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MILWAUKEE – Tuesday, June 12th marked the last day of school for students and staff at Milwaukee Public Schools. While most school officials packed up for the summer, MacDowell Montessori School got ready to move to a new location, aimed at providing more space for more students.
On Tuesday, students enjoyed their last recess on the playground near 17th and Highland and helped clean classrooms.
“I’m happy. I don't have to wake up early anymore and go to school,” fifth-grader Cory White said.
When students return in the fall, they'll be walking into a newer space with an even bigger student body.
The school will move to the former Solomon Juneau Business High School building, near 64th and Mt. Vernon on the city's southwest side.
The move is to accommodate the school's expanding Montessori program. Currently, there are 520 students from K3 through eighth-grade at MacDowell. Next school year, the student body will grow from K3 to twelfth-grade, adding more than 300 students to its program.
“We currently have 860 students registered for school in the fall. We do have wait lists at almost every grade level, so the interest in the new program has skyrocketed,” MacDowell Montessori Principal Andrea Corona said.
“For the kids, it's going to be a wonderful opportunity. There's more green space for them to play. I hear there's a pool,” teacher Katharine Loveland said.
“It's exciting but it's kind of new and I might get lost,” sixth-grader Julian Lewis said.
While the kids said they are excited for their new home, for some teachers, it was a bittersweet goodbye.
“There are a lot of emotions going on today. There are 25 years worth of things here -- even belongings of former teachers are still in here,” Loveland said.
The current Macdowell building on Highland Avenue won't go unused. Highland Community School, which is a charter school authorized by MPS, is planning to move into the space for the fall.