Consultant releases list of potential MPS school closures

No final decisions have yet 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 for their facilities, according to data released Friday.

Specific details regarding the future of each MPS school have not yet 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 new academic programming or construction investment, or expand. Others are still being assessed and monitored.

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

The individual school information released Friday is part of a progress report on the facilities planning process, which the School Board of Directors will consider on Tuesday. Perkins Eastman, a consulting firm hired by MPS, created this report after months of working with the district to analyze data and gather public input.

The district says closing some schools and upgrading others is necessary because 1 in 4 schools are underutilized. Another 1 in 4 people have too many students. In-demand academic programs are not evenly distributed across the city, and many students do not attend the schools closest to where they live.

Meanwhile, overall district recruitment has has fallen by one third over the last two decades.

More: The future of MPS may include school closures and improved programming as part of a long-term facilities plan

Schools that could close or merge with a nearby school:

Brown Street Academy
Clarke Street Academy
Siefert School
Starms Discovery Learning Center
Auer Avenue School
Hopkins Lloyd Community School
Jackson Elementary School
Doctor 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 could benefit from new academic programs or other building upgrades:

A. E. Burdick School
Browning School
Cass Street School
Clement Avenue School
Congress School
Frederick J. Gaenslen School
PERFECT school
School in Lancaster
Chinese Language Academy in Milwaukee
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
Lenguaje Academy and Bellas Artes
Albert E. Kagel School
Allen-Field School
Audubon Middle School 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 Barbee Montessori School
German immersion school in Milwaukee
Milwaukee Parkside Art School
Milwaukee Language School
Milwaukee Spanish Immersion School, Lower Campus
Milwaukee Spanish Immersion School, Upper Campus
Obama School of Career and Technical Education
Richard Kluge School
Victory K-8 and Milwaukee Italian Immersion School
Albert Story School
Benjamin Franklin School
Byron Kilbourn School
Clara Barton School
Dr. Benjamin Carson Academy of Sciences
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. School
School in Engleburg
School on Fifty-third Street
Frances Brock Starms Early Childhood Center
Grant Gordon Learning Center
Grantosa driving school
Hampton School
University School on Hartford Avenue
Henry David Thoreau School
James E. Groppi High School
Louisa May Alcott School
Lowell P. Goodrich School
School in Manitoba
Maple Tree School
Sign language school in Milwaukee
Morse Junior 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 Art School
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 assessed, or have other “exceptional circumstances” under review:

Alexander Hamilton High School
Anna F. Doerfler School
High school overlooking the bay
Junior High School Kazimierz Pułaski
Klemens J. Zabłocki School
Edward A. MacDowell Montessori School
Elm School of Creative Arts
Golda Meir School, Upper Campus
Hamlin Garland School
Hayes Bilingual School
James Whitcomb Riley School
French Immersion School Milwaukee
North Branch Junior High School
Riverside University High School
South Branch High School
Wedgewood Park International School
Bay View Montessori School, Lower Campus
Bradley School of Technology and Commerce
Fairview School
Fernwood Montessori School
Gilbert Stuart School
H. W. Longfellow School
Hawley Ecology School
La Escuela Fratney
Lowell International Elementary School
Luther Burbank School
Marvin Pratt Elementary School
Montessori School on Maryland Avenue
Milwaukee High School of the Arts
Reagan College Preparatory School
Rogers Street Academy
Rufus King International High School
Milwaukee Alliance School
Hi-Mount Community School
James Madison Academic Campus
Lincoln Center for the Arts
Milwaukee Marshall High School
STAY High School project
Roosevelt High School for the Creative Arts
Rufus King International Junior High School
Transitional School
Washington School of Information Technology
Westside Academy
William Cullen Bryant School

More: The future of MPS may include school closures and improved programming as part of a long-term facilities plan

How did MPS decide which category a school should be placed in?

It’s complicated.

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

Are enough students enrolled to use the entire school building? This is called the “building utilization rate” and is based on a comparison of the number of students enrolled to the building’s capacity.
Has the school seen an increase in student numbers in the last five years?
Does the school have a “specialized” academic program? These programs include: Advanced Placement, International Baccalaureate, Dual Enrollment, Gifted and Talented or College Assistance programs; charter schools, art schools and Montessori schools; language immersion, English as a second language and bilingual education; Project Lead the Way and career and technical education programs.
What is the physical condition of the building?
Is the school within 1 mile of an underutilized school?

Several other factors are assessed. This includes, for example, whether the school has facilities such as a lift or sports field, and the size of classrooms; details about the school’s location, such as whether there are any safety concerns in the area, whether it is close to a highway, industrial estate or public park, and other issues.

According to information published on Friday, the categories to which the school is assigned “do not currently constitute final strategic decisions” and are not permanent.

More: 15 Milwaukee schools and 1 Racine school are on the Fordham Institute’s list of “underperforming and low enrollment” schools nationwide

What about school closures?

Schools targeted for potential closure or merger have several characteristics in common:

Their occupancy rate is 50% or less, which means that at least half of the building’s physical space is unused;
They have seen enrollment decline over the past five years;
They are located within 1 mile of another underused school.

MPS has no plans to close or merge any schools during the 2024-25 or 2025-26 school years, district families and staff said Friday.

According to information released Friday, several schools were initially flagged for potential closure or merger but were “relocated.” They are still being assessed.

These schools are: 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 details on potential school closures in MiIwaukee

More details will be provided at Tuesday’s MPS school board meeting

On Tuesday, the MPS school board will review: progress report on the facility planning process created by the consulting company Perkins Eastman.

Next, MPS says it plans to collect more feedback from students, families, staff and others before a version of the final long-term facilities plan goes to the school board for approval.

Tuesday’s meeting is open to everyone. It will be held at 5:30 p.m. at 5525 W. Vliet St., in the district’s Central Services Building.

“Our goal is to take a data-driven approach, not a data-driven approach; therefore, community feedback will continue to be extremely important in developing any plan moving forward,” Piątek told families and district staff.

Cleo Krejci covers education and workforce development as a Report For America corps member for the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Contact her at [email protected] or follow her on Twitter @_CleoKrejci. More information about Report for America can be found at jsonline.com/rfa.