Milwaukee College Prep: A Comprehensive Overview
Milwaukee College Prep (MCP) is a network of free, public charter schools in the heart of Milwaukee, committed to providing an uncompromising K3-8 education. With four campuses strategically located in Milwaukee's most underserved neighborhoods, MCP aims to equip students with the knowledge and character necessary to succeed in college and beyond.
What Sets Milwaukee College Prep Apart?
MCP distinguishes itself through several key factors:
- Open Enrollment: Every child in Milwaukee is eligible to attend MCP. Admission is based on a blind lottery, regardless of prior academic record, conduct, or socioeconomic background.
- Focus on Underserved Communities: MCP schools are deliberately situated in Milwaukee’s most underserved neighborhoods, educating 2,000 children.
- Commitment to Academic Rigor and Character Development: MCP is determined to provide equal parts academic rigor and character development so that scholars have the foundation necessary to determine their own destinies.
- Mission-Driven Teachers: MCP teachers view urban education as a purpose, not just a job. They believe that every child can succeed and are committed to providing a supportive and challenging learning environment.
- Strong School Culture: MCP fosters a culture of high expectations and unwavering support. Uniforms are worn with pride, scholars speak in complete sentences, there is no “opting out” of class participation, every child is welcomed at the threshold of every classroom they enter, and Life’s Work (homework) is completed and signed by parents daily.
Addressing Common Questions and Concerns
Charter vs. Traditional Public Schools vs. Choice Schools
It's important to understand the differences between these school types:
- Traditional Public Schools: These range from magnet schools with selective admission policies to neighborhood schools that serve all students. The average cost to the taxpayer per student is about $14,000.
- Public Charter Schools: These are publicly funded but privately operated. They are tuition-free, non-sectarian, and held accountable to state and federal academic standards. State reimbursement is about $8,000 per student. This structure provides autonomy in curriculum, staffing, and budget allocation in return for a high degree of accountability. The charter must be renewed every 5 years based on performance criteria.
- Choice Schools: These are private schools (religious or non-sectarian) that receive public funding (vouchers) for low-income students. A voucher is worth about $6,400 per student. It provides a high degree of autonomy with limited accountability.
Milwaukee College Prep is a free, public charter school network.
Student Selection and Demographics
Milwaukee College Prep is a free, public charter school network with four campuses in the central city that every child in Milwaukee is eligible to attend. There is no pre-screening of applicants for academic and social performance.If the number of applications exceeds the number of seats available, a random drawing will be held to fill the available seats. Siblings of currently enrolled students will be given preference. Each applicant will be assigned a number, and then the numbers will be drawn to determine placement order, beginning with K4. If an applicant with older siblings is drawn, the older siblings will be immediately placed in their respective grade(s) as room permits. Those children who are not picked via lottery will be put on a waitlist in the order their names were pulled.
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MCP scholars represent virtually every zip code within the city of Milwaukee, pulling primarily from Milwaukee’s poorest zip codes. 98% are African-American and 83% are economically-disadvantaged.
Parental Commitment and Student Expulsion
Our parents or guardians must return a very simple enrollment form to us prior to the lottery. So while there has to be some effort and commitment exhibited on the part of the prospective MCP parent or guardian, as with other traditional public schools no more than the completion of a simple form is required. Once enrolled, they are our scholars. We do not believe in expelling our scholars and go to extraordinary measures to keep them with us. In effect, these are the same children that populate schools around Milwaukee. We do not believe our results are skewed based on who we accept: rather, they are a result of an absolute commitment to, and belief in, every child who enrolls with us.
Impact on Mainstream Public Schools
We believe that the families who have enrolled their children with us are looking for high-quality education options. Providing families with more good options raises the bar for all schools and all scholars. At the same time, we recognize that we can’t reach every child, which is why over the past two years, we have welcomed more than 2,000 educators and administrators, primarily from traditional public schools, through our doors to share best practices and provide mentorship.
In addition, while we are not a traditional public school, the scholars from our campuses are chartered by Milwaukee Public Schools, and are included in MPS’s rolls. MPS receives state funding for each of these MCP scholars and then provides us with roughly 80% of this funding. So MPS loses neither market share nor money.
Addressing Concerns About "Bad" Charter Schools
There are some “bad” charter schools…and “bad” choice schools and private schools and public schools. We believe in great schools, which is what we intend for each of our campuses. That said, most of the “bad” school press is not referring to charter schools. Christian D’Andrea, a MacIver Institute Education Policy Analyst found that “data from the 2012-2013 school year shows that Milwaukee’s independent charter schools (like MCP) were the city’s most effective schools when it came to important metrics like student growth and closing achievement gaps.” In addition, all charter schools operate on a contract with their authorizer (either MPS, UWM or the Common Council in Milwaukee). Charter school contracts must be renewed every 5 years and “bad” schools are typically not renewed.
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Funding Discrepancies and Fundraising Needs
Wisconsin has one of the largest funding gaps between traditional public and public charter schools in the nation. The state and local funding accounts for roughly $13,000 per traditional public school student and just over $8,000 for every charter school student. In fact, last year was the first in six years that charter schools received any increase in funding. To make up just a portion of this gap, we must raise roughly $750 per scholar. And yet, as we grow, Milwaukee College Prep has demonstrated the ability to take advantage of economies of scale without compromising its mission.
