Beginnings: 1979-1991: Resolving the Dilemma of Overcrowding

This is a long, detailed document describing the MMSD's solution to middle school overcrowding in the district. Jump ahead to specifics if you prefer.

• Closing of Lincoln Middle School
• Overcrowding at middle schools throughout Madison
• Possible solutions for West area overcrowding
• Desire for a South Madison middle school

Lincoln School closes. In 1978 and 1979 several schools closed in the Madison Metropolitan School District due to declining enrollments. The closings of Longfellow Elementary and Lincoln Middle, both South Madison schools, were particularly relevant to the evolution of a South Madison middle school.

After the closing of these schools South Madison residents no longer felt they had any neighborhood schools. A complaint was filed in December 1979 by the Board of Directors of the South Madison Neighborhood Center and Neighborhood House with the Office for Civil Rights (OCR) of the US Department of Education. The complaint requested an investigation into District policies and procedures relating to the status of the other Lincoln Cluster Schools. The new boundaries created after the two schools closed created a significant racial imbalance in the affected schools "further segregating schools by racial, social, cultural and economic factors."

The OCR conducted the investigation and in June, 1983 issued its findings to MMSD. Initially the OCR determined that the District violated Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, by "creating and maintaining racially/ethnically identifiable and isolated elementary schools in south-central Madison through student assignment decisions made, in part, on the basis of the race, color or national origin of students." Based on actions taken by the Board to conform with Title VI---it adopted a Title VI compliance plan in June, 1983.

A Task Force charged with analyzing the complaint designed a pairing plan for four elementary schools in Madison. The pairing plan had an impact on the middle schools on the west side; while the elementary schools were given extra resources to help the higher needs students that would be attending their schools, the middle schools these students eventually fed into received no additional resources.

Additionally, South Madison parents contended that their children shouldered much of the burden of the pairing because of the disparate amount of time their children spent being bused to school. Parents were also forced to send their children to a west side middle school, rather than one in their neighborhood. (Based on a background paper titled: Middle School Overcrowding in the MMSD, written by Stephen H. Braunginn for the Madison Urban League Board of Directors, August 22, 1991)

In response to these complaints, the district sought input to develop an Alternative Middle School Program in 1985 at the Longfellow School site in South Madison. The program ensured:

• voluntary participation
• racially integrated classes
• targeting South Madison students in grades 6-8
• not substantially affecting the Integration Pairing Plan
• implementation feasibility in terms of costs, space, planning time, etc.
• geographical accessibility to South Madison middle school students

However, less than fifty students indicated an interest in attending this new school and the plan was essentially dropped.

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Middle School Overcrowding. MMSD experienced enrollment growth throughout the 1980's and by the spring of 1990, it was clear that several of the eight middle schools were at or above capacity. In September 1990, MMSD administration developed a report for the Long Range Planning Committee outlining 12 alternatives for handling enrollment increases at the middle level. This report was sent out to all schools, parent organizations, the Madison Urban League and the NAACP with a request for discussion and response by November 15, 1990. In December of 1990 the Board:

1. Approved the reopening of Sherman Middle School for the following fall
2. Decided to wait until Fall 1991 to choose between two options for the La Follette attendance area
3. Directed the administration to further study options for the West attendance area and report on those in February, 1991. (This was the option most relevant to the development of a South Madison middle school)

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West Area Space Issues. Based on Board meetings held in December of 1990, the West Area Middle School Space Study Committee was established with parent representatives and principals from all elementary and middle schools in the West Area as well as representatives from Bayview, South Madison and Allied Drive (all neighborhoods in the Madison area). The NAACP and Urban League were also invited to be involved and were given copies of all pertinent documents. Fifteen different alternatives for accommodating the anticipated enrollment increase of approximately 400 students were evaluated.

The Boundary Study committee, with some difficulty, eventually narrowed their choices down to:

1. create a middle school for the Franklin-Randall area at Longfellow; or,
2. create a middle school for the Franklin-Randall area at Midvale

The committee sought community input on these recommendations at three meetings in early May, 1991. The community meetings were well attended and showed strong support for a third middle school in the West Area. However, both of the proposed options also drew significant opposition. A third option of adding to Cherokee and/or Van Hise Middle Schools were proposed by a number of speakers. An earlier report by the learning coordinators at Cherokee and Van Hise concluded that:

"A quality middle school can be run with three smaller schools or two larger schools as long as adequate funding, space and allocations are provided."

