MMABSE provides gift cards to graduating seniors at North Division
The Metropolitan Milwaukee Alliance of Black School Educators (MMABSE) provided gift cards to graduating seniors at North Division. It would have been a proud day for Keith Carrington, the late principal of North Division High School, to see his graduating seniors being honored at their banquet for their academic, athletic, and leadership achievements.
All 36 graduating seniors at North Division High School received gift cards to celebrate the students’ achievements, given by MMABSE in memory of Carrington. At one of the banquet chairs was his blue North Division blazer and a photo of him, along with his assistant principal, Jason McCord, now the Assistant Principal in Charge at the high school. Assistant Principal Robin Bradford, along with other staff at North Division, arranged the banquet for the students and their families.
MMABSE gave each senior $40 in gift cards as a reminder of how proud their late principal would have been of their accomplishments and to encourage them to continue pursuing their academic and life goals.
The gift cards the seniors received at their senior banquet on May 11, 2023 can be used at a variety of local businesses. North Division’s graduation was May 25, 2023.
Carrington, 48, died unexpectedly in August 2022 after having surgery. He had been principal of North Division since 2016. Previously, he worked for MPS in roles including assistant principal, special education teacher, and paraprofessional.
Born in Dallas, Carrington moved to Milwaukee in childhood with his family. He earned a bachelor’s degree at the University of Wisconsin- Milwaukee and a master’s at Alverno College. He was pursuing his doctorate at the time of his death.
“He always performed his duties and responsibilities with passion and compassion,” said Dr. Patricia A. Ellis, director of the MPS Department of Equity, Access, and Inclusion, and president of MMABSE. For him, being a principal was more than a career, Ellis said. It was a calling.
“He wanted all of them to aspire to greatness and achieve that greatness,” Ellis said.
Carrington, an avowed “sneakerhead,” could be seen walking the halls of North Division, rotating through his collection of sneakers. “The children enjoyed that personal connection,” Ellis said.
He was active in MMABSE, serving as vice president from 2019 to 2022, as chairman and co-chairman of the annual Teacher of the Year Recognition Gala in 2021 and 2022, and in other capacities. He served alongside Dr. Christlyn Frederick-Stanley, who served as the MMABSE president during his tenure as vice president.
At what would be his last gala for teachers in 2022, Ellis recalled, Carrington spent the evening making sure everything was going well. “He wanted to be sure that it would be a memorable moment for the honorees,” Ellis said.
“The footprints he left for us to follow will leave an everlasting impression, not only on the adults but also the students he so dearly loved,” Ellis said. “He really cared about each and every individual.”
Carrington’s survivors include his wife, Dr. Tanzanique Carrington, principal of Morse Middle School for the Gifted and Talented.
