Early high school enrollment for Milwaukee Public Schools 2027-2028 school year begins Saturday. All eighth grade students will need to apply to attend a high school next year.
Enrollment opens Saturday, Sept. 26 and runs through Monday, Nov. 2. MPS is hosting an enrollment fair Saturday from 9 a.m. to noon at Milwaukee High School of the Arts, 2300 W. Highland Ave.
High schools across the district are also holding open houses from late September through October.
Some schools admit all students who place the school as their first choice. Others follow a competitive application process.
Completing an application by the Nov. 2 deadline increases a student’s chances of attending their top-choice school.
The online application process takes about 15 minutes to complete, according to district officials.
Here’s information on how to pick schools, how MPS determines which students to admit, where to go if you have questions and more.
Do I need to enroll my student?
All eighth grade students need to enroll in a high school for next school year, even if they already attend an MPS school that serves high school grades nine through 12.
If a student already attends a school that serves high school grades and wants to stay, that school should be listed as their first choice on the application. Your student won’t have to compete with students from other schools for a spot there, according to Michael Spidell, MPS enrollment manager.
Where do I enroll my students?
You can enroll your student online using this form.
The district doesn’t offer paper applications, so staff can set up a computer for parents to enroll their students at the high school enrollment fair at Milwaukee High School of the Arts on Sept. 26, Spidell said. Parent coordinators are also available in each school to help parents who need internet access.
If you submitted your application but need to change the school selection, you can use the school change request form using the student ID number for current students, your application confirmation number and the email address used on the application.
How do I choose a school?
MPS allows students to choose up to five high schools on their application. Each school has different academic, career, extracurricular and transportation options.
Spidell recommends that parents and students look carefully at what each school offers before completing the application. Students who place a school as their first choice will be prioritized over other applicants who didn’t.
Parents should add more than one school to the application in case their top school fills up.
You can view what each MPS high school offers using the district’s school search tool, or attend the school’s open house (listed at bottom).
What if my student is in special education?
Special education students in an alternative curriculum will be evaluated in a different way than other students, according to MPS.
These students will be assigned a number, and schools will choose students at random based on how many open seats they have.
Not all schools offer services for every alternative curriculum, so these students might not be able to attend certain schools that don’t meet their needs.
Special education students in a general curriculum will be evaluated like other students. High schools are required to accept a certain percentage of students with Individualized Education Plans, or IEPs.
Talk to the special education supervisor at your student’s school for more information on special education offerings.
What do I need to do to complete my application?
All applicants will have two hours to complete a mandatory writing test with a short reading section and essay question.
Eighth graders already attending MPS schools will take this test in class, but those transferring into the district need to take it on their own by Nov. 2.
Schools also look at academic records. If your student attended an MPS school in seventh grade, MPS will automatically pull their academic and attendance records, and there’s no need to upload anything.
MPS charter school information is already shared with the assessment team, Spidell said. Students attending a non-MPS school will need to upload their final seventh grade report card, final attendance report, and standardized test results for math and English language arts. These documents can be requested from the student’s seventh grade school secretary.
How does MPS decide who will go to what school?
MPS prioritizes placing students with their first-choice school on their application.
Schools that receive more applications than available seats use a points-based admission criteria to narrow down applicants.
If a school has enough space to admit all applicants who placed the school as their first choice, the school will admit all the first-choice applicants then move to admit second-choice applicants ranked in order of their scores, Spidell said.
Scores are based on a mix of seventh grade attendance and grades, standardized test scores and a writing test. Each category has a maximum number of points a student can earn, up to 12 points total. Seventh grade report cards hold the most weight, followed by attendance.
Parents of eighth grade MPS students should’ve received an email with their child’s estimated points on Friday, Sept. 18, Spidell said.
Six competitive MPS schools used a point-based admission criteria last year. Due to the competitive nature of these schools, they typically only admit students who placed the school as their first choice.
Students are not always admitted to their second-choice schools either, Spidell said.
“In these cases, it is typically because the school filled all available seats with first-choice applicants, leaving no remaining space to consider second-choice applicants,” he said.
What happens if I miss the priority enrollment deadline?
Enrolling within the priority deadline increases a student’s chance of being assigned to their top choice school.
Students who don’t enroll by Nov. 2 will need to enroll online between Feb. 1 and Aug. 1, 2027, but are not guaranteed a spot at their schools of choice.
