Mission statement
The Kenosha Unified School District's mission is to "provide excellent, challenging learning opportunities and experiences that prepare each student for success." [3]
| Kenosha Unified School District | |
|---|---|
| Address | |
3600 52nd Street , Wisconsin , 53144United States | |
| Coordinates | 42°35′21″N87°51′09″W / 42.58917°N 87.85250°W |
| District information | |
| Type | Public school district |
| Grades | Pre-K – 12 |
| Established | 1967 |
| Superintendent | Dr. Jeffrey Weiss |
| Chair of the board | Mary Modder |
| Schools | 41 [1] |
| NCES District ID | 5507320 [1] |
| Students and staff | |
| Enrollment | 18,719 (2023–2024) [1] |
| Teachers | 1,320.22 [1] |
| Staff | 2,370.31 [1] |
| Student–teacher ratio | 14.18 [1] |
| Other information | |
| Website | www |
Kenosha Unified School District (KUSD) is the school district serving the city of Kenosha, the village and town of Somers, and the village of Pleasant Prairie in Wisconsin. With an enrollment of over 18,000 students, it is among the five largest public school districts in the state. [2]
The Kenosha Unified School District's mission is to "provide excellent, challenging learning opportunities and experiences that prepare each student for success." [3]
KUSD is overseen by a board of education and a superintendent, Dr. Jeffrey Weiss.
As of April 2025, the board of education members are:
In early 1845, Southport pioneer Michael Frank, a strong advocate for free public education and a territorial representative for Racine County, Wisconsin, [a] introduced a bill to establish a school district for the Southport (Kenosha from 1850) community. [5] The legislation, intended to give local voters the authority to enact a $2,000 tax levy for erecting and maintaining a school building and paying teachers, was approved on February 24, 1845, subject to passage of a local referendum by May 1. [6] Despite much opposition, Frank convinced enough voters to pass the measure on April 30 by an 11-vote margin, establishing Southport School District 1. [7]
On June 16, 1845, the first free public school in Wisconsin opened in the basement of Southport village's St. Mark's Catholic church. [7] [8] Public school classes at the primary school level were also held in various local buildings, including in an existing "white school house" dating from 1841. [5] Village voters, however, refused to sanction funds to sustain a public school system, and in 1846, the north ward of Southport seceded to form a second school district. [5] With effect from February 10, 1847, Southport School District 2 received territorial approval to levy a tax to purchase land and build a schoolhouse. [9] This school, housed in a two-story building and subsequently known as the "North Ward School," opened on December 6, 1847 with an initial class of 80 students. [10] Upon opening, it was possibly the first free public school in Wisconsin to be housed in a dedicated building. [b] [12]
On October 18, 1847, voters in School District 1 voted upon and passed the required tax levy for a dedicated school building. [13] Consequently, the first free graded public school in the community and state was built, opening on July 31, 1849. [5] [7] Although the new institution was designated a "high school," it enrolled all students from elementary school-age and older. [5] By 1854, Michael Frank, then the Kenosha school superintendent, proposed merging both city school districts to reduce overall costs, with the "North Ward" school to be used for primary school students and the existing high school to be enlarged. [14] Effective April 1, 1856, the two districts were combined into the City of Kenosha Public School District, incorporating portions of Pleasant Prairie and Somers; a new city board of education was constituted that September. [15] This measure was affirmed from March 2, 1857, when it was incorporated into an act to amend the city charter. [16] In the summer of 1856, a new building - known simply as the "New Building" - was built to the east of the high school to house elementary-age students. [17] In 1861, the first high school graduates received diplomas. [18]
An insufficiently thorough curriculum and the effects of the Civil War resulted in low enrollments and few high school graduates through the 1880s. [18] In January 1878, [19] the Durkee primary school opened; named after Kenosha pioneer and later U.S. senator Charles Durkee, it was the first school in the district named for an individual. [20] In 1884, the old North Ward school building - now the North Side School- was replaced. [21] In 1889, the University of Wisconsin accredited the Kenosha High School. [18] In July 1890, the first high school building and the "New Building" were demolished and replaced with a larger facility which opened in September 1891, but which continued to house students from the first through 12th grades. [18]
From 1890, and for the next four decades, Kenosha's population doubled each decade as the region industrialized and drew numerous immigrants, resulting in growing enrollment. [23] In response, the Kenosha school district built three more grade schools by 1900, [17] by which time the second North Side/Second Ward school building had become crowded. [24] A replacement Second Ward school was then built, opening in September 1902 as the Weiskopf School. [25] In 1904, the previously part-time post of city schools superintendent was established on a permanent basis, with P. J. Zimmers as the first regular officeholder. [18] The first kindergartens opened in fall 1905 at the Gillett and Durkee grade schools. [17] [26] In 1906–07, a wing was added to the west side of the high school; the wing was designed by noted architect T. Charles Gaastra, who had also designed a new Durkee school building (1905), and who subsequently designed the original Edward Bain (1907) and the Columbus (1910) grade schools. [17]
