Counselor publishes list of potential MPS school closures

No final decisions have been made regarding school closures or other upgrades.

Thirteen schools could potentially close or merge with others as part of Milwaukee Public Schools’ long-term plans, according to data released Friday.

Specific details regarding the future of each MPS school have not been determined.

But on Friday, MPS released a list of its schools, broken down into categories: schools that could potentially close or merge with others, receive a new academic program or investment in construction, or expand. Others are still being evaluated and monitored.

“Please understand that no recommendations or decisions have been made regarding any schools,” district families were told Friday. “This information will be used to develop a 10-year (master plan for large-scale facilities).”

The information about the school released on Friday is part of a progress report on the facilities planning process, which the school board will consider on Tuesday. Perkins Eastman, a consulting firm hired by MPS, created the report after working with the county for several months, analyzing data and gathering public comments.

Closing some schools and upgrading others is necessary, the district says, because 1 in 4 schools are not being used to capacity. Another 1 in 4 have too many students. In-demand academic programs are unevenly distributed across the city, and many students do not attend the school closest to where they live.

Meanwhile, the total number of students in the district has has fallen by a third over the past two decades.

more: The future of MPS may include closing schools, improving programs as part of a long-term plan to build facilities

Schools that may be closed or merged with a neighboring school:

Brown Street Academy
Clark Street Academy
Siefert School
Starms Discovery Learning Center
Auer Avenue School
Hopkins Lloyd Public School
Jackson Elementary School
Dr. George Washington Carver Academy
Oliver Wendell Holmes School
Andrew S. Douglas High School
Keefe Avenue School
Robert M. LaFollette School
William T. Sherman School

Schools that may receive new academic programs or other building upgrades are:

School of A.E. Burdik
Browning School
Cass Street School
Clement Avenue School
Congress school
Frederick J. Henslen School
School IDEAL
Lancaster School
Milwaukee Chinese Language Academy
Nathaniel Hawthorne School
Neeskar School
Ralph H. Metcalfe School
River Trail School of Agricultural Sciences
Riverwest Primary School
William George Bruce School
Wisconsin Conservatory of Continuing Education
Academia de Lenguaje y Bellas Artes
Albert E. Kagel School
Allen Field School
Audubon Middle and High School
Bay View Montessori School, Upper Campus
Craig Montessori School
Forest Home Avenue School
Golda Meir School, Lower Campus
Green Tree Preparatory Academy
Lincoln Avenue School
Lloyd Barbie Montessori School
German Immersion School in Milwaukee
Milwaukee Parkside School of Art
Milwaukee School of Languages
Spanish Immersion School of Milwaukee, Lower Campus
Spanish Immersion School of Milwaukee, Upper Campus
Obama School of Career and Technical Education
School of Richard Kluge
Victory K-8 and Milwaukee Italian Immersion School
Alberta School of History
Benjamin Franklin School
Byron Kilbourne School
Clara Barton School
Dr. Benjamin Carson Academy of Sciences
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. School
Engleburg School
School on fifty-third street
Frances Brock Storms Early Childhood Center
Grant Gordon Training Center
Grantosa Driving School
Hampton School
Hartford Avenue University School
Henry David Thoreau School
James E. Groppi High School
Louisa May Alcott School
Lowell P. Goodrich School
Manitoba School
Maple Tree School
Milwaukee Sign Language School
Morse High School
Parkview School
Ralph Waldo Emerson School
Samuel Clemens School
Thurston Woods Campus
Townsend Street School
School of Great Lakes Studies on Trowbridge Street

Schools that can be expanded:

Accelerated Learning Academy
Alexander Mitchell Integrated School of Art
Eighth First Street School
Escuela Vieau
Greenfield Bilingual School
Honey Creek Charter School
Humboldt Park School
James Fenimore Cooper School
Jeremiah Curtin Leadership Academy
Mary McLeod Bethune Academy
Morgandale School
Ninety-fifth street school
Whittier School

Schools that will continue to be monitored and evaluated, or have other “unique circumstances” that are being analysed:

