When to ‘Serve and Protect’ Goes Wrong

We talk to Milwaukee Journal Sentinel Investigative Reporter, Ashley Luthern, about her powerful and shocking investigation about a young woman who died after reporting domestic abuse many times to the Milwaukee Police Department.

Then we talk to the director of the Licensing, Educator Advancement and Development team at the state’s Department of Public Instruction, Jennifer Kammerud, about the findings in the 2021 Educator Preparation Program and Workforce Analysis Report and what it tells us about the statewide teacher shortage.

Guests: Ashley Luthern, Jennifer Kammerud

Check out this episode on Spotify and Apple Podcasts!

We Need To Do Better By Our Domestic Abuse Cases

Earlier this month, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reporter, Ashley Luthern, published a powerful investigation into the death of Bobbie Lou Schoeffling, a young woman suffering from domestic violence. It starts with this headline: “Police had a warrant to arrest the man she accused of abuse. But they didn’t. Now she’s dead.”

The must-read investigation details Schoeffling’s repeated attempts to report domestic violence to police before she was killed. Her ex-boyfriend Nicholas Howell, 29, was charged recently with first-degree reckless homicide in her death.

We talk to Luthern about the story and what the reactions have been since from both the public and the Milwaukee Police Department.

You can find all the reporting here:

1. A woman told Milwaukee police an ex-boyfriend beat her. Experts say the officer’s response was ‘disturbing.’ (4/10/23)
2. Bobbie Lou Schoeffling repeatedly went to law enforcement for help. Here’s a timeline of her reports and their response. (4/10/23)
3. Bobbie Lou Schoeffling died in Milwaukee in July 2022 after making multiple attempts to report domestic violence to police. (4/10/23)
4. MPD says officer had ‘shortcomings’ when interacting with domestic violence victim (4/14/23)
5. ‘We have recognized our shortcomings’: MPD chief opens review into domestic violence case (4/19/23)

Where to Find Help

• The National Domestic Violence Hotline is 800-799-7233.
• The Sojourner Family Peace Center in Milwaukee operates a 24-hour confidential hotline at 414-933-2722.
• We Are Here Milwaukee provides information on culturally specific organizations at weareheremke.org.
• The Women’s Center in Waukesha has a 24-hour hotline at 262-542-3828. 
• The Asha Project, which provides culturally specific services for African American women and others in Milwaukee, provides a crisis line from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. at 414-252-0075.
• The UMOS Latina Resource Center in Milwaukee offers bilingual, bicultural, domestic violence, sexual assault and anti-human trafficking supportive services and operates a 24-hour hotline at 414-389-6510.
• The Gerald L. Ignace Indian Health Center offers culturally sensitive, trauma-informed services for those who have experienced domestic or sexual violence and can be reached at 414-383-9526.
• Our Peaceful Home, which serves Muslim families and is a program of the Milwaukee Muslim Women’s Coalition, operates a crisis line at 414-727-1090.
• The Hmong American Women’s Association, which serves the Hmong and Southeast Asian community, has advocates available at 414-930-9352 from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday.
• End Domestic Abuse Wisconsin has a statewide directory of resources at endabusewi.org/get-help.

Wisconsin’s Got a Teacher Shortage

It’s not breaking news the Wisconsin is short on teachers.  We talk to Jennifer Kammarud,  director of the Licensing, Educator Advancement and Development at the Department of Public Instruction, about why. 

Earlier this year, the 2021 Educator Preparation Program and Workforce Analysis Report was published and some of the findings included:

1. Teaching areas in which shortages are most acute include special education, Language Arts (reading), Math, Science, Career and Technical Education (CTE), Art and Music, and English as a Second Language (ESL).
2. Wisconsin continues to outpace neighboring states in the number of students enrolling in educator preparation programs (EPP). Yet fewer Wisconsin students are completing programs.
3. The low FORT (the test needed to complete the preparation program) passage rates, at 54% percent for first-time test takers, is undoubtedly impacting the workforce. 
4. EPP enrollment in Wisconsin declined from 2008-09 through 2017-18. Although enrollment appears to have bounced back somewhat in 2019-20, it is still below 2008-09 levels.
5. Among the 2020-21 cohort, 79% of EPP completers went on to be licensed in Wisconsin and only 67% were ultimately employed in a Wisconsin public school. The result of this loss is that out of a possible 5,400 new public school teachers, the state only added 3,600.
6. Wisconsin’s teacher workforce is overwhelmingly white and female, Further, there have been no significant changes in the makeup of the teaching workforce in Wisconsin. Teacher demographics are starkly different than the makeup of the student population in the state.