Health department clears Golda Meir, Maryland Avenue schools; lead-screening clinic results are in
Photos by MPS
Golda Meir Lower Campus and Maryland Avenue Montessori School both have passed their final Milwaukee Health Department (MHD) clearance checks, after thorough testing by the health department. Lead dust levels at the schools meet established safety standards, and no further remediation is required at this time, the health department reported.
To ensure continued safety at the schools, Milwaukee Public Schools (MPS) will maintain enhanced cleaning protocols.
The health department and MPS continue to take critical steps to assess and address lead hazards in school buildings. Together, they are developing a rolling inspection schedule to systematically assess schools across the district.
On Saturday, March 15, 2025, the health department and MPS, along with Children’s Wisconsin and Sixteenth Street Community Health Centers, held a free lead-screening clinic at Bradley Tech High School. A total of 249 children were screened for lead exposure.
The health department cannot disclose specific data on cases below certain thresholds, in order to protect the privacy of children screened, but MHD confirmed that a very small number of children tested above the CDC’s reference value of 3.5 micrograms of lead per deciliter of blood, and some of them do not attend MPS schools.
These cases were low enough that they did not require nursing case management from the health department.
At the clinic, 91 percent of children screened were from the originally affected schools – Golda Meir Lower Campus, Kagel, Maryland Avenue Montessori, Trowbridge, Starms Early Childhood Center, Fernwood, and LaFollette – and 94 percent of children screened attend MPS schools.
Families who were unable to attend the screening clinic are encouraged to take advantage of additional free pop-up clinics in the coming weeks. A full list of upcoming screening opportunities is available at www.milwaukee.gov/MPS-Lead and mpsmke.com/mpsleadreport.
