Charter School Reveals New $20 Million High School

The Dr. Howard Fuller Collegiate Academy (HFCA), a charter high school, is working to raise $25 million to construct a new building in Bronzeville and also renovate its existing building near N. 29th St. and W. Capitol Dr. into a middle school.

The new high school would have the capacity for up to 500 students, with the middle school designed as a feeder school for 325 students. The high school, according to a public database, had 312 students in the 2020-2021 school year.

“A new middle school would enable HCFA staff to reach students earlier and remediate proficiency deficits in the sixth grade instead of the ninth grade,” said Howard Fuller, former superintendent of Milwaukee Public Schools, in a press release announcing the fundraising campaign. “The goal is for students to be better prepared for higher level courses and dual enrollment in college. Expanding STEM education, including business, technology, and health care career preparation, will help achieve the high school’s vision.”

The school, chartered by the City of Milwaukee, reports raising $16 million. It expects the new building to cost $20 million and the renovation of the existing building to cost $5 million.

The new building would be constructed at 2212-2228 N. Vel R. Phillips Ave., which is a 0.86-acre site just south of W. North Ave. A one-story warehouse currently occupies the site. A zoning application, with limited details, was first filed in May.

HFCA would construct a four-story building on the site. It would include the first dedicated gymnasium and auditorium for the school.

The charter school hopes to open its new building in time for the 2023-2024 school year.

The middle school would be located in HFCA’s current building at 4030 N. 29th St. The one-story, 59,122-square-foot building is leased from Goodwill Industries of Southeast Wisconsin, according to city assessment records. The building was constructed in 1954.

HFCA was founded in 2003 by Fuller and a group of pastors and was previously known as CEO Leadership Academy and Milwaukee Collegiate Academy. It opened in 2004 as a private voucher school before transitioning to become a public charter.

The school would need approval from the City of Milwaukee, or another chartering entity, and the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction, to open the middle school.

The charter school boasts a 100% college acceptance rate (but not enrollment) since 2012. A press release from the school notes that it is both Black governed and Black led with a focus on closing the achievement gap between Black and white students in Milwaukee.

Fuller, 81, is the board chair emeritus. Michelle Nettles is the current board chair. Milwaukee Public Schools board member Aisha Carr is listed as a board member. Judith Parker is the principal.

“What principal Judith Parker and the rest of the staff at HFCA have accomplished through vision, dedication and determination is powerful,” said Cory Nettles, co-chair of the capital campaign, husband of board chair Michelle and managing director of Generation Growth Capital. “They are guiding Black scholars to 100% college acceptance, preparing scholars to succeed in college or another career path, and nurturing alumni to be the next generation of HFCA teachers and leaders. But most importantly, they are preparing their students to become socially and economically productive citizens.”

Retired We Energies executive Thelma Sias and retired BMO Harris Bank executive Patty Cadorin are also campaign co-chairs.

Royal Capital Group is supporting HFCA’s efforts to develop the new building.

The real estate firm acquired the property in 2020 for $50,000 as part of the proposed redevelopment of the adjacent former Schuster’s department store at 2153 N. Martin Luther King Jr. Dr. into the ThriveOn King development. Both properties were previously used for storage by CH Coakley.

ThriveOn King is a partnership of Royal Capital Group, the Greater Milwaukee Foundation and Medical College of Wisconsin.

Engberg Anderson Architects is leading the design of both the new school and ThriveOn King. The renderings of the former depict the latter in a completed state.

The new school would be across N. Vel R. Phillips Ave. from the Garfield School Apartments and America’s Black Holocaust Museum. It still needs approval from the Board of Zoning Appeals.

At least two new high schools have been built in Milwaukee in recent years. Hmong American Peace Academy opened a new school last fall on the city’s far Northwest Side. Cristo Rey Jesuit High School opened at 1818 W. National Ave. in the Clarke Square neighborhood.

Renderings and Site Today