Milwaukee, WI

Get to know the Milwaukee education landscape

Published

2 years ago

February 26, 2024

Get to know the Milwaukee education landscape

For businesses looking to get more involved in the world of education, it can be a challenge to understand the ins and outs of the education ecosystem in Milwaukee or other parts of the region. To ease the entry, here’s a quick glimpse at trends in enrollment and school performance in Milwaukee:

Where do Milwaukee students attend school? Source: Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction data

There are generally three types of publicly funded schools that Milwaukee students attend. Most still attend a traditional school in the Milwaukee Public Schools district. In 2022-‘23, these students accounted for around 52% of more than 110,000 students.

The second largest group is around 26% of students who attend private schools through the Milwaukee Parental Choice Program. Both in percentage and absolute terms, this group has been growing over the past decade. Students receive publicly funded tuition vouchers to attend schools governed by an independent entity that can be secular or faith based. Since the schools are not public, they are not bound to the same state and federal laws as MPS or other districts. Supporters argue this freedom allows for more tailored education for students.

The third largest group is charter schools. These are public schools governed by an independent board and operated under a charter contract with an authorizing entity, which could be MPS, the city of Milwaukee or the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. Charters can be exempted from some of the laws governing MPS, providing more freedom for different approaches to education.

Finally, around 5% of students transfer out of MPS to other public school districts in the surrounding area.

How are Milwaukee schools performing?

Source: Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction data

In business, it is common to hear that what gets measured gets managed. There is no shortage of data in education, from enrollment figures to test scores to graduation rates and much more. But boiling all of that info down into a single metric of how a school or district is performing isn’t necessarily as easy at it may seem. Consider a very basic example: One teacher has a class with many high-performing students and on their annual exams, the students again get high marks. Another teacher has more students who just scraped by the prior year with below-average scores. Over the course of the year, she manages to help them reach a point where their scores are average. Who did a better job? The teacher who showed growth? Or the one with high achievement?

At a school or district level, this comparison only gets more complex with more students and more teachers. The Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction attempts to quantify all of this data with its annual report cards that rate schools and districts on a range from failing to meeting expectations to significantly exceeding expectations. One metric that education advocates in the region have sought to improve is the number of high-quality seats available in Milwaukee, where high-quality means a school exceeds or significantly exceeds expectations.

How are Milwaukee students performing?

The report cards provide an easy, high-level look at schools and districts but critics contend that, especially in Milwaukee, the report cards rely too much on growth and not enough on achievement. City Forward Collective, a Milwaukee organization that provides policy and analysis with a focus on ensuring all students have an opportunity to attend a high-quality school, points to student performance on annual exams as evidence the report cards provide a distorted picture.

Regardless of educational sector – public, charter or choice – the percentage of Milwaukee students rated proficient or advanced on English and math tests is far lower than compared to the rest of the state. Here’s a look at the data, which CFC notes remains below pre-pandemic levels:

% of students rated proficient or advanced on annual statewide exams.

Sector	English Advertisement	Math
MPS	15.9%	9.9%
Public Charter Advertisement	19.2%	15.6%
MPCP (Choice)	20.2%	15.5% Advertisement
City Average	17.4%	12.2%
State Average	39.5% Advertisement	37.9%

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Milwaukee, WI

Truck drives in to Grace Coffee in Milwaukee’s Historic Third Ward overnight

Published

6 hours ago

March 27, 2026

Press Room

Truck drives in to Grace Coffee in Milwaukee’s Historic Third Ward overnight

MILWAUKEE — A truck drove through the Grace Coffee Co. in Milwaukee’s Historic Third Ward on early Friday morning, the owners announced in a social media post.

Due to the extensive damage that was done, the coffee shop will be closed until further notice.

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“We’re incredibly grateful no one was hurt, and we’ll keep you updated as we begin repairs,” the coffee shop said in the post.

TMJ4 reached out to the Milwaukee Police Department but have yet to hear back.

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Milwaukee, WI

MPS layoffs plan draws pushback as district works to close $46M gap

Published

18 hours ago

March 26, 2026

Press Room

MPS layoffs plan draws pushback as district works to close M gap

MPS cuts face backlash

Milwaukee Public Schools plans about 200 layoffs to close a $46 million budget gap, but union leaders say cuts could impact student safety while district leaders say no classroom teachers will be eliminated.