In 1910, Zimmers was succeeded by Mary D. Bradford, the first woman to lead a Wisconsin school district and one of only a few female school superintendents nationwide. [18] Her tenure, which lasted until her retirement in 1921, established the modern Kenosha school district, including the introduction of more comprehensive curricula, special education and vocational training programs, and consistent, higher standards for teachers. [27] [28] In 1911, the district pioneered an "open-air school" concept to address concerns over high rates of malnutrition and illness among students; the program, which taught students in a portable structure and lasted until the 1940s, provided students with nutritious meals and plenty of fresh air. [29] Continued growth led to the introduction of portable classrooms in the 1913–14 school year. [23] [30] In 1915, to improve overall educational standards, Bradford introduced the "6-3-3" (elementary, junior high, and senior high) educational model; the new junior high school programs first admitted students in fall 1916. [28] [31] Both junior high programs, the Lincoln Junior High and the Frank Junior High, respectively, were housed in the Frank elementary school until the Lincoln Junior High building was built and opened in February 1917. [32]
Additional schools were built to keep pace with enrollment, which by 1925 had drastically risen to nearly 11,000 students, up from 4,000 in 1916. [23] In February 1926, a new and larger central high school replaced the former building, which was retained as an annex to the new structure. [33] In 1929, through the efforts of local disabled rights advocate Dorothy Schackmuth (1894–1951), the Kenosha Orthopedic School opened as the first Wisconsin school built for special-needs education; it served students with disabilities until 1962. [34] [35] With the opening of a new Lincoln junior high school in 1930, the Kenosha school district consisted of 17 schools: the high school, three junior high schools, 11 elementary schools, one ungraded primary school, and the Orthopedic School. [36] [37] From then on until the early 1950s, the effects of the Depression and World War II prevented significant investment in the school system. [38] [39]
Kenosha and its school district continued their expansive growth in the postwar years. During the tenure of Harold R. Maurer (1902–1976), superintendent from 1949 to 1967, [40] the student population more than doubled to 20,000, staff numbers tripled to 1,200, and the number of school buildings doubled to 34. [39] This growth was also facilitated by the region's gradual consolidation and restructuring of educational systems.
Into the 1960s, most students from the towns of Pleasant Prairie and Somers came under a "tuition system," in which they attended their respective town's schools through the eighth grade, then attended the Kenosha high school, for which the town governments paid fees to the Kenosha school district. [41] [42] In 1959, newly enacted state legislation phased out tuition-school systems. [41] The following year, a special Pleasant Prairie-Somers committee recommended the townships form a unified school district with the Kenosha city schools. In the unified district model, the new school district would have full control over its finances and be able to levy taxes for funding. Though initially favorably received by all three local governments, Kenosha reversed its endorsement following city elections in 1962. In a September 8, 1964 referendum, Kenosha voters rejected forming a unified district with the other two communities. [42] Both Pleasant Prairie and Somers were eventually given a March 8, 1965 deadline to either form a K-12 school district or become a joint district along with Kenosha. [43] [44]
KUSD encompasses sixteen elementary schools, four middle schools, three high schools, six choice schools, an eSchool program, and one charter school. [45] In addition to these, Hillcrest School provides an alternative for expelled middle and high school students who need to address behavioral, as well as academic changes. [46]
The Kenosha public school orchestra program starts at the fifth-grade level and continues into high school. The concert and symphony orchestras of the city's high schools present fall and spring concerts. In addition, the Tremper High School Golden Strings ensemble has performed throughout the United States and internationally since the early 1970s. [47]
The Orchestra Festival has been a part of Kenosha history since 1963. [48] Typically held in March each year, it showcases student performances at every level. Each year a guest conductor works with all of the ensembles, and awards are presented for music camps, teacher service and financial support, among other achievements.
The Band-O-Rama is a citywide school concert held annually since the mid-1950s, [49] featuring the Kenosha Unified School District's band program, totaling about 1,700 students in grades 5 through 12. As with the Orchestra Festival, the Band-O-Rama features a guest conductor. The show typically begins with an opening fanfare, followed by the national anthem, after which each grade level is showcased one by one with several selections. At the finale, the massed bands play Sousa's "Stars and Stripes Forever". [49]
In 2018, the Kenosha Unified School District settled a lawsuit for $800,000 that had been filed by a transgender male student who had been banned from the boys' restroom. The school district had previously lost in the Seventh U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. [50]
Schools in the area have been criticized by the American Civil Liberties Union for applying a sexist dress code. Girls have been sent home for wearing tank tops, leggings and yoga pants while sweatpants and basketball shorts for boys were permitted. [51] However, as of 2023 the dress code has changed and all of the previously mentioned are now allowed. [52]
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link){{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link) | International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
