5 Things to Watch For in Milwaukee Public Schools This Year

MPS Superintendent Brenda Cassellius meets with media on Aug. 27, 2026 to outline her goals for the upcoming school year. Photo by WUWM

Milwaukee Public Schools will welcome 60,000 students back to the classroom on Tuesday.

Superintendent Brenda Cassellius says this school year there will be a renewed focus on reading proficiency, building upgrades — particularly for schools located on the city’s North Side — and transparency.

“This year, we are asking everyone in Milwaukee to expect great things from MPS and then to do the work to make those great things happen,” Cassellius said. “Our students deserve nothing less. They deserve great teaching, great opportunities and great schools, and our educators and staff are ready to deliver.”

Here are five things to watch over the next year.

Teacher vacancies are down but some classrooms will not have an instructor

At this point last year, MPS had 120 teacher vacancies. The district is starting the school year with 60 vacancies.

The number would be less, but the 2026-27 budget added more than 159 teaching positions and paraprofessionals to reduce class sizes.

Cassellius said there is still a lot of work to do and 60 openings is not where the district wants to be. But she says MPS is starting the school year in a much stronger position than in years past.

“Our goal is straightforward,” she said. “Every classroom should have a certified, qualified teacher, caring and competent, who is ready to help students learn and succeed.”

There will be classrooms that don’t have a teacher, Cassellius said. Those rooms will utilize long-term substitutes and paraprofessionals.

“We have 4,500 teachers, so we’re constantly having teachers who retire, who are going out on sick leave or maternity leave,” Cassellius said. “So it is not unusual for a district of our size to have teacher vacancies.”

MPS is investing is central city schools

Last week, MPS officials invited media to Starms Discovery Learning Center, which is one of six schools getting about $13 million worth of updates.

Starms Discovery Learning Center Principal Tonya Love gives a tour of updates at her school. Corrinne Hess/WPR

Renovations at Starms, which will cost about $2.5 million, include new flooring, murals in the hallways, an updated gymnasium and smartboards in classrooms.

“These improvements matter because the environment in which children learn sends a message, a very clear message, about what we expect for them and how we care for them,” Cassellius said. “We are telling our students, you matter, your school matters and your future matters.”

Starms Principal Tonya Love said she expects about 291 students this year, but the building has capacity for “several more classrooms.”

The district’s long-range facilities plan includes closing five northside schools. Those students will be moved to Starms and other underutilized northside schools that are currently being updated — Brown Street Academy, Douglas Middle School and Gwen T. Jackson School.

MPS has also invested $3.5 million at River Trail School of Agricultural Science and $2.5 million at North Division High School.

Cassellius said in September an advisory group will discuss possible closures under the long-range facilities plan.

“I don’t think we need to study it anymore. I think we need to make a decision,” she said.

MPS could go to referendum again

Cassellius said MPS might need to ask voters to support another referendum if the state does not “fully fund schools.”

“I just don’t see another way around it,” she said. “Costs continue to go up, inflation continues to go up. We want to stay competitive and pay our teachers a fair wage, and so that is going to require resources.”

Cassellius said she will wait until a new governor and Legislature is seated in November to decide if a referendum is needed. She said MPS has already “tightened its belt” by cutting 264 staff members last year, but the district can’t continue to make cuts.

“I hope as soon as the legislature gets in, the very first thing they do is pass special ed.,” Cassellius said. “That is like a very simple no-brainer thing to do for our students with disabilities to make sure that they get everything that they need and that it doesn’t come off the top.”

Cassellius said if special education reimbursement would have been 42 percent, as promised instead of 35 percent, the district would have gotten another $36 million this year.

Voters narrowly passed a $252 million referendum for MPS in April 2024.

Reading proficiency a continued focus

MPS launched a new elementary literacy curriculum in January and the district plans to introduce a new curriculum for high school students this school year.

Over the summer, more than 1,000 teachers, principals and support staff took part in literacy training.

Cassellius said she is excited to see state test results in September.

“We’re hoping to see some growth,” she said. “Obviously, we have a long way to go. What I came into was not something anybody would want to have to see with the level of proficiency that our students were at, and we are committed to making sure that our students are learning literacy.”

Lead remediation is still underway in some buildings

MPS spent 2025 removing lead from nearly 100 schools, costing about $43 million.

The district has 106 schools that were built before 1978, when lead-based paint was banned. Lead dust is often formed as lead paint chips and wears down, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Last week, Cassellius said some areas of the district still need to be remediated.

“We have a number of buildings underutilized and of course remediating lead is extremely expensive,” she said, adding that classrooms that have not yet been cleaned have been closed.

“If you have a building that can hold 500 kids, but only 100 kids were in there, and you’re only using seven classrooms, then we closed off those classrooms,” she said. “But most of them are getting finished, and we had a big push on some of our auditoriums this summer as well, so we are close.”

Here are 5 things to watch for in Milwaukee Public Schools this year was originally published by Wisconsin Public Radio.