school district
A school district is a special-purpose district that operates local public Primary school, primary or Secondary school, secondary schools or both in various countries. It is not to be confused with an attendance zone, which is within a school dis ...
in
Wisconsin
Wisconsin ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest of the United States. It borders Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michig ...
. As of the 2015–16 school year, MPS served 75,568 students in 154 schools and had 9,636 full-time equivalent (FTE) staff positions. The system is one of the largest in the
United States
The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...
by enrollment. A publicly elected
school board
A board of education, school committee or school board is the board of directors or board of trustees of a school, local school district or an equivalent institution.
The elected council determines the educational policy in a small regional area, ...
, the Milwaukee Board of School Directors, provides direction and oversight, with a superintendent heading the organization's administration.
The district includes all portions of Milwaukee in
Milwaukee County
Milwaukee County () is a county located in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. At the 2020 census, the population was 939,489, down from 947,735 in 2010. It is both the most populous and most densely populated county in Wisconsin, containing about 1 ...
, which means it includes almost all of Milwaukee.
Milwaukee Public Schools' offerings include neighborhood schools, specialty schools and charter schools serving students from age 3 through grade 12.
History
In winter 1836 the first public school in Milwaukee opened. The school board was established in 1846.
In 1990 the
Wisconsin Legislature
The Wisconsin Legislature is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Wisconsin. The legislature is a bicameral body composed of the upper house, Wisconsin State Senate, and the lower Wisconsin State Assembly, both of which have had Republ ...
passed a law which allowed MPS-zoned students to attend private schools on
school vouchers
A school voucher, also called an education voucher in a voucher system, is a certificate of government funding for students at schools chosen by themselves or their parents. Funding is usually for a particular year, term, or semester. In some cou ...
.
In 2008 the district had 78,148 students.
In 2013 the group Public Policy Forum published a report which compared MPS schools with Milwaukee Parental Choice Program private schools (the ones which take school voucher students). According to the report, the MPS schools had slightly better student performance.
In fall 2022 the district had 58,136 students.
Programs
Specialty programs in MPS include arts schools such as
Milwaukee High School of the Arts
Established in 1895, Milwaukee High School of the Arts (MHSA), formerly West Division Sr. High School, is a high school in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, United States. It is a part of the Milwaukee Public Schools system. It specializes in preparation f ...
; career and technical education schools such as
Lynde & Harry Bradley Technology and Trade School
The Lynde and Harry Bradley Technology and Trade School (also known as Bradley Tech) is a high school in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, United States. Located in the Walker's Point neighborhood, Bradley Tech is the primary high school for technology and t ...
International Baccalaureate
The International Baccalaureate Organization (IBO), more commonly known as the International Baccalaureate (IB), is a nonprofit foundation headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland, and founded in 1968. It offers four educational programmes: the I ...
Riverside University High School
Riverside University High School is a public high school located on the East Side of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, with a college preparatory curriculum. It is a part of the Milwaukee Public Schools system.
History
Pre-1912
Starting in the early 1850 ...
and Ronald Reagan College Preparatory High School; language immersion schools including French, German, Italian, and Spanish immersion elementary schools and Milwaukee School of Languages for middle- and high-school students; and a large number of Montessori schools.
The district owns WYMS-FM (88.9), which airs an eclectic selection of music and is programmed by a local non-profit group via an LMA.
Performance
While overall reading and math proficiency rates are below the state average and below those of some other large city districts, the district did see some growth in scores in both subjects and both grades tested on the 2013 National Assessment of Educational Progress and on the 2012–13 state standardized tests, MPS students, on the whole, outperformed Milwaukee students receiving publicly funded vouchers to attend private schools.
School district officials note declining funding as a catalyst to problems in the district. However, local journalists have cited school officials as lacking in motivation to improve the system.
The Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction in its 2011−12 School District Performance Report listed Milwaukee's regular diploma graduation rate at 66.2%.
In 2012,
Rufus King International School – High School Campus
Rufus King International High School, or Rufus King, is a public magnet high school located on the north side of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, part of the Milwaukee Public Schools district. The school is ranked the 1,658th best public high school in the ...
In 1990, Milwaukee became the first community in the United States to adopt a
school voucher
A school voucher, also called an education voucher in a voucher system, is a certificate of government funding for students at schools chosen by themselves or their parents. Funding is usually for a particular year, term, or semester. In some cou ...
program. The program enables students to receive public funding to study at
parochial Parochial is an adjective which may refer to:
* Parish
A parish is a territorial entity in many Christianity, Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a ...
and other
private schools
A private school or independent school is a school not administered or funded by the government, unlike a public school. Private schools are schools that are not dependent upon national or local government to finance their financial endowme ...
free of cost. The 2006−07 school year marked the first time that more than $100 million was paid in vouchers, as 26% of Milwaukee students receive public funding to attend schools outside the MPS system.
