Milwaukee Recreation Earns National Accreditation

Milwaukee Recreation recently earned accreditation through the Commission for Accreditation of Park and Recreation Agencies and the National Recreation and Park Association.

Milwaukee Recreation was founded in 1911 as a division of Milwaukee Public Schools. It is currently undertaking a systematic, equity-based overhaul of its more than 50 playfields. The organization, often using MPS facilities, offers programming to youth, teens, adults and seniors.

Only 1.9% of park and recreation agencies in the country are accredited and Milwaukee Recreation is one of just three accredited agencies in Wisconsin. It is the only school district-run agency to have received CAPRA accreditation.

CAPRA provides the only national accreditation for parks and recreation agencies and measures agencies’ overall quality, management and service to the community. 

“We are extremely honored to receive this prestigious accreditation,” said Lynn Greb, senior director of Milwaukee Recreation, in a statement. “Our entire team remained committed to this effort from the beginning and has worked extremely hard to gather data, provide information, and implement new strategies that ultimately allowed us to meet all the CAPRA standards… This work has established a roadmap for our department and will ensure our operations and services continue to meet a high level of quality for the Milwaukee community.” She offered thanks “to our community for its continued support, and to our incredible staff that helped to make this accreditation possible.” 

Accreditation involves a formal application, self-assessment, a site visit by a team of trained individuals that results in a written report and a hearing with the commission to grant accreditation.

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the visit was held virtually. Now that Milwaukee Recreation is accredited, it must submit an annual report and undergo a re-accreditation process in five years. A certificate of accreditation and letter of certification can be found on Milwaukee Recreation’s website.