Faced with significant disagreement over any particular third school option, and some concern about the reliability of the enrollment projections for the end of the decade, the administration recommended remaining with the existing two sites (Cherokee and Van Hise), adding on when necessary and restructuring the administration and program of the middle schools to better serve the needs of the students. This recommendation was adopted by the Long Range Planning Committee and was set for action by the Board at its June 3, 1991 meeting.

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A South Madison Middle School Proposed. However, at the June 3, 1991 Board of Education meeting, then Board Member Jim Fullin presented another three school plan which involved using Midvale as a middle school for the students in the Midvale, Lincoln and Shorewood areas and moving the K-2 program to Hoyt School. The Board delayed final action and directed the administration to report in September on the costs of Fullin's proposed plan and to develop more detailed plans for implementing the proposed two school option and Fullin's three school option.

At that same June 3rd Board meeting, the president of the Madison Urban League, Betty Franklin-Hammonds, issued a statement about the middle school alternatives supported by the MMSD administrators and board members. The MUL Board of Directors supported the following statement:

"That the Madison Urban League Board of Directors goes on record in support of an alternative that will reduce the high concentration of at-risk students in the Van Hise/Cherokee attendance areas and provide effective programming to meet the academic, social, emotional and health needs of at-risk students."

After the Board of Education tabled the third-site recommendations in that June meeting for further study, the Madison's Urban League's Program Planning Committee decided to hold a community forum. The purpose of the forum was to gather community and district perspectives for the Madison Urban League's board members to hear. After this meeting, the MUL Board was to make policy recommendations to its executive committee for review.

On August 29, 1991, a forum drawing over 100 concerned citizens, was held at Cherokee Middle School. Dr. Richard Harris, representing Mt. Zion Baptist Church Education Committee, and Regina Rhyne spoke in support of reopening a middle school in South Madison. However, Nancy Sugden, chair of the West Area Middle School Boundary Study Committee, indicated that the committee did not feel opening a new middle school in South Madison was the charge as given by the Madison Board of Education. Despite Sugden's comments, the MUL Board of Directors decided immediately after the forum to support studying opening a middle school in South Madison. The Madison Urban League recommended in October 1991 that a South Madison middle school should be opened as a means of improving student achievement.

It was their feeling that reopening a middle school in South Madison would enhance educational achievement for a sizable share of the West Area middle school population. It could also lessen the sense of alienation felt by many African-American students who're were then being bused into nearly all-white neighborhoods. Furthermore it could also reduce the barriers to parent participation in their kid's school and to student participation in extracurricular activities.

The Madison Urban League also recognized that this new South Madison school would largely serve a high needs student population. To serve these students best they recommended:

• the school be designated an "experimental school"
• the district undertake an extensive search for a principal that had demonstrated ability to design and manage an educational program that was successful with the likely population
• the District make a special effort to involve South Madison parents of school-age children in the design of its program

The NAACP, under the direction of Dr. John Odom, decided at its September 1991 executive committee meeting to support a South Madison middle school as well. At the same time, a fall conference on educational issues affecting children of color and low-income students was being sponsored by the NAACP. The South Madison middle school issue, while not the main focus, was discussed. Support for the school was generated by citizens from across the city.

The MUL, NAACP and Mount Zion Baptist Church met in coalition at an October press conference expressing unified support for consideration of a middle school in South Madison. Betty Franklin-Hammonds, Dr. John Odom and Dr. Richard Harris represented their respective organizations.

Another community forum was held October 22, 1991, at Lincoln Elementary School to gather more information from South Madison residents. This forum was sponsored by the Madison Urban League, et al. coalition along with South Madison churches and the South Madison Neighborhood Center. With about 100 attending, almost all 27 speakers supported reopening a middle school in South Madison. A survey was taken to further gauge community support and comments. Over 94% of those responding supported a middle school in South Madison.

