There couldn’t have been a better situation for Milwaukee’s Neighborhood Schools Initiative than Clarke Street School.
It was a superstar – high test scores, a nationally recognized program and a top-notch principal and staff in the heart of the central city.
The elementary school was at capacity, and hundreds more Milwaukee Public Schools students lived nearby.
If the school were expanded, what could go wrong?
A lot of things. And they did.
Despite a $4.1 million middle-school addition to Clarke Street, enrollment has fallen 33%. Programs have been sharply reduced. Test scores have fallen.
Even the addition has problems: A spacious new gym has acoustics so poor, the school sometimes uses its old gym on the third floor so teachers and students can be heard. Several classrooms are unused.