From the President
March 2008

Dear Friends:

Walking through LSW, I am always pleased and impressed by the hum of activity. So many students working hard with the help of so many dedicated volunteers! You, our volunteers, are making a huge difference in many lives.

At the same time, when we drive the streets of Milwaukee, when we open our newspapers, we are reminded of how much work there is to be done. “Milwaukee Reflects Grim Statistics” is a headline on page 1 of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel Metro section on March 1. The accompanying news story reports that Milwaukee has not made enough progress since the Kerner Commission first reported on poverty and its consequences 40 years ago.

Everybody acknowledges that workforce development is the key to economic development, and that education is the key to workforce development. A solution to Milwaukee’s education challenges will require many players, but LSW is an important part of the solution, and given the magnitude of the challenge, we can and should be a bigger player.

On the LSW Board, we are focused on doing a better job connecting with the Milwaukee business community. We all have a stake in the future of our city. We need to make the case to Milwaukee businesses for what we are doing, and can do, to help workforce development.

Two years ago, we initiated a Business Luncheon which we hold on the first Thursday of each May. It gives us a forum to remind the business community of who we are and what we are doing. I am pleased to announce that Judge Reginald Walton, of the United States District Court for the District of Columbia, will present the keynote address at our luncheon on May 1 this year. Judge Walton was first appointed to the D.C. bench by President Reagan and was appointed to the Federal bench by President George W. Bush. He is an articulate and impassioned champion of literacy, having struggled with reading as a child.

As always, thank you to all for the many contributions that make LSW hum. You are doing important work, and there is important work before us yet to be done.

Sincerely,

John F. Gaebler
President

Annual Report
View Annual Report in PDF format* 

• 2006
• 2007

Newsletters

View LiteracyNews in PDF format* 

• June 2007
• September 2007
• March 2008
  
  * Get Adobe Acrobat Reader to view PDFs.

About Us | Privacy Policy | Contact Us | ©2004-2006 Literacy Services of Wisconsin