MILWAUKEE – Milwaukee Public Schools is planning to cut roughly 200 positions next school year as the district works to close a multi-million-dollar budget gap — but there’s disagreement over which roles will be impacted.

What we know:

District leaders say the goal is to close a roughly $46 million shortfall, prompting changes that Superintendent Brenda Cassellius says are necessary.

Milwaukee Public Schools said about 201 staff members will be impacted. District leaders say no classroom teachers, counselors or social workers will be cut — something the teachers’ union disputes.

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The reductions stem from a previously approved plan to eliminate about 260 non-classroom roles. The final number dropped after retirements and existing vacancies. The Milwaukee Board of School Directors approved that plan on March 9.

What they’re saying:

“We have a $50 million deficit, we are for sure not going to be able to do business the same way that we’ve been able to do business,” Cassellius said. “Change is just hard. It’s just hard. And every single one of our employees is so important.”

But some educators say the cuts go too far.

“MTEA is setting up a distress signal. We are talking about our teachers, art teachers, music teachers, physical education teachers, counselors — things that the voters of referendum of Milwaukee actually voted for,” said Ingrid Walker-Henry, president of the Milwaukee Teachers’ Education Association. “Staffing is being cut to the extent that they are concerned about student safety.”

Cassellius acknowledged the uncertainty and asked school leaders for patience.

“We just have to for sure know our budget situation, where we’re at with that after these cuts are made in order to make those decisions,” she said. “So I’m asking my principals, be patient with us.”

By the numbers:

The district outlined the 201 affected positions as:

70 central office roles
62 educators with a teaching license but not assigned to one classroom
59 assistant principals

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MPS says the savings will support new class size guidelines, including:

18 students per teacher in K3
20 students per teacher in K4
22 students per teacher in K5

Milwaukee Public Schools (MPS)

District leaders say no students will be asked to leave a school to meet class size guidelines. Officials say they are working with schools that may not have space or that require larger classes based on specific programs.

What’s next:

Milwaukee Public Schools plans to present its proposed 2026–27 budget to the Milwaukee Board of School Directors in May.

The Source: Information in this post was provided by Milwaukee Public Schools and prior FOX6 coverage.

Milwaukee Public SchoolsMilwaukeeEducationNews

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Milwaukee, WI

Brewers finally announce cable, satellite TV channels for broadcasts

Published

1 day ago

March 26, 2026

Press Room

Brewers finally announce cable, satellite TV channels for broadcasts

Just before the pitch clock hits zero, the Milwaukee Brewers released a rundown of channels on cable and satellite for game broadcasts, mere hours before the 1:10 p.m. CT first pitch on Opening Day, Thursday, March 26.

The club said channels include 1263 on XFinity, 670 on DirecTV, 1743 on U-Verse, and 319 or 469 on Spectrum. The broadcasts are also listed as available on streaming service Fubo.

The Brewers are pointing fans to a channel-finding tool on their web site at Brewers.com/watch, though in the moments after the announcement, the channel finder was not yet locating details for Spectrum customers for Milwaukee-area zip codes. A club spokesperson said Major League Baseball was aware of the error and the games would indeed air on Spectrum in Milwaukee.

The built-in Spectrum guide still showed Channel 308 as the “BREW” offering in Milwaukee, with Brewers Live Pregame scheduled to begin at noon CT and baseball at 1 p.m. March 26.

With the February announcement of a switchover from FanDuel Sports Wisconsin to Major League Baseball productions in 2026, MLB negotiations have gone down to the wire with the various providers around Wisconsin. Several teams covered by Main Street Sports, which operated the FanDuel brand, have been in a similar boat this offseason.

Brewers fans aren’t alone in experiencing the late-arriving channel information. Maury Brown of Forbes has been keeping track of all the late-arriving channel announcements for teams around baseball, specifically those that were covered by the Main Street Sports. As of 7 a.m. March 26, the Royals, Rays, Tigers and Braves also still hadn’t released channel listings.

Streaming customers who used the FanDuel Sports Wisconsin app in previous years can use the new Brewers.TV option to once again watch games. The opener is also one of 10 games simulcast on over-the-air channels this season, including WITI-TV (Channel 6) in Milwaukee.

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