At Fairview School, Ronald W. Reagan College Preparatory High School, and Milwaukee High School of the Arts, Milwaukee Public School (MPS) students are learning in new additions built at their schools. They’re getting lessons in engineering, design, art, music, and dance in classrooms built for those specialized subjects.
To celebrate the expansions, the schools and school district held three ribbon cuttings within two weeks. Fairview’s ribbon cutting was September 20; Reagan’s was September 27; and MHSA’s was October 3. More ribbon cuttings are on the way.
Improvements over the past two years have been made to schools all across the district thanks to federal pandemic-relief funding. The funding was allocated to give education a boost after COVID-19 interrupted schooling across the country.
The federal funding, from the Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER) program, was used for the Fairview, Reagan, and MHSA projects. For Reagan’s project, which added a large athletic complex, donors and fundraising contributed significantly to the project.
Fairview School
Students at Fairview School are learning in new classrooms for art, music, and engineering that are bigger and better equipped, and they’re taking physical education classes in a more spacious gymnasium.
Fairview’s ribbon cutting coincided with the school’s annual Fall Festival and was well-attended by families and staff, including former music teacher Curt Hart, who helped design the music room before retiring after 33 years with MPS.
Fairview’s 14,181-squarefoot wing was built entirely with $8.9-million from the federal ESSER program.
“This addition will not only help students make the most of their time at Fairview, it will help ensure they are ready for high school and beyond,” Fairview Principal Eric Sullivan said.
At Fairview, a K-4 to grade 8 school at 6500 W. Kinnickinnic River Parkway, the new classrooms were designed to be modern learning spaces— rooms properly equipped and spacious enough to be collaborative and flexible learning environments.
“This is a defining moment for our school, to show what we value in our education,” Fairview 8th grader Htoo Paw said at the celebration.
The engineering room for the ‘Project Lead The Way’ program keeps pace with technology; it includes resources for robotics and 3D printing, and it also has a woodworking shop.
The music room features risers for singers and instrumentalists, and it has storage for instruments and will have piano, drums, and harp. This dedicated music room will allow students to study music theory and songwriting and take other higher-level music classes. “There are many more opportunities in music education now that we have the new room,” 8th grader Esveidy Ramirez said.
Like the other new classrooms, the art room has windows for natural light. Students will be able to fire their own pottery in a kiln in a small room attached to the art room.
Reagan High School
At the celebration for the new Reagan science wing and athletic complex—held in the school’s new gymnasium, decorated with huge murals by a Milwaukee artist— Reagan Principal Mike Roemer pointed out that the building didn’t start out as a high school.
“Reagan High School students have been learning in a building designed for middle school,” he said.
Before, eight high school science teachers shared one middle school science lab, and up to 120 students at a time would use the main gymnasium and an auxiliary gymnasium for physical education. Most sports teams had to take buses to practice elsewhere after school. Consequently, some students wouldn’t arrive home until 8:00 p.m. or later.
The new wing at the MPS high school has four science rooms geared toward health and other science-related career pathways, including an aquaponics lab and an Anatomage table that presents life-sized human bodies in digital formats. The athletic complex includes new tennis courts, a new gymnasium, a fitness center, an artificial turf field, and a soccer field that will be completed in 2025. For the first time, Reagan student athletes have dedicated spaces for training and competing.
Federal pandemic relief funds paid for about half of the $20-million expansion. Additional funding came from fundraising efforts, including significant contributions from Mary and Ted Kellner, the Pat Connaughton Foundation, and others, and from the school budget.
After the ribbon cutting, where the Reagan drumline and choir performed, visitors explored the classrooms and athletic complex at the high school, located at 4965 S. 20th St. Guests could try their hand at pickleball with the tennis team, check out the weight room with the football team, play on the soccer field, and more.
Visitors also could see DJs from Radio Reagan spinning vinyl in the new studio booth, check out the new concession stand, and hear a Reagan string quartet playing near the new outdoor classroom. In all, the square footage of the addition to the school is 37,000 square feet.
“This new facility represents a bright future for our students, where they can pursue their passions, build lifelong friendships, and thrive in a supportive environment,” the Reagan principal said at the celebration, addressing donors, families, administration, and students. “Together, we are building a brighter future for all students at Reagan High School.”
MHSA
At Milwaukee High School of the Arts, dance classes used to be held in an area carved out from the gymnasium. Now, students have their own 3,000-squarefoot dance studio in a new addition that’s built to suit their needs, complete with a sound system for their music — and the gym is restored to full size.
In addition, a new lab is providing more opportunities for students taking ‘Project Lead The Way’ engineering and design courses. Project Lead The Way is the hands-on program that focuses on a career path for students in the areas of science, technology, engineering, arts, and mathematics (STEAM).
The new STEAM lab has room for 3D printers, gaming stations, mill work, drone education, and more.
“Our students need to be in spaces like these to meet today’s educational demands,” MHSA Principal Larry Farris said.
The celebration at MHSA, 2300 W. Highland Ave., took place in the newly renovated mini park behind the school, where many students take lunch breaks. The area includes new plantings, park benches, and stepped concrete seating that acts like risers for the MHSA Jazz Vocal Group, which performed St. Louis Blues by W.C. Handy at the celebration’s opening.
Visitors at the celebration — including Marva Herndon, president of the Milwaukee Board of School Directors and a graduate of the school when it was known as West Division High School — toured the new spaces after the ribbon cutting.
Some improvements to the high school can be seen even by passers-by: a new concrete ramp and stairs at the main entrance, new exterior decorative panels, and new windows. Some improvements aren’t as visible but are vital, such as the school’s new air-handling system to improve air flow in the school.
More to come
More ribbon cuttings are in the works through the rest of the school year, including a celebration of the new barn constructed at Harold S. Vincent School of Agricultural Sciences.