Families looking for a new school for the fall are encouraged to apply now through February 19 for the best opportunity to attend their first-choice school.

The annual MPS Three-Choice Enrollment process is opening as the district is continuing to expand access to strong academic programs.

Families can apply online at mpsmke.com/EnrollMPS, at any MPS school or between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. at MPS Central Services, 5225 W. Vliet Street, Milwaukee 53208.Three-Choice allows parents and guardians looking for a new school for the fall to select up to three schools they would like for their child.

The MPS website offers a ‘Find a School’ feature – at mpsmke.com/findaschool  – to help select the right school based upon program, grade level, location, or transportation.

Those seeking new schools or learning opportunities will find some with new locations, others undergoing expansion and still others growing or adding programs. This is part of MPS’ efforts to expand strong programs through its Regional Development Plan. Efforts now underway to offer more options include:

Photo: Jeremiah Curtin Leadership Academy

• MPS is building an addition for Fernwood Montessori School, allowing the high-performing K-8 school in the Bay View area to accommodate the large number of early childhood students the school has enrolled in recent years as those students advance by grade level. The school has grown in recent years from about 550 students to more than 700.
• Rufus King International Middle School is moving to a new location at 2760 N. 1st Street, Milwaukee 53212, providing the grade 6-8 International Baccalaureate Middle Years Programme room to grow and continue to prepare students for the rigorous IB Diploma Programme available at three MPS high schools (King, MacDowell Montessori and Reagan).
• Milwaukee Excellence Charter School, a new MPS charter school, will begin serving students in grade 6 in the fall, tentatively at the former McNair School site, 4950 N. 24th Street, Milwaukee 53209.
• Milwaukee Spanish Immersion School is expanding to a second campus, 3575 S. 88th Street, Milwaukee 53228, to serve more students. This fall, the new campus will serve all of the school’s students in grades K4 and K5 with students in grades 1-5 attending school at the current MSIS campus, 2765 S. 55th Street, Milwaukee 53219. By 2017-18, the 88th Street campus will serve all 1st-grade students as well with the current campus serving grades 2-5.
• Morse Middle School for the Gifted and Talented is moving to its own home at 6700 N. 80th Street, Milwaukee 53223, allowing both it and John Marshall High School for the Gifted and Talented (Morse Marshall School for the Gifted and Talented 9-12), 4141 N. 64th Street, Milwaukee 53216, to grow their programs.
• Pulaski High School is planning to add International Baccalaureate programming and increase bilingual programming as it begins a new partnership with Carmen Schools of Science and Technology. The partnership provides for the two schools working together to improve student achievement, school climate and teaching and administrative practices as each school brings 200 new freshmen into the Pulaski campus this fall.
• Victory School is expanding its Italian immersion program to include full immersion beginning with 4-year-old kindergarten (K4) this fall. The full immersion program will offer transportation to students citywide, excluding those living within the school’s walk zone.

MPS continues to advance its eight strategic objectives to improve student outcomes focused on student achievement, effective and efficient operations and family and community engagement. The district continues to build on success including its seven high schools rated among the best in the state and nation by U.S. News and World Report and the Washington Post and its 82 schools recognized for reinforcing positive student behaviors and helping all students learn.

All applications received during the Three-Choice period are treated equally and a random selection process will take place if there are more interested families than seats in a given school and grade. Families receive an enrollment preference if a sibling is enrolled in the school or if it is their neighborhood school.

Enrollment applications received after February 19 are handled on a first-come, first-served basis.