Even with skyrocketing benefit costs, increasing salaries by about 2% each year and investing heavily in technology and new curriculum, Milwaukee College Prep has continued to lower the total cost of educating each scholar as it has expanded. Despite growth, our Annual Fund has remained static at $1.5m the last two years.
Charter schools also receive no funding for facilities, which is why we have held two capital campaigns in the past 5 years. Thanks to the generosity of many, we reached our goals of $5 million to purchase the Northside YMCA, in which Lola Rowe North campus is situated, on the heels of a $9 million campaign to purchase and renovate our 38th Street and Lloyd Street Campuses two years ago. These capital contributions allow us to devote our annual operating dollars to attracting, supporting, rewarding and retaining the very best teachers possible.
Teacher Qualities and Support
Our teachers are absolutely mission-driven. For them, urban education is not just a job; it is a purpose. They have chosen to teach in a challenging environment because of their whole-hearted belief that every child can succeed. Over our 24 years, we have become a magnet for the very best master teachers who share this belief. MCP then provides them with an environment in which great teaching can thrive and we support and challenge them to be their best.
Expansion Plans and High School Considerations
Our strategic plan calls for 5 schools, at which point we will reevaluate the need and our ability to best meet that need without compromising our mission.
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We graduate 200 8th graders every year. While we have successfully placed them in high performing high schools around the city, state and country, it is difficult to find that many seats in the limited number of high performing schools in our city, particularly free public high schools. We are hopeful that more public high schools, like Carmen North, will open in coming years. Yet, we have not closed the door to the idea. If we don’t see growth and more opportunity for our graduating scholars, we will consider opening a high school as our 5th campus.
Collaboration and Systemic Change
In order to ensure that more students walk through the threshold of their school confident that is a great school, Milwaukee College Prep collaborates with Schools That Can Milwaukee, Teach for America, Center for Urban Teacher, and many others to improve educational outcomes for all children.
Campus Overviews
Milwaukee College Prep operates four campuses:
Milwaukee College Preparatory School -- 36Th Street Campus
Milwaukee College Preparatory School -- 36Th Street Campus is a charter school located in Milwaukee, WI, which is in a large city setting. The student population of Milwaukee College Preparatory School -- 36Th Street Campus is 493 and the school serves PK-8. At Milwaukee College Preparatory School -- 36Th Street Campus, 33% of students scored at or above the proficient level for math, and 28% scored at or above that level for reading.
The school’s minority student enrollment is 100%. The student population is made up of 49% female students and 51% male students. The school enrolls 84% economically disadvantaged students.
Performance Metrics:
- Math Proficiency: 33%
- Reading Proficiency: 28%
- Elementary School Reading Proficiency Rank: #786 out of 1002 in Wisconsin
- Middle School Reading Proficiency Rank: #363 out of 545 in Wisconsin
- Elementary School Math Proficiency Rank: #629 out of 1002 in Wisconsin
- Middle School Math Proficiency Rank: #376 out of 545 in Wisconsin
- Elementary School Reading Performance: Somewhat Above Expectations
- Middle School Reading Performance: Well Above Expectations
- Elementary School Math Performance: Well Above Expectations
- Middle School Math Performance: Well Above Expectations
Compared with the district, the school did better in math and better in reading. In Milwaukee School District, 12% of students tested at or above the proficient level for reading, and 9% tested at or above that level for math.
Milwaukee College Preparatory School -- 36Th Street Campus did worse in math and worse in reading in this metric compared with students across the state. In Wisconsin, 37% of students tested at or above the proficient level for reading, and 40% tested at or above that level for math.
Milwaukee College Preparatory School -- Lloyd Street
Milwaukee College Preparatory School -- Lloyd Street is a charter school located in Milwaukee, WI, which is in a large city setting. The student population of Milwaukee College Preparatory School -- Lloyd Street is 490 and the school serves PK-8. At Milwaukee College Preparatory School -- Lloyd Street, 17% of students scored at or above the proficient level for math, and 26% scored at or above that level for reading.
The school’s minority student enrollment is 99%. The student population is made up of 47% female students and 53% male students. The school enrolls 88% economically disadvantaged students. There are 5 equivalent full-time teachers.
Performance Metrics:
- Math Proficiency: 17%
- Reading Proficiency: 26%
- Student/Teacher Ratio: 98:1
- Elementary School Reading Proficiency Rank: #861 out of 1002 in Wisconsin
- Middle School Reading Proficiency Rank: #283 out of 545 in Wisconsin
- Elementary School Math Proficiency Rank: #828 (tie) out of 1002 in Wisconsin
- Middle School Math Proficiency Rank: #470 out of 545 in Wisconsin
- Elementary School Reading Performance: Somewhat Above Expectations
- Middle School Reading Performance: Well Above Expectations
- Elementary School Math Performance: Well Above Expectations
- Middle School Math Performance: Meets Expectations
Compared with the district, the school did better in math and better in reading. In Milwaukee School District, 12% of students tested at or above the proficient level for reading, and 9% tested at or above that level for math.
Milwaukee College Preparatory School -- Lloyd Street did worse in math and worse in reading in this metric compared with students across the state. In Wisconsin, 37% of students tested at or above the proficient level for reading, and 40% tested at or above that level for math.
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