School Will Be Ready to Welcome Students and Staff Back in September for the New School Year
MILWAUKEE— Milwaukee Public Schools (MPS) Superintendent Brenda Cassellius today announced LaFollette School was cleared by the City of Milwaukee Health Department (MHD) after the school underwent renovations and painting to clear the school of lead risks.
“I’m grateful to the LaFollette School community for their continued partnership and patience as we undertook this important work,” said Dr. Cassellius. “A disruption like this one is never easy, but this school community navigated it with the best interests of students at the forefront. I’m glad we are making good progress on our lead stabilization efforts in our school buildings, guided by our Lead Action Plan. Our students and families deserve school buildings that are safe and welcoming.”
Although the LaFollette building at 3239 N. 9th St. now is declared safe for occupancy, students will continue to attend their temporary classrooms at Wisconsin Conservatory of Lifelong Learning (WCLL) because so few days remain in the current school year. The last day of school for students at MPS is Friday, June 13.
LaFollette students and staff were relocated to WCLL when their building was temporarily closed on March 17, allowing Milwaukee Public Schools and contracted crews to perform renovation work, stabilize surfaces with paint, and clean the building thoroughly.
No LaFollette children were identified as having elevated lead levels in their blood in connection with lead at their school. The precautionary closure allowed for thorough stabilization and cleaning efforts to ensure a safe environment for students and staff.
Milwaukee Public Schools will continue performing work related to lead cleanup at district buildings this summer. So far, MHD has declared seven schools cleared of lead dangers. The district is working toward eliminating all lead dangers from schools built before 1978 by the end of this calendar year.
