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Urban Day School is an outgrowth of St.
Benedict the Moor School, founded by the
Capuchin Brothers in 1913 to serve inner
city children. The school was staffed by
the Dominican Sisters of Racine and its
mission was (and remains) to serve
Milwaukee's central city population. In
the mid-1960's the Capuchin Brothers were
no longer able to operate the school and
closed its doors.
Though St. Benedict the Moor School had
been a Catholic school, the Dominicans, along
with a small committee of lay leaders, decided
to reopen the school as Urban Day School,
Milwaukee's first nonsectarian community
private elementary school. The school reopened
in 1967 and was supported by contributions,
tuition paid by parents according to their
means, volunteer Racine Dominican teachers,
and the volunteer efforts of parents and
friends of the school. The school received no
government help. Urban Day School's roots are
truly those of a community supported school.
Urban Day School was forced to move several
times and in 1969 rented space in St.
Michael's parish school at 24th Avenue and
Vliet Street. The parish sold the school
building to Urban Day School in 1982 for the
sum of $1.00. A community fund drive paid for
badly needed building repairs and the school
finally had a permanent home.
Individualized instruction and parent
involvement were enthusiastically received by
the community and were Urban Day School
hallmarks from the beginning. Word of Urban
Day School's academic success and high
graduation rates spread and the school's
popularity grew.
Day Care was added in the 1970's and during
the 1980's and 1990's, at the request of
parents and the community, Urban Day School
added Head Start, enriched its curriculum, and
opened a second campus at 12th and Atkinson. A
library and Middle School were added to the
12th Street campus in 2003. Today the Urban
Day Early Childhood Education Program
includes Head Start, Day Care, Before and
After School Care, and Wrap-around Day Care.
Urban Day School's vision and continued
capacity for community school leadership are
central to its history of parental choice in
education. Inspired by the quality education
her four children receive at Urban Day School,
Wisconsin State Assemblywoman Annette Polly
Williams introduced legislation in favor of
government funding of education in
parent-selected community schools. As a result
of that legislation, the Milwaukee Parental
Choice Program (MPCP) came into being in 1990,
gaining national recognition for the city and
for Urban Day School. Few would argue with the
fact that parental choice has stimulated
positive change in Milwaukee education. Urban
Day School is integral to the history and the
continued success of parental choice in
Milwaukee.
On April 9th
2010 Urban Day became a Charter school.
Building stronger partnerships, academic
programs for children, positive staff of
teachers and instruction tailored to each
student's needs. Over nearly 40 years Urban
Day School has become a comprehensive
education resource for Milwaukee's inner city.
Today Urban Day School serves more than 900
central city children in its Elementary and
Early Childhood Education programs.
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