Madison Schools and SAGE
- 27 out of 31 elementary schools have reduced class size at grades K-3
- 23 schools (5,620 students) are funded by SAGE & FED grants and MMSD operating budget
- 4 schools - Have "SAGE-Like" class ratios and are fully funded by MMSD operating budget ($630,500)
- Of the district's 7,313 K-3 students, 6,551 (90%) are in classes of 15:1
- 93.6% of MMSD's K-3 low-income students are in SAGE classes
- MMSD currently receives $5.3 million from the state for SAGE
- The Governor's SAGE budget proposal would increase the grant to $6.64 million, an increase of $1.3 million
- MMSD research shows that all students in smaller classes show literacy and math gains compared to students not in smaller classes
- K-3 Students in poverty and African-American students show gains that are greater than other students and gains that are statistically significant
- In addition, MMSD special education students show similar gains to low-income and African-American students (nationally, this is not the case)
- Since the inception of SAGE, the achievement gap between white students and African-American students on the state's Third Grade Reading Test has been virtually eliminated
Return to Budget Issues Page