EDUCATION

MPS aims high with $10 million Malcolm X reboot

Erin Richards
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

Two years ago, the vacant Malcolm X Academy building near N. 1st and W. Center streets was at the center of a heated controversy between Milwaukee Public Schools and a voucher school that tried to purchase the structure.

MPS kept the building out of the religious school's hands by way of an ill-fated development deal. Then district leaders decided to go it alone, spending $10 million to renovate the building and making it the new home of a struggling middle school across town that was pressed for space.

Insiders wondered if the renovation and relocation would amount to much. But a brief visit to the new Rufus King International Middle School this fall offered optimistic signals.

Rufus King International Middle School students at the renovated Malcolm X Academy building.

Poised eighth-graders in uniforms greeted visitors at a ribbon-cutting in the school's airy new library recently. They spoke highly of the academic offerings and the ability to now switch classes throughout the day, thanks to the extra space.

"The transition has been so rewarding," said Principal Tamera Ellis.

King Middle School, now at 121 E. Hadley St., had been operating inside the old McNair elementary school building at 4950 N. 24th St., which felt cramped for older kids, leaders said.

Several students said the advent of full-size gymnasium and an auditorium that seats 840 is a welcomed change; in the old building they had to sit on the floor of a small gym for assemblies. Now the middle school can host theatrical productions; "The Wiz" is scheduled to be the spring musical.

Because the campus is so large, district leaders are musing about offering up extra space inside to nonprofits that could partner with the school.

New road ahead

King Middle School was designed to be a feeder into Rufus King International High School, but the younger version of the school has struggled, according to state data. The school was rated as meeting few expectations on its 2016 report card. It trails the state average for middle schools in closing achievement gaps and in improving students' test scores.

The school's enrollment fell to 338 last year from 367 in 2013. But this year enrollment is 418, which beat district projections, Ellis said.

The bigger building can now accommodate more academic offerings such as foreign languages and electives and engineering and science courses.The rehab project renovated computer labs and added lots of fresh paint, air conditioning, new windows and new lighting.

"The students are pleased that they're in this space," said Gina Spang, MPS chief of staff.

Students work in the new, brighter computer technology classroom at Rufus King International Middle School.

The sprawling campus started as Robert Fulton Jr. High School in the 1960s and was renamed Malcolm X Academy in 1993 when it was turned into an African-American immersion school. Malcolm X was closed in 2007. Nobody said much about it until 2014, when nearby St. Marcus Lutheran School, a voucher school at 2215 N. Palmer St., started hunting for an expansion site and expressed interest in buying the building.

MPS says no to voucher school, yes to housing developer

Under former superintendent Gregory Thornton, the School Board demurred and approved a plan with a developer to sell and lease-back the building, which would become part of a larger commercial and housing development. The plan failed. After that, MPS inked a deal with Nicholas & Associates to rehab the building itself.

MPS signs deal for $10 million Malcolm X Academy renovation

The fight over the former Malcolm X Academy building was part of what prompted Republican lawmakers to strengthen legislation that made it easier for private and independent charter schools to buy empty district buildings. The district's plans for Malcolm X kept the building off the market. And St. Marcus found additional space to open a second campus at 2669 N. Richards St., where it now educates children in 3-year-old kindergarten through third grade.