Here’s a milestone I don’t expect anyone will celebrate. The start of the school year, just over a month from now, will mark the 40th anniversary of the launch of court-ordered school desegregation of Milwaukee Public Schools.
It’s remarkable how some of the key elements of the plans implemented beginning then remain part of the Milwaukee school landscape now. To name three:
The racial integration plan that was implemented over several years was focused largely on trying to make a group of “magnet schools” attractive enough that both white and black children would enroll. Some schools that arose in that era, such as non King High School and Golda Meir School, remain comparatively diverse and among the best in Milwaukee.