On October 7, 1991, the Madison School Board directed the administration to review the option of a middle school in South Madison. The Middle School Retreat on October 10 and 11, 1991, helped generate some creative ideas among the Cherokee staff and parents in attendance. Their proposed plan was to provide students, parents and staff with a choice of location and educational programs.

In the meantime, spokespeople for MUL, NAACP and Mt. Zion Church met in four sessions with Madison School Superintendent James E. Travis, Assistant Superintendent for Secondary Education Shirley Baum, and Long Range Committee Chairperson Carol Carstensen. Betty Franklin-Hammonds, Dr. John Odom and Dr. Richard Harris represented their respective organizations. These meetings, each over two hours of time, resulted in agreement in concept of a South Madison middle school.

Conclusion:

The recommendations adopted by the School Board on November 18, 1991 were a combination of the plan developed at the Middle School Retreat and of the ideas from the Madison Urban League, NAACP and the Mt. Zion Church community forums. Those recommendations formed the core of the proposed middle school program for South Madison.

The recommendations adopted were:

1. No boundary changes for West Area middle schools (Cherokee and Van Hise) for 1992-93.
   
   
2. Establish Optional Attendance Areas:
   
   
   1. Lincoln Elementary Attendance Area. Students could go to Jefferson Middle School or Cherokee Middle School The attendance area was defined as the area including the shoreline of Wingra Creek and Center Street to the north, the shoreline of Lake Monona and the tracks of the Chicagao-Milwaukee-St. Paul and Pacific Railroad to the east, the West Beltline Highway to the South, and the Chicago and Northwestern Railroad to the west.
      
      
   2. Allied Drive Area Attendance Area. Students could go to Orchard Ridge Middle School or Cherokee Middle School. The attendance area included Allied Dive and Thurston Lane and Jenewein Road west of Rosenberry Road.
      
      
3. Develop a new site for middle school students, with Cherokee students drawing priority status for attendance. This site would be located in South Madison (Lincoln, Franklin, Leopold Elementary attendance areas) and would serve approximately 150-200 students. Other requirements included:
   
   
   1. students would choose to attend
   2. costs should approximate $3.5 million dollars, (the amount representing the projected costs of accommodating Cherokee students in an addition to Cherokee Middle School)
   3. Office for Civil Rights would be used for technical assistance
   4. the school would have experimental status

After the Board of Education agreed to a South Madison middle school, Dr. Harris (Mr. Zion Baptist Church), and Steve Braunginn (Madison Urban League), met with Dr. Travis, Dr. Baum and Carol Carstensen, to discuss the composition of the advisory committee. Also discussed was the purpose for this committee. It was agreed that representatives from the affected schools and organizations, district staff, and Board members would make up the advisory committee. The committee would serve to provide recommendations to the district's Long Range Planning Committee.

The South Madison Middle School Advisory Committee (SMMSAC) was created December 18, 1991 to guide the South Madison school program through its development. The superintendent reiterated the two primary purposes of the new South Madison middle school:

1. to reduce space deficiencies at Cherokee;
2. to improve educational programming for the middle level student.

SMMSAC would advise on the decision-making process for establishing the new program and would meet until the school had its own leadership and constituents.

The major issues that faced SMMSAC were:

1. Determining a school site location
2. Hiring quality consultants, many of whom were recommended to be people of color
3. Resolving budget concerns regarding: Cherokee programming, bricks and mortar for the South Madison school, and the possible impact a temporary setting would make on the already agreed $3.5 million budget
4. Determining population size for years one and two
5. Student selection criteria
6. Hiring the school administrator
7. Deciding on the type of school it should be--magnet, experimental, etc.
8. School program make-up e.g. house system, curriculum emphasis, etc.
9. Selection of subcommittees
10. Timeline for completion

The Board also provided the funds necessary for the planning and the involvement of the community in the creation of these programs.

(Based in large part on "A Background Paper for the Madison Metropolitan School District's South Madison Middle School Advisory Committee," written by S.H. Braunginn, S.W. Baum, and C. Carstensen, January 2, 1992.)

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