New MPS Foundation director discusses her journey, her goals, and the role public schools play beyond education

Local education leader and Milwaukee Public School alum Tiffany Tardy has been chosen as the new executive director of the Milwaukee Public Schools Foundation, hoping to expand on existing programs, strengthen the district’s relationship with its alumni and ensure that students are getting their basic needs met at school.

The MPS Foundation, established in 1998, is a non-profit organization whose mission is to motivate the community in support of Milwaukee Public Schools.

Last August, Wendell Willis stepped down as executive director to take over the Milwaukee Bucks & Froedtert Health Equity Initiative. In his resignation letter, he said he was especially proud of the foundation's work in providing support for online learning during the pandemic, funding nearly $1 million in scholarships and sending tens of thousands of students to special learning opportunities, and offering numerous STEM initiatives.

Willis is staying on as a board member.

Last week, the MPS Foundation announced that Tardy would be filling the executive director role. The Journal Sentinel discussed her thoughts on the district’s biggest challenges, her goals for MPS and the foundation, and how public education changed the trajectory of her own life.

What led you to this role professionally and personally?

“My career has primarily actually been in higher education,” Tardy said. “I've worked in the university spaces for the first part of my career, working specifically in access and retention work for students from under-represented backgrounds.”

After receiving a bachelor’s degree from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and a master’s degree from the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater, Tardy began working with UW-Whitewater and Mount Mary University before returning to Milwaukee.

In Milwaukee, Tardy has been the program director and managing director for All-In Milwaukee, an organization that helps limited-income students graduate college. She is currently pursuing a doctorate in education at Alverno College.

“I really started getting into the work of what's happening in the city. What are the needs of the city?”

As a Black woman from a limited-income background who attended MPS, Tardy said she felt drawn to the role with the MPS Foundation and wanted to be part of the solutions to the challenges MPS and Milwaukee face.

“I have the lived experiences firsthand of this community, of our education system,” she said. “I'm so grateful for the education that I had here, but I know what that looks like from an economic perspective, from a social perspective, all these different areas.”

What were some experiences at MPS that helped shape your career?

Tardy went to Palmer Elementary School, which closed in 2006, before transferring to Golda Meir Elementary and continuing on to Morse Middle School and Rufus King High School.

“I always credit my journey to Miss Rodriguez in my elementary school. She was the person that sat down with my mother and said, ‘We're going to do this application for Golda Meir (which serves gifted and talented students) because Tiffany is talented, she's special.’ But I could talk about at each point of my K-12 experience, I've had just so many wonderful teachers. You saw their commitment to you. I was committed to my education because I had people who poured into me.”

What are the most important challenges MPS is facing and what goals do you have for the foundation?

The biggest challenge MPS faces today is limited resources with a substantial student need. While schools across the country are facing budget challenges, the issue is more acute in MPS, Tardy said.

“I think that a part of the reason the foundation exists is because we want to be able to provide equitable access and resources to the district, and really just make sure that what our kids have in the suburbs, our kids in MPS have.”

According to 2018-19 MPS data, the district serves almost 90% students of color, 82% economically disadvantaged students and 20% special education students.

“Many of our kids are getting three meals a day, they're getting mental health support, trauma informed care, all of these different pieces,” Tardy said. “The district has been trying to address so many areas outside of academics because that's what our kids need.”

Tardy wants to make sure the MPS Foundation can help the schools meet the basic needs of students, but also provide enrichment experiences for students such as expanding on the Learning Journeys educational field trips program which helps provide field trips for students, or growing the Green Schools Iniptiative which aims to improve playgrounds and playfields, as well as create outdoor classrooms.

“The foundation is working to address those different gaps and make sure that (students) have access to the resources and the things that they need because we're not talking about suburbia, where you are coming from a family that does have more wealth,” she said.

In addition to funding, Tardy is also concerned about teacher shortages, hoping to build a pipeline to get more teachers into MPS, and improve the district’s relationship with colleges and universities, as well as the district’s reputation.

“I think about so many of the different things that are happening in our community that, you know, there are so many negative things that are in the news,” she said. “But also, the thousands and thousands of alumni that we have, that are doing so many great things — in the NBA or the NFL or successful businessmen — all these different things. How do we continue to change the narrative and tell that story of all the great people that are products of the district?”

Why do you think public education is important in a city like Milwaukee?

“We're talking about moving Milwaukee forward … economic vibrancy and trying to build a diverse middle class and all of these different pieces. We have to be looking at our public school systems and how we can support kids from all different backgrounds and all different skills and need sets.”

With over 70,000 students, Tardy said, MPS should be getting enough resources to meet the broader goals of the city.

“I think public schools, that's the foundation of it,” she said. “From my own journey, being able to go to school, and have all the things that I need, and be able to learn, that has led me to the path where I'm now this executive director. That's powerful for me, and I think that's the story of a whole lot of people across our country.”

This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: MPS Foundation want to change the perception of the district