MPS lead exposure; screening clinic for students on March 15

MILWAUKEE - Milwaukee Public School officials on Thursday, March 13 provided details on an upcoming lead clinic happening on Saturday, March 15. 

The Milwaukee Health Department will provide lead screenings for MPS students on Saturday, March 15, from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. at Bradley Tech School.

The lead testing will be for kids at Kagel, Golda Meir, Trowbridge and Maryland, the four schools in which the health department discovered unsafe lead levels.

Other lead testing sites

Children’s Wisconsin Next Door Clinic

• Begins March 20
• Every Tuesday and Thursday, 1-4 p.m.
• Walk-in clinic, no appointment needed

MacCanon Brown Homeless Sanctuary

• Free lead testing clinics for kids under 10 years old
• Available on select Saturdays (contact the organization)

Sixteenth Street - Chavez Clinic

• Tuesday, March 18
• 4 p.m. - 6 p.m.

For questions related to lead exposure, MPS families can contact Health Services Manager Tashanda Edelen at 414-438-3539.

For additional resources and educational materials, as well as general information on how to keep your child and home lead-safe, visit the Milwaukee Health Department's website, or call the MHD Lead Program at 414-286-2165.

Trowbridge reopening

Dig deeper:

The Milwaukee Health Department and Milwaukee Public Schools said on Wednesday, March 12, that Trowbridge Street School passed its clearance check following the latest round of lead hazard remediation and cleaning. MHD verified that lead dust levels now meet safety standards, allowing the school to reopen.

Trowbridge is just one of more than 80 buildings MPS says were built before 1978, when lead paint was banned.

"Let me be clear – we know this is an issue in our district – our buildings are old. We know there is required maintenance that is needed," said Michael Harris, MPS Interim Chief School Administration Officer.

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Students and staff may return to the building on Friday, March 14.

MPS will continue enhanced cleaning and maintenance protocols throughout the building to ensure the school remains safe for students and staff. MHD will remain engaged to support MPS in upholding safety standards. 

MPS will also work to ensure students and staff only drink from filtered water stations, and the health department must do lead risk inspections on all those schools to ensure they're safe.

Trowbridge School

The backstory:

The school temporarily closed on Monday, March 3. Trowbridge students were to relocate and attend Wisconsin Conservatory of Lifelong Learning for the time being.

MHD's February inspection found cracking, peeling, buckling paint on the walls, windowsills and doors of Trowbridge School. The old paint was coming through. The health department originally found first-floor windowsills averaged 45 times higher than federal lead safety standards.