Today Milwaukee Public Schools Superintendent William Andrekopoulos ordered School of Humanities closed. This is a high school in the North Division complex with 163 students enrolled.
The school closure has been prompted by recent violent incidents, including two fights requiring police intervention and an attack on a safety aide.
At School of Humanities:
- 92% of the students have been suspended within the last year.
- In the 2004-05 school year, there were 11 drug- or weapon-related incidents that resulted in suspension or expulsion. (How many more were there that did NOT result in those consequences?)
- Last year, only 4% of the 10th graders tested proficient in reading, science, and social studies. (That was 1 student out of 24.)
- Last year ZERO 10th graders tested proficient in math.
- There was so much turnover amongst students, that 132% of them were deemed chronically truant. (189 students were chronically truant, when the school had official enrollment of 143.)
Honestly, I don’t think that you can blame MPS that. Not all students are angels, and clearly those students didn’t care for their own education. One of the main problems that people, in my opinion, are ignoring is that alot of these students simply don’t care for school. MPS can’t really do anything about the fact that these students don’t want to learn. Personal responsibility is a VERY important life skill that parents should teach their kids, not MPS.