MILWAUKEE— A new high school taking shape in downtown Milwaukee is betting that some students may learn traditional subjects differently when their creative interests are part of the school day.
Janus Liberal Arts High School, or JLA, is recruiting students in grades 9 through 12 for a small-school model that combines subjects such as math, science and English with hands-on learning in fashion, music, hydroponics and other creative fields.
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The school plans to enroll no more than 40 students. When TMJ4 visited, modeling and fashion teacher Christina Gaines said the school had prospective students, but no students had yet made a final enrollment decision.
Tuition is $5,000 for the year. School representatives said payment plans and scholarships are available.
From an after-school arts program to a high school
The new school grows out of JCPAA, an arts-focused after-school program that Gaines said has operated for about 15 years.
Gaines said the existing program has worked with young people, including students who have struggled in traditional school settings, and used arts programming to help them work toward graduation and careers.
Now, organizers are trying to bring parts of that approach into a full school day.
Gaines said the goal is to reach students whose talents or learning styles may not always fit comfortably into a traditional classroom.
"These children that feel like they have no place to go, they don't fit in MPS, they don't fit in regular public school. Their minds work a little differently. They're more artistic, but they're very smart," Gaines said. "We feel like we fill that space for children that are already here in need of us. We're just trying to find them."
Connecting the arts to traditional academics
JLA's model isn't intended to eliminate traditional subjects.
Rhonda Ronsman, a JLA board member and music theory teacher, said the school plans to connect arts instruction with subjects students would encounter in other high schools.
"Music theory is also math. When you're trying to count measures and when you are trying to count what notes equal a quarter note, a half note, it's math. Music theory is English," Ronsman said.
Ronsman said the school's curriculum includes English, math and science, while students can also participate in arts programming.
The proposed school day runs from 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. The existing after-school program is expected to continue afterward and remain available to young people from the broader community, not only JLA students.
Learning from people who have done the work
Another part of the model is bringing instructors' professional experience into the classroom.
Gaines teaches modeling and fashion and said her own career allows her to teach lessons that go beyond a textbook.
"We bring in real world experience so me myself, I'm an actual model. I've walked in New York Fashion Week for Rick Villa. I've walked in LA Fashion Week. I've been published in over 20 magazines," Gaines said.
Gaines said she also wants students to learn from mistakes she made while building her own career.
"Me going through these hard things and the mistakes that I've made I can teach them so they don't make those mistakes and they can get further than I have," she said.
Students in the fashion program can learn about clothing design, modeling, professionalism, casting calls and the history of fashion. Gaines said students also learn to make clothing as a form of self-expression.
Growing food — and another kind of classroom
The hands-on approach extends beyond performing arts.
Hydroponics consultant Jasmine Hoover said students will learn to grow food as part of lessons that can connect agriculture with science and a planned culinary arts program.
The goal is eventually for students to help grow food, work in the kitchen and help create meals and menus. Hoover said organizers also envision opportunities to donate food to local pantries.
Hoover hopes students take away "a sense of community, how to take care of themselves, more self-sustainability."
Young women say the existing program built their confidence
For two young women who participated in JCPAA before the launch of the high school, the impact they remember most isn't a grade.
It's confidence.
Jessica Chavez, a Milwaukee native who participated in the existing program while attending Alexander Hamilton High School, said she initially wasn't sure she could model.
"It was good and boosted up my confidence a lot and made me more myself," Chavez said. "I feel more comfortable with myself."
Chavez said she couldn't imagine herself doing an on-camera interview or confidently walking a runway before joining the program.
"No, not at all," she said. "Because I was back then I was just a whole different person and comparing back then to me now it's just so different."
Eadah Win, another former participant, described a similar transformation.
"To be honest, my confidence, it helped me a lot because when I was first here, I was like this itty bitty shy little kid, and now I'm like trying to just live life, be yourself," Win said.
Both young women have since finished high school. Win told TMJ4 she is attending college and studying event management while continuing modeling on the side. Chavez said she plans to pursue real estate while continuing to model.
Chavez said the support she found in the program could be especially important for students who don't have it elsewhere.
"I think it's mostly the support. A lot here is like a lot of support. They're always there for you, and I think that's what a lot of students need for people and adults to be there for them," Chavez said.
What organizers hope students leave with
Ronsman said JLA's goal isn't simply to help students discover what they're good at. She wants them to stop defining themselves by what someone may have told them they couldn't do.
"My hope is that they understand that they can succeed," Ronsman said.
Ronsman recalled being told she was bad at math when she was younger, only to later become a math tutor in college after finding a teacher who helped her discover a different way to learn.
"There are different ways that you can learn to get to the end of a problem and all you got to do is find that way that works for you," Ronsman said. "That's what we do here."
What families should know
Janus Liberal Arts High School is recruiting students in grades 9 through 12, with enrollment capped at approximately 40 students. The planned school day is 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.
Tuition is $5,000 per year. School representatives said payment plans and scholarships are available.
The school is located in the Plankinton building in downtown Milwaukee, below TJ Maxx and near 3rd Street Market Hall.
Families interested in the school can contact the school at (414) 763-9061 for more information about the program and enrollment. To learn more visit: www.janusliberalarths.com
This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
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