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Milwaukee Charter School System receives 5 out 5 stars in state report card

Posted at 7:27 PM, Nov 24, 2016
and last updated 2016-11-24 20:38:29-05
Twenty years ago the founders of Milwaukee College Prep wanted nothing more than to close the achievement gap between African-American and white students in the inner city by providing a quality education.
 
Today that idea has grown from one school to four campuses with just under 2,000 scholars. CEO Rob Rauh shows the banners that hang from each homeroom reminding every child of the end goal - college.
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"They are not in school because they are five they are in school because they want to go to this high school go to that college become a doctor become a nurse," said Rauh.
In the latest Wisconsin state report card, all four schools received five out of five stars - significantly exceeding expectation.
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"Our math scores we improved by ten percent, that are advanced or proficient. State overall is one percent increase so, we are making up the gap,"  said Rauh.
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The four campuses rank among the top 25 in the state.
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"There is more challenges but the belief and giving the support and tools to achieve is really the key,"  said Rauh.
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83 percent of the student body is economically disadvantaged, but Rauh says that is not an excuse.
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"Our belief is that our demography does not determine our destiny,"  says Rauh.
MCP has some of the same challenges as Milwaukee public schools. As a charter school, they use a lottery system with blind admission.
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"There are great teachers everywhere and across this city but what makes Milwaukee College Prep different we are able to bring a great group of teachers with a belief system in the same building," said Rauh.
 
What is more remarkable when you look at the current data from Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction. If MCP was its own district, its student achievement would rank 12th in the state, right behind Whitefish Bay.
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"Our third-grade classrooms across the network, out-perform the state," said Rauh.
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Rauh is quick to remind people it's not all about the rankings, it's about inspiring the next generation.
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"Each one of those data points represents an individual child, it's really about setting our children up for success," said Rauh.
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