Madison's Glendale Elementary School showed up in the news a couple weeks ago when the Wisconsin State Journal ran a story about problems in the Owl Creek neighborhood on the city's southeast side. The isolated neighborhood has had more than its share of attention from the Madison Police Department in recent months and Glendale, the elementary school serving Owl Creek, is in a position of having to deal with some shocking problems, including indications that some young kids are flirting with gangs.
Outward appearances indicate that Glendale is an ideal place for a kid to go to school. It sits just off Stoughton Road in a neighborhood full of shady, tree-lined streets and neat ranch houses, conveniently located near Monona's shopping district and a wealth of parks and green space. The schoolyard itself backs up to the Edna Taylor Conservation Park, offering science classes the daily option of maybe the city's best nature hikes.
But the kids who live in Owl Creek, located to the southeast of where Stoughton Road and the Beltline intersect, don't have easy access to those amenities. According to the State Journal's report, Owl Creek is "an unfinished development sandwiched between two industrial parks and far from stores, social services and bus lines."
Mickey Buhl, Glendale's principal, is feeling the strain. Schools often serve as a clearing house for social services when kids from neighborhoods like Owl Creek start falling through the cracks. On Tuesday, he'll have an opportunity to give Mayor Dave Cieslewicz an unobstructed view of how Glendale is coping.
MAYOR CIESLEWICZ WEEKLY SCHEDULE
Monday, October 20, 2008
9:00 a.m. Mark Smith, Mario Mendoza (Mayor's Office)
10:00 a.m. Policy Staff Meeting (Mayor's Conf. Room)
11:30 a.m. Nan Fey, Mario Mendoza (Mayor's Office)
3:00 p.m. Taping of the Mayor's Report (MMB 260)
4:00 p.m. Michael May, Mario Mendoza (Mayor's Office)
5:00 p.m. Troy Gardens Reception for 2008 Home Depot Foundation Award (Warner Park Community Rec Center)
Tuesday, October 21, 2008
7:45 a.m. Principal for A Day (Glendale Elementary School) 2:30 p.m. Kathleen Woit, Janet Piraino (Mayor's Conf. Room) 3:30 p.m. TIF Team Meeting (Mayor's Conf. Room)
Wednesday, October 22, 2008
8:00 a.m. National Kidney Foundation 2010 U.S. Transplant Games Kick-off Event (Monona Terrace)
8:45 a.m. Welcome and opening remarks at 5th Annual Economic Summit for Emerging Populations (The Edgewater Hotel)
10:00 a.m. Staff Meeting (Mayor's Conf. Room)
4:00 p.m. Alder Julia Kerr, Alder Brenda Konkel, Alder Brian Solomon, Ray Harmon (Mayor's Conf. Room)
8:00 p.m. Celebrity Judge for UW's Got Talent competition (Mills Hall in the Mosse Humanities Bldg, 455 N Park St)
Thursday, October 23, 2008
11:00 a.m. Mario Mendoza, Susan Schmitz and Downtown Madison, Inc. Board representatives Quarterly Meeting (Mayor's Conf. Room)
2:00 p.m. Operating Budget Meeting (Mayor's Conf. Room)
3:30 p.m. On, Wisconsin! A Great University and its Community Welcome Chancellor Martin (Kohl Center)
Friday, October 24, 2008
9:00 a.m. William Kunkler, Mario Mendoza (Mayor's Conf. Room) 11:30 a.m. Ribbon Cutting Ceremony - Hanson Road Bridge/American Center Roundabout 5:00 p.m. UW Homecoming Parade