Alexander Hamilton High School
Anna F. Doerfler School
Bay View High School
Casimir Pulasky Higher School
School of Klyment Ya. Zablotskyi
Edward A. McDowell Montessori School
Elm School of Creative Arts
Golda Meir School, Upper Campus
Hamlin Garland School
Hayes Bilingual School
James Whitcom Riley School
French Immersion School in Milwaukee
North High School
Riverside University High School
Southern High School
Wedgwood Park International School
Bay View Montessori School, Lower Campus
Bradley School of Technology and Trade
Fairview School
Fernwood Montessori School
Gilbert Stuart School
H. V. Longfellow School
Hawley Environmental School
La Escuela Fratney
Lowell International Elementary School
Luther Burbank School
Marvin Pratt Elementary School
Maryland Avenue Montessori School
Milwaukee High School of the Arts
Reagan College Preparatory High School
Rogers Street Academy
Rufus King International High School
Milwaukee Alliance School
High Mount Public School
James Madison Academic Campus
Lincoln Center for the Arts
Milwaukee Marshall High School
STAY High School Project
Roosevelt Creative Arts Middle School
Rufus King International High School
Transitional secondary school
Washington Graduate School of Information Technology
Westside Academy
William Cullen Bryant School

more: The future of MPS may include closing schools, improving programs as part of a long-term plan to build facilities

How did MPS decide which category to place a school in?

It is difficult.

But there are a few key questions that MPS and consulting firm Perkins Eastman ask to help determine which category a school falls into:

Are there enough students to use the entire school building? This is called the “building utilization ratio” based on the comparison of the number of students with the number of students and the potential for building.
Has the number of students in the school increased over the past five years?
Does the school have a “specialty” academic program? These programs are: Advanced Placement, International Baccalaureate, dual enrollment, gifted and talented, or college support programs; community schools, arts-based schools, and Montessori schools; language immersion, English as a second language and bilingual education; Lead the Way project and vocational and technical education programs.
What is the condition of the physical building?
Is the school within 1 mile of a school that is not in use?

There are several other factors that are evaluated. For example, does the school have facilities such as an elevator or a sports field, and how large are its classrooms; details about where the school is located, such as whether there are safety concerns in the neighborhood, whether it is close to a highway, industrial area, or public park, among other considerations.

According to information released Friday, the categories into which a school is classified “do not represent final strategic decisions” and are not permanent.

more: 15 Milwaukee schools and 1 Racine school on Fordham Institute’s list of “underachieving and incomplete” schools nationwide

What about school closures?

Schools that have been flagged for potential closure or merger have several distinctive features:

They have a utilization rate of 50% or below, meaning at least half of the physical space in the building is not being used;
Over the past five years, they have seen enrollment decline;
They are within 1 mile of another school that is not in use.

MPS does not plan to close or consolidate any schools in the 2024-2025 or 2025-26 school years, district families and staff were told Friday.

Several schools were initially slated for potential closure or merger, but were “re-designated,” according to information released Friday. They are still being evaluated.

These schools: Hi-Mount Community School, James Madison Academic Campus, Lincoln Center of the Arts, Milwaukee Marshall High School, Project STAY High School, Roosevelt Creative Arts Middle School, Rufus King International Middle School, Transition High School, Washington High School of Information Technology, Westside Academy and William Cullen Bryant School.

more: Teachers and parents want information about potential school closings in Miwaukee

There will be more details at Tuesday’s MPS school board meeting

On Tuesday, the MPS School Board will review a progress report on the facility planning process created by the consulting company Perkins Eastman.

After that, MPS says it plans to gather more feedback from students, families, staff and others before a draft of the final long-term placement plan goes to the school board for approval.

Tuesday’s meeting is open to everyone. It is scheduled for 5:30 p.m. at 5525 W. Vliet St., District Central Services Building.

“Our goal is to take a data-driven approach rather than a data-driven approach; therefore, community feedback will continue to be extremely important in developing any plan that can be moved forward,” district officials told families and staff Friday.

Cleo Krejci covers education and workforce development as a staff member for Report For America, based at the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Contact her at [email protected] or follow her on Twitter @_CleoKrejci. For more information on Report for America, visit the website jsonline.com/rfa.