Students who aren’t enrolled in an MPS high school by the end of the annual enrollment period will be automatically placed in a school closest to their home that has open seats.
Where do I go if I have questions about enrollment?
Staff will be available to answer questions at the enrollment fair at Milwaukee High School of the Arts on Saturday from 9 a.m. to noon.
If you can’t make it to an enrollment fair but still have questions about enrollment, email Spidell at spidelmg@milwaukee.k12.wi.us.
Where can I learn more about each school?
High schools across the district are hosting open house events starting leading up to the enrollment deadline.
Lynde and Harry Bradley Technology and Trade School: Tuesday, Sept. 29
5:30 to 7 p.m. at 700 S. 4th St.
Email 014@milwaukeepublicschools.org for more information.
Reagan High School: Tuesday, Sept. 29
6 to 7:30 p.m. at 4965 S. 20th St.
Email 007@milwaukeepublicschools.org for more information.
Reagan High School: Wednesday, Sept. 30
Reagan High School is hosting a second open house from 4 to 5:30 p.m.
Email 007@milwaukeepublicschools.org for more information.
Alexander Hamilton High School: Wednesday, Sept. 30
5:30 to 7:30 p.m. at 6215 W. Warnimont Ave.
Email 018@milwaukeepublicschools.org for more information.
Milwaukee School of Languages: Wednesday, Sept. 30
4:30 to 6:30 p.m. at 8400 W. Burleigh St.
Email 071@milwaukeepublicschools.org for more information.
James Madison Academic Campus: Thursday, Oct. 1
4 to 6 p.m. at 8135 W. Florist Ave.
Email 069@milwaukeepublicschools.org for more information.
North Division High School: Thursday, Oct. 1
5 to 7 p.m. at 1011 W. Center St.
Email 025@milwaukeepublicschools.org for more information.
Bay View High School: Tuesday, Oct. 6
4 to 6 p.m. at 2751 S. Lenox St.
Email 012@milwaukeepublicschools.org for more information.
Casimir Pulaski High School: Tuesday, Oct. 6
5 to 7 p.m. at 2500 W. Oklahoma Ave.
Email 026@milwaukeepublicschools.org for more information.
Riverside University High School: Tuesday, Oct. 6
5:30 to 7:30 p.m. at 1615 E. Locust St.
Email 029@milwaukeepublicschools.org for more information.
The Alliance School of Milwaukee: Wednesday, Oct. 7
4 to 6 p.m. at 850 W. Walnut St.
Email 042@milwaukeepublicschools.org for more information.
Harold S. Vincent School of Agricultural Science: Wednesday, Oct. 7
4 to 6 p.m. at 7501 N. Granville Road
Email 033@milwaukeepublicschools.org for more information.
Milwaukee High School of the Arts: Wednesday, Oct. 7
5 to 7 p.m. at 2300 W. Highland Ave.
Email 038@milwaukeepublicschools.org for more information.
Milwaukee Marshall High School: Wednesday, Oct. 7
5 to 7 p.m. at 4141 N. 64th St.
Email 008@milwaukeepublicschools.org for more information.
Rufus King International High School: Wednesday, Oct. 7
5:30 to 7:30 p.m. at 1801 W. Olive St.
Email 020@milwaukeepublicschools.org for more information.
Golda Meir High School: Thursday, Oct. 8
5:30 to 7:30 p.m. at 1615 N. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Drive.
Email 176@milwaukeepublicschools.org for more information.
South Division High School: Wednesday, Oct. 14
5 to 7 p.m. at 1515 W. Lapham Blvd.
Email 032@milwaukeepublicschools.org for more information.
Golda Meir High School: Thursday, Oct. 15
Golda Meir High School is hosting a second open house from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. at 1615 N. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Drive.
Email 176@milwaukeepublicschools.org for more information.
MacDowell Montessori School: Monday, Oct. 19
5 to 7 p.m. at 6415 W. Mount Vernon Ave.
Email 261@milwaukeepublicschools.org for more information.
Alex Klaus is the education solutions reporter for the Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service and a corps member of Report for America, a national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on under-covered issues and communities. Report for America plays no role in editorial decisions in the NNS newsroom.
Jonathan Aguilar is a visual journalist at Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service who is supported through a partnership between CatchLight Local and Report for America.
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