The UW System PK-20 Initiative: Building a Seamless Educational Pipeline for Wisconsin Students

The Office of Enrollment & Student Success houses the Universities of Wisconsin PK-20 efforts. These partnership-based initiatives recommend, plan, and inform strategic policies and programs throughout the Universities of Wisconsin (UW) to build a seamless PK-20 educational pipeline of the learning opportunities students need to attain their educational and career goals. Our partners include the UW universities that prepare teachers, administrators, and pupil services personnel, the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction (DPI), the Wisconsin Technical College System (WTCS), our private college and university peers, as well as PK-12 teachers and administrators and their statewide educational associations. Each partner serves their respective role; collectively we are strategically creating a seamless PK-20 educational pipeline so students are fully prepared for, and successfully transition to, each next step in their academic and career path.

A guiding principle in this work is to address the equity gaps in students’ educational opportunities and achievement across the PK-20 pipeline by distinguishing areas of strategic importance and developing innovations in the preparation and professional development of Wisconsin’s educators. The Universities of Wisconsin’s education faculty and the state’s PK-12 teachers, principals, and pupil services personnel are essential in the success of these efforts as is the utilization of accurate data and quality research. Thus, a foundational mechanism in this work is the creation of an outcomes-based data system that offers indicators of the health of the PK-20 educational pipeline. With our partners, the analysis of these data will help pinpoint strategic opportunities for innovation and improvement across the PK-20 educational pipeline to ensure each student is sufficiently prepared to pursue their post-secondary goals.

The UW System PK-20 efforts include, but are not limited to, the following partners and activities: