MILWAUKEE — Milwaukee Public Schools Superintendent Brenda Cassellius says stabilizing the district, improving student outcomes and strengthening community partnerships will be key to building a stronger future for MPS.
Dr. Cassellius outlined those priorities Thursday during her State of Our Schools address at Discovery World, where she also launched the district’s “Expect Great Things” campaign.
The superintendent discussed progress and ongoing challenges facing the district, including student safety, declining enrollment, staffing and aging school buildings.
The address also comes as new research from Marquette University Law School senior fellow Alan Borsuk finds that fewer than half of Milwaukee students receiving publicly funded education attend MPS. The district accounts for 49.7% of those students, while the rest attend other schools.
Asked how that research affects the direction of the district, Cassellius said her focus is on improving schools for the students already enrolled.
“Nearly one out of every four students within this school district has a disability,” Dr. Cassellius said. “That is a real challenge. And that means that we have to really think about how we serve those children. Which is why I lowered class size. It’s why I’m, focused on a permanently licensed teacher.”
She pointed to smaller class sizes, permanently licensed teachers and guaranteed art, music and physical education as part of that effort.
Dr. Cassellius also says stabilizing the teaching staff could help bring more families into the district.
“If you are able to stabilize your staffing, I believe that will create great schools and great schools will then be able to grow our enrollment,” she said.
She also pointed to a decline in student deaths, from 23 in 2025 to 12 so far this year. She says the district’s goal is to bring that number down to zero.
“We listened to students about the real ways in which they wanted to be engaged. They said they needed safe passage late at night to get home from these activities,” Dr. Cassellius said. “When you listen to students, you can have programming that is supportive of them. But there’s a real responsibility for community members too. The adults in the community need to step up, lock up their guns and put them away, out of harm.”
Another major issue is the condition of district buildings. Dr. Cassellius says MPS schools average more than 85 years old, compared with a national average of 42 years.
She pointed to deferred maintenance, air conditioning and the need for sensory rooms for students with autism. She says the district needs a 10-year plan to replace or improve its facilities.
“If you know that you might have to close schools there’s urgency in cooling schools and heating schools and that H -Vac systems are inadequate in our schools and they’re actually breaking down,” she continued. “So we’re being nickeled and dimed on the deferred maintenance. It makes sense that you want to make these investments and there’s urgency to improve these learning conditions, but you don’t want to waste money either on the other side.”
Cassellius did not announce a timeline for another operating referendum. She says she wants to see what happens with the State Legislature first. Now that there will be new elected officials in office, Dr. Cassellius hopes to create a good partnerships to improve MPS.
“I think that the piece that we definitely can support is to fully fund special ed. And like I said in my speech, not some certain but some sufficient,” she said. “That means the full cost of special ed.”
Cassellius also wants to build relationships with newly elected state leaders in Madison to advocate for additional education funding and support for Milwaukee students.
She says the district’s immediate focus is to stabilize MPS while working toward academic excellence.
