Milwaukee, WI
Milwaukee parents sue MPS saying staff member locked students in ‘dungeon’ as punishment
Children at Thurston Woods School in Milwaukee were locked in a boiler room as a punishment, a group of parents say in a recently filed lawsuit.
The lawsuit was filed Dec. 8 in the Milwaukee County Circuit Court’s civil division by three sets of parents. The Milwaukee Board of School Directors is among the defendants.
The parents claim in court papers several employees at the K4-8 elementary school on North 35th Street sent kids to the boiler room if they misbehaved.
Some of those staff members, as well as students, referred to the boiler room as “The Dungeon,” according to the lawsuit.
The lawsuit claims a former male paraprofessional at the school locked three students in a boiler room multiple times during the 2022-’23 and 2023-’24 school years.
In the lawsuit, the parents said the “dungeon” presented a serious hazard to the children because of the potential exposure to “chemicals, cleaning agents, boilers, and other machinery.”
The paraprofessional resigned in November 2023 after he was investigated for violating several school district policies. At the time, he told district officials he placed the students in the room as a scare tactic, the lawsuit states.
Among the defendants is former assistant principal Dennis Daniels.
He pleaded guilty in January to a misdemeanor charge of attempted misconduct in public office after failing to alert police that an 11-year-old student brought a gun to school in February 2024.
He initially was charged with a felony, but brokered a deal with prosecutors to instead plead to an amended lesser charge.
“Milwaukee Public Schools is committed to maintaining safe and welcoming learning environments for all students and staff,” Stephen Davis, an MPS spokesman, said in a statement to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. “While we cannot comment on ongoing litigation, the district thoroughly investigated this matter in 2023 and took appropriate disciplinary action which included termination of employment.”
In a statement, Milwaukee attorney Drew DeVinney, who represents the parents, described the alleged behavior of school staff as “disbursing and egregious,” and that it appeared no one intervened to stop it.
He urged other families to come forward if they also were impacted.
“Concerningly, MPS did not report any of these instances of seclusion and restraint to the Department of Public Instruction, in violation of Wisconsin law.
“We hope that this lawsuit will serve as a vehicle to prevent further incidents and abuse, and to obtain justice for our clients.”
Chris Ramirez covers courts for the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. He can be reached at caramirez@gannett.com.
MILWAUKEE – Forecast from FOX6 Meteorologist Lisa Michaels
Frosty Monday morning with temps in the teens inland to low 20s near the lake.
Mostly sunny to sunny skies on Monday. Highs in the mid-40s inland, upper 30s near the lake.
A total lunar eclipse will happen Tuesday morning, total eclipse from 5-6am. It may be tough to see due to increasing clouds.
Increasing clouds on Tuesday with highs in the low 40s. Chance of rain and storms possible Wednesday through Friday with warming temperatures.
Today: 39 Lake. Mostly sunny.
High: 44°
Wind: SE 5-10
Tonight: Partly cloudy this evening, mostly clear overnight.
Low: 27°
Wind: SE 5
Tuesday: 39 Lake. Mostly cloudy.
High: 43°
Wind: E 5-10
Wednesday:41 Lake. Chance for scattered showers and t-storms.
AM Low: 32° High: 45°
Wind: E 5-10
Thursday: 39 Lake. Mostly cloudy. Chance storms.
AM Low: 37° High: 42°
Wind: NE 5-10
Friday: Chance for showers and t-storms Warmer. Warming at night.
AM Low: 37° High: 57°
Wind: SE 5-15
Saturday: Mostly cloudy with AM rain showers. Blustery with falling afternoon temperatures.
AM Low: 47° High: 53°
Wind: NE 5-10
6-day planner
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School and business closings
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Community members and city leaders celebrated the opening of four new community-powered fridges on the North Side of Milwaukee. A ribbon-cutting ceremony was held on Friday, Feb. 27, at Metcalfe Park Community Bridges, 3624 W. North Ave., to mark the occasion.
The effort to fight food scarcity by opening community-powered fridges comes after several grocery stores closed in the area, creating a food desert.
District 15 Ald. Russell W. Stamper II, who saw several grocery stores in his district close over the past few years, served as the event’s emcee.
“We could either complain about the problem, or we could come together to find a solution,” Stamper said.
In July 2025, a Pick ‘n Save on the North Side closed, prompting the opening of a community-powered fridge at Tricklebee Café in the Sherman Park and Uptown area. Since then, several other grocery stores have closed in the area.
This led Stamper, FEED MKE, Metcalfe Park Community Bridges and One MKE to open four more community-powered fridges.
Christie Melby-Gibbons, executive director of Tricklebee Café, talked about the organization’s community-powered fridge. About a week ago, the fridge was empty for the first time since its launch, so staff turned to their online community for support.
“Within 20 minutes, a woman came in with bags of food and filled the fridge for less than $100,” Melby-Gibbons said.
The community-powered fridge network is run by residents on a take-what-you-need, leave-what-you-can model. Taking a grassroots approach to solving food insecurity in the area, community members provide fresh produce and other healthy food options to ensure that their neighbors have access to nutritious foods.
“Everybody deserves to eat. I can’t go to sleep at night knowing my neighbors are hungry,” said Melody McCurtis, deputy director of Metcalfe Park Community Bridges.
Here’s a list of all the community-powered fridges:
Metcalfe Park Community Bridges
3624 W. North Ave.
Rooted & Rising- Washington Park
3940 W. Lisbon Ave.
Sherman Park Community Association
3526 W. Fond du Lac Ave.
Dominican Center
2470 W. Locust St.
Tricklebee Café
4424 W. North Ave.
Jonathan Aguilar is a visual journalist at Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service who is supported through a partnership between CatchLight Local and Report for America.
This article first appeared on Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service and is republished here under a Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
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