Under Wisconsin state law, the Milwaukee school board is one of several entities that can authorize
charter school
A charter school is a school that receives government funding but operates independently of the established state school system in which it is located. It is independent in the sense that it operates according to the basic principle of autono ...
s in the city. Other authorities that can authorize charter schools are the Milwaukee
City Council
A municipal council is the legislative body of a municipality or local government area. Depending on the location and classification of the municipality it may be known as a city council, town council, town board, community council, borough counc ...
, the
University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee
The University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee (UW–Milwaukee, UWM, or Milwaukee) is a public urban research university in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, United States. It is the largest university in the Milwaukee metropolitan area and one of the two doctor ...
, and the
Milwaukee Area Technical College
Milwaukee Area Technical College (or MATC) is a public two-year vocational-technical and community college based in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, United States. MATC offers day, evening, weekend and online classes at campuses in downtown Milwaukee, O ...
Board. The first charter school in Milwaukee was the Highland Community School, a
Montessori
The Montessori method of education is a type of educational method that involves children's natural interests and activities rather than formal teaching methods. A Montessori classroom places an emphasis on hands-on learning and developing ...
elementary school
A primary school (in Ireland, India, the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica, South Africa, and Singapore), elementary school, or grade school (in North America and the Philippines) is a school for primary ...
Dr. Benjamin Carson Academy of Science
Doctor is an academic title that originates from the Latin word of the same spelling and meaning. The word is originally an agentive noun of the Latin verb 'to teach'. It has been used as an academic title in Europe since the 13th century, w ...
* Academy of Accelerated Learning
* Louisa May Alcott School
* Allen-Field School
* Auer Ave. Elementary School
* Lloyd Barbee Montessori School
* Clara Barton School
* Brown St. Academy
* Browning School
* William George Bruce School
* William Cullen Bryant School
* Clarke St. Elementary School
* Samuel Clemens School
* Congress School
* Anna F. Doerfler School
* Elm Creative Arts School
* Ralph Waldo Emerson School
* Engleburg School
* Fifty-Third St. School
* Forest Home Ave. School
* Fratney School (La Escuela Fratney)
* Lowell P. Goodrich School
* Hampton School
* Hawley Environmental School
* Nathaniel Hawthorne School
* Hayes Bilingual School
* Honey Creek Continuous Progress Charter School *
* Albert E. Kagel School
* Byron Kilbourn School
* Richard Kluge School
* Lincoln Ave. Community School
* Lowell International Elementary School
* Hopkins Lloyd Community School
* Maple Tree School
* Marvin Pratt Elementary School
* Milwaukee French Immersion School
* Milwaukee German Immersion School
* Milwaukee Spanish Immersion School
* Morgandale School
* Neeskara School
* Ninety-Fifth St. School
* Parkview Elementary School
* James Whitcomb Riley Dual-Language Montessori School
* River Trail Elementary School
* Riverwest Elementary School
* Siefert Elementary School
* Frances Brock Starms Discovery Learning Center
* Frances Brock Starms Early Childhood Center
* Gilbert Stuart Elementary School
* Walt Whitman Elementary School
* Whittier School *
* Clement J. Zablocki Elementary School
Middle schools (grades 6-8)
* Audubon Technology & Communication Center Middle School
* Douglas Middle School
* Lincoln Center of the Arts Middle School
* Roosevelt Middle School of the Arts
*
Rufus King International School – Middle Years Campus
Rufus King International Middle School is a public Magnet school, magnet intermediate school located on the north side of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, part of the Milwaukee Public Schools district. It was launched in September 201 ...
Rufus King International School – High School Campus
Rufus King International High School, or Rufus King, is a public magnet high school located on the north side of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, part of the Milwaukee Public Schools district. The school is ranked the 1,658th best public high school in the ...
Milwaukee High School of the Arts
Established in 1895, Milwaukee High School of the Arts (MHSA), formerly West Division Sr. High School, is a high school in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, United States. It is a part of the Milwaukee Public Schools system. It specializes in preparation f ...
Casimir Pulaski High School
Casimir Pulaski High School is a public high school located on 2500 W Oklahoma Ave in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Casimir Pulaski is part of the Milwaukee Public School system. The school had 1600 students during the 2004–2005 school year.
Pulaski ...
*
Riverside University High School
Riverside University High School is a public high school located on the East Side of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, with a college preparatory curriculum. It is a part of the Milwaukee Public Schools system.
History
Pre-1912
Starting in the early 1850 ...
*
Ronald Wilson Reagan College Preparatory High School
Ronald Wilson Reagan College Preparatory High School (RWR) is a high school located at 4965 South 20th Street in the Town of Lake neighborhood of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA. It is a part of Milwaukee Public Schools (MPS).
Formerly known as Town ...
*
South Division High School
South Division High School is a public high school in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. South Division is part of the Milwaukee Public Schools.
History
The building was built after an 1890 motion by the Milwaukee Board of School Directors, as a second Mi ...