What can we learn from the history of the 13 MPS schools on the potential closure list?

There are lessons to be learned from the 13 schools that Milwaukee Public Schools consultants are listing for possible closing in the next several years. The lessons go beyond the numbers involved with the schools.

The numbers certainly matter. Declining enrollment, low overall academic achievement, underused buildings. The way population has declined on the north side, the way population has grown on the south side. The decline in economic vitality in the north side neighborhoods where many of the schools are located. The percent of Milwaukee children who are going to schools outside of MPS or schools outside their neighborhoods. These numbers all shape the difficult discussion about "right sizing" the MPS system.

But I'm talking about lessons in trying to raise success levels among students who face big challenges in their lives. The list of 13 schools includes several that have been in the spotlight in the past for efforts to turn them in better directions. Those efforts have not succeeded. Consider the schools on the list:

Clarke Street School

near North 27th and West Center streets

In the 1990s, Clarke Street was a star. The principal at that time, Diane Neicheril, led the school to impressive scores on state achievement tests. Beyond test scores, the school also had a youth "great books" program, and students starred in an annual opera. It was a vibrant school.

Neicheril retired in 1999 (and died this year). She was succeeded by her then-assistant principal Keith Posley.

The school generally maintained its strong record for several years. In May 2002, then-President George W. Bush visited the school, saying it was an example of what could be done under the then-new No Child Left Behind federal education law.

But the good vibes from Clarke Street soon disappeared. The reasons included the decline in the vitality of the neighborhood, the unstable lives of students, changes in school leadership, and the creation of nearby schools both within and outside MPS that drew away enrollment. Posley left to work in the MPS administration (ending up, of course, as superintendent until he was forced out this year).

In the mid-2000s, a large addition was added to the crowded old building — and enrollment went down. It's been a long time since anyone spoke of Clarke Street as a star school.

Dr. George Washington Carver Academy

just north of downtown

Dr. George Washington Carver Academy was considered one of the weakest schools in MPS.

In the early 2010s, leaders of Northwestern Mutual proposed a concerted effort to turn the school around, with the company funding much of the work. Leaders of MPS, three nonprofit organizations (Teach for America, City Year and Schools That Can Milwaukee), and Northwestern Mutual set aside some uncordial histories and launched what was called a "five-on-one" campaign to improve the school's culture, give the principal and staff more training, and provide other support. Good people were involved on all sides, and some good things happened.

But the outcomes were weak, and the effort overall failed. A central reason, as shown in an excellent project by the Journal Sentinel's Erin Richards in 2018, was high turnover among students. Few stayed enrolled in the school from one year to the next (or for even shorter periods) and the effort just couldn't produce good results without having a stable student body. This is a formidable problem for many MPS schools; stabilizing the lives of students remains an urgent issue with little solution in sight.

Auer Avenue School and Hopkins Lloyd Community School

near north side

Both schools were among the first in MPS to be designated as "community schools" almost a decade ago. The idea was easy to understand and praiseworthy: get families and the community more involved and respond to needs beyond the classroom, including helping stabilize families' lives, creating a warm culture for all involved in the school, and improving health, dental and vision care.

United Way of Greater Milwaukee and Waukesha County has been a long-time partner in the work. Maybe the community schools effort (which now involves 16 MPS schools) has helped. But it hasn't shown up in academic success for students. At these two schools, which have low enrollment, the recently released state test scores were once again very low.

To name a few more on the list for possible closing:

Siefert School

I remember doing a story there about teaching students to read using a scripted method called "direct instruction." The effort didn't last and didn't succeed.

Oliver Wendell Holmes School

Next memory: Writing a story about a program at the school in Riverwest that aimed to increase parent involvement and improve student-parent cooperation in improving school work. But participation was not strong, and funding ran out. The program ended.

William T. Sherman School

The late Herb Kohl, U.S. senator and owner of the Milwaukee Bucks, and retired baseball commissioner Bud Selig are among the graduates, going back to when the Sherman Park neighborhood was much more middle class than it is now. Sherman has emphasized "multicultural" themes in recent years. Like others on the list, it had a large addition built in the 2000s, enrollment fell, student turnover is high, and academic achievement is low.

Starms Discovery Learning Center

On the near west side, the school is housed in one of MPS' nicer and newer buildings. Along with the Starms Early Childhood Center a couple blocks away, the school attracted positive attention in past years for its emphasis on child development and a program emphasizing "discovery." Not much reason for positive attention now; enrollment has fallen, and academic success is weak.

Andrew S. Douglas Middle School

To be honest, I can't recall how many schools have come and gone from this large and relatively new MPS building at 3620 N. 18th St. MPS schools and charter schools have come and gone — and generally failed. Best as I know, there has never been a successful school in that building.

Jackson Elementary School

Previously Twenty-first Street School. Several memories of this school: It was the location for kicking off an MPS campaign to deal with attendance problems. (I didn't believe I ever heard anything about the campaign subsequently.)

It was the location for a visit by Reg Weaver, then the president of the NEA national teachers union. And (my favorite), Packers lineman Mark Tauscher once visited to read books to students and present a batch of books to the school. One student asked Tauscher whether Brett Favre throws the ball nice. When he throws to people on our team, he answered.

But academic success in one of Milwaukee's most stressed neighborhoods? Nothing good to say on that front.

Brown Street Academy, LaFollette School and Keefe Avenue School

None of them have been the focus of noteworthy improvement plans. There is low enrollment at each and low achievement at each, which is how they got on the list for possible closing.

Lots of effort at these schools, but long-term success hasn't followed

Many good people have worked — and, I assume, still work — in these schools. Much effort has gone into helping students succeed. But all have not risen to sustained levels of success, at least not in a long time.

All are also on the predominantly Black north side, where so many children and their families have such high needs when it comes to life's basics, like shelter, food and health care. Many come from homes where there have been generations of minimal success in education. Across urban centers in America — and Milwaukee is a prime example — efforts to bring success to schools such as these have been vexing and rarely successful, especially on a sustained basis.

In some cases, failures have been for lack of effort. But, as this list shows, in some cases, that isn't the whole story.

Three key questions facing MPS and Milwaukee as a whole now are: What will closing schools such as these do to increase success for the students at the heart of this? What else might be done? And what can be learned from the history of these schools?

Alan J. Borsuk is senior fellow in law and public policy at Marquette Law School. Reach him at .