Madison Metropolitan School District

Madison Metropolitan School District (MMSD) is a public school district headquartered in Madison, Wisconsin. It serves the cities of Madison and Fitchburg, the villages of Shorewood Hills and Maple Bluff, and the towns of Blooming Grove, Burke, and Madison. It includes four regular high schools, one alternative high school, 11 middle schools, and 31 elementary schools. Its superintendent is Jennifer Cheatham. The chief of school operations is Michael Hertting, the chief of elementary schools is Nancy Hanks, and the chief of secondary schools is Alex Fralin.

General information

As of September 2013, the district served 27,069 students,^[1][2] making it the second largest in Wisconsin. It has 49 schools, including 32 elementary schools (grades K-5), 12 middle schools (grades 6–8), four comprehensive high schools and one alternative high school. The district also has early childhood programs and alternative programs at the secondary level.^[3]

The district covers about 65 square miles (170 km²), including all or part of the cities of Madison and Fitchburg, the villages of Maple Bluff and Shorewood Hills, and the towns of Blooming Grove, Burke and Madison.

In an effort to encourage the involvement of students, the Madison Student Senate (MSS) was formed. It allows eight representatives from each high school (including affiliated alternatives) to meet bi-weekly with members of the board to discuss and change district policies for the benefit of Madison students.

History

The first school in Madison held classes in 1838 in a room of the home of Isaac H. Palmer, with schoolteacher Louisa Brayton.^[4] The school district was recognized by the territorial government in December 1841.

Following the incorporation of the city of Madison in 1856, a board of education was organized and the first superintendent was chosen: Damon Kilgore, a teacher who had begun teaching in Madison two years earlier.^[5]

In December 1983, the Madison School Board adopted a desegregation plan that was implemented on August 28, 1984. The plan aimed to reduce the disproportionate number of minority students at Lincoln and Franklin elementary schools, both on the south side of Madison, to approximately 30%. Franklin Elementary was paired with Randall Elementary and Midvale Elementary with Lincoln Elementary.^[6] Since then, Lapham Elementary School and Marquette Elementary School have also joined as sister schools. Franklin, Midvale and Lapham serve grades K-2, and Randall, Lincoln and Marquette serve grades 3–5.

Quick facts^[4]

• Enrollment: 24,189
  • PK: 1,962 ^[7]
  • Grades K-5: 12,416
  • Grades 6–8: 5,333
  • Grades 9–12: 7,358 ^[8]
• Budget: $331 million
• Desktop computers: 8,965
• Numbers of meals served per day: 19,008
• Volumes in school libraries: 382,173 titles; 765,277 copies
• Average class sizes:
  • Grades K-5 – 13.41 (academic subjects only)
  • Grades 6–8 – 21.3 (academic subjects only)
  • Grades 9–12 – 23.6
• School campus area: 678 acres (2.74 km²)
• School forest area: 287 acres (1.16 km²)
• Physical building space: 4,423,936 square feet (410,997.1 m²)
• Energy savings per year: $600,000

Employees^[4]

• Total: 6545
• Administrative: 143
• Clerical/technical: 266
• Custodial: 208
• Educational assistants/special education assistants: 579
• Food service: 152
• Madison School & Community Recreation: 1,446
• Non-faculty coaches: 312
• Non-union clerical: 20
• Non-union professional, custodial, other: 45
• Security assistants: 14
• Substitute teachers: 648
• Teachers (all staff in the teacher bargaining unit): 2,688
• Trades: 24

Schools^[9]

High schools

• James Madison Memorial High School
• Madison East High School
• Madison La Follette High School
• Madison West High School
• Malcolm Shabazz City High School (alternative high school)

Middle schools

Elementary schools

Partnerships

The Madison Metropolitan School District has many partnerships in the area.^[10] "At Home In Madison" is a partnership of business, community, school and city leaders that provides information to home buyers and relocating families about Madison's schools, neighborhoods and resources for home ownership.^[11]

Several before and after school programs are offered by local business and organizations. The local YMCA provides services for several of the local schools, including before and after school programs at Elvehjem, Gompers, Kennedy, Sandburg, and Schenk Elementary schools. Madison School and Community Recreation (MSCR) offers after school programs known as The Safe Haven Community and Learning Center,^[12] to which students must apply in order to participate. The Playful Kids Learning Clubhouse offers after school programs at Crestwood and Muir Elementary schools, and the Red Caboose does so at Lapham and Marquette Elementary schools. The Wisconsin Youth Company offers both before and after school at specific locations.^[13]

Madison Metropolitan School District also has a partnership with the local universities and colleges. Forward Madison is a partnership between Madison Metropolitan School District and UW-Madison’s School of Education. As well, students from the University of Wisconsin–Madison, University of Wisconsin–Whitewater, Edgewood College, and Madison Area Technical College are welcomed into the classrooms of several schools within MMSD as a part of their degree program. Additionally, the schools are a resource for research and information for the universities.

Recognition^[14]

In its 1997 ranking of the nation's 300 largest metropolitan areas, Money magazine named Madison the best place for education. Expansion Management ranks Madison as the best school district in Wisconsin and one of the sixth best in the nation. Madison is the only school district in the country to have schools at the elementary, middle, and high school levels rated as national schools of excellence by the United States Department of Education. Madison is one of only a few Wisconsin school districts to receive the highest financial rating, a "Triple A" bond rating.

References

External links

• Official website
• Madison School & Community Recreation
• MMSD-TV and Media Production