that supports their employees, families and their children most if all. The level of excellence is unparalleled. As a former employee, and a current employer in the field, I compare care to the Milestones standard daily, both professionally and personally for my own child. Milestones is much more than an after-school program. Unfortunately it looks as though WFB will find this out too late. The outrage clearly proves that this decision was the wrong one. This is not a decision that should be made without community/parent input. There is clearly a lot more at stake here than a budget.

Go to the next School Board Meeting and let the school’s superintendent, Dr. Mary Gavigan, know what you think should be done. Wednesday, February 13, 7:00 p.m., Room 47 (lower level), enter from the parking lot just behind the high school.

As a former child care provider who has worked in both rec dept after school programs as well as Milestones, I can guarantee you that the level of quality training a Milestones employee receives is far beyond that of a rec dept employee. It saddens me that the school district is putting profit above the safety of the children in their schools. I understand that school districts are constantly faced with the issue of managing their budgets, but given the choice, as a parent, I would not hesitate to pay to leave my child in the care of the Milestones staff rather than the alternative. I hope that the WFB school district will reconsider this decision and choose to put the well-being of the children first.

I am shocked and saddened by this news. My son had the benefit of participating in the Milestones program for many years and I have very high regard for the professionalism and care they provided. It is aggravating to think the WFB schools could so abruptly and arbitrarily terminate their service to WFB parents. This is a company that runs incredibly lean. More importantly, it is independent from the school system. To think WFB schools can add public employees with all the attending benefits and still make money is not credible.

The Milestones teachers were wonderful, but the Milestones organization was difficult to work with and provided frustratingly poor service. Give WFB schools a chance to create an enriching program without the bureaucracy of Milestones.

This is clearly the wrong decision! It is unclear- did the School Board approve of this move? If not, is this even legal? How can the district act in this fashion without community input? Milestones has been great for my family and I know many others also. The district needs to change their minds!

Patch is a great place for sounding off, but the people who made this decision will be listening at the school board meeting Feb 13, 7pm, High school room 47. Please attend and make your opinion about this decision, whatever it may be, heard.

Breaking: Carin Keland says "look at the rec dept. through a different prism." In other words the program will be run by the rec dept, but it won't be like the rec dept. Great selling point.

Breaking: Gavigan says "communication with parents will be very important." Like it was on the run-up to the decision?

Just got home. Essentially the board took comments in advance of the presentation in order to control the discussion. The decision is absolute and it was clear there would be no reconsideration. The new program will never be compared to Milestones by equal metrics for success. The excess revenue, even if not the $250K promised, is going to be spread to subsidize the rest of the District. Ultimately if you can afford Milestones, the District is happy for you to choose it, but if you can't afford it then the District will provide something cheaper and still make a profit due to lower overhead. Ugh. Nobody ever explained why the decision was dropped on parents and Milestones had to be a surprise. How long is Gavigan's contract?

Just got back from the meeting. Pretty disturbing display of arrogance and misunderstanding the stakeholders. Where do we start?
1) They still cannot pin down any specifics on the framework of the program:
a) Student teacher ratio? 15:1 was discussed tonight but we know from their documentation that they've posted they plan on 18:1.
b) Really, really disturbing: they plan on filling staffing holes with the "wonderful high school volunteers". Are you kidding me? I am not entrusting my children's care to a patchwork of professionals and high school kids.
c) They really have no idea what the true financials look like. There was even confusion between the board and Yde on what the pricing would be. Or the profit number. In fact that whole banter between the board and Yde drew the greatest amount of laughter from the crowd. It was crystal clear how little thought has gone into the program.
2) I do not know why principals are throwing their hat into this. This has all downside and no upside for them. Their vague promises of having the day staff be involved with the program is nothing more than empty promises. There is no way teachers are putting a minute into this program unless it means a bump in pay for them. They have enough responsibilities already w/o having to support the daycare. Principals: if you are making promises of your teachers having involvement in this program then define X hrs a week your teachers will be putting into the program.

3) They were trying to sell the benefit that now that this is a district program they can open other parts of the school to the kids. Really? OK, let's work out the math. Let's say this mythical 15:1 student teacher ratio is in place. We have 2 teachers and 30 kids in the room. 4 kids want to go to the computer lab. So now what is the student teacher ratio in the room? It's suddenly 26:1. Again, sounds like an empty promise to me.
4) They have no idea what their summer program will look like. In fact they are so disorganized that they are deferring this summer to Milestones so they can take the next year and get their act together for next summer? Sure sounds as if they are ready for this fall, doesn't it?
5) They pretty much came out and made the statement that this was all done in order to prop up the financials of the rec dept. The rec dept loses a considerable amount of money and this is seen as a way to fill that hole. They even <guffaw, guffaw> said that "this could reduce our property taxes".
6) That closed door meeting before the board meeting was so they could plan out the entire session. It was one softball question after another from the board members to the rec dept, the principal, Gavin and Yde. I was frankly offended by the display. Who do you think makes up the residents of WFB? They are mostly high functioning professionals. They all have a pretty cultivated sniff test.

7) The board and the rec dept completely misunderstand the fact that Milestones is not going away. They are absolutely now in competition with Milestones. Again, pretty sophisticated customer base here in WFB. Do you think they are ready to pay the same rate for inferior care for their children? Especially when the competition is right across the street(Cumberland->Holy Family) or two blocks away(Richards->St. Monicas). I have a distinct sense that their programs will be mostly empty. In the end the parents will vote on this one. The district had only one card to play and that was to kick Milestones out of their buildings. But Milestones and the parents hold the rest of the cards.

School board: If you have any chance at success you have to concretely define the parameters of your program:
1) Student: teacher ratio.
2) How many hrs/week day teachers will be involved in the program either tutoring or assisting in curriculum.
3) What parts of the school will the kids have access to? And how many hrs per week?
4) Having high school kids involved is an absolute deal breaker. They do not have the maturity, training or self regulation to be a reliable source of child care.
5) Full financial models with projections at different student levels. Taxpayers of WFB: you are on the hook with this one. Milestones is a separate entity and they never endangered the financials of the school district.

This was my first school board meeting and to be frank what I saw was very disturbing. I urge you to voice your displeasure to the board members. They are elected officials and are supposed to be your voice in all matters involving educating our children:
http://www.wfbschools.com/district/doschoolbd.cfm

The School Board Meeting on 2/13/13 was a lovely piece of after-dinner theater, although the Board shouldn't plan to give up their day jobs for acting careers. There are high school students in model UN who can more effectively playact a question-and-answer session among themselves.

Taking public comments before the recreation department presentation was a great way to make sure the public didn't know what questions to ask. There was no opportunity to ask more questions after the presentation left so many questions unanswered. If the new program does not match the Milestones standard by Youngstar, what will the board do? Beg Milestones to return? No, the answer is that this program has been deemed a success before a curriculum is in place, before a single child has been enrolled.

This is an elected group who believes what is being fed to them by paid administrators who have lost touch with the upset constituents. The only people in favor of this new program were those who will run it. All the best to any parents who allow their children to be the guinea pigs, I hope it works out and is worth the 3% savings and privilege of donating to the "save the recreation department" fund.