Assata High School to Close in November

The Milwaukee charter-style school serving at-risk students will shut its doors after enrollment declines, pending a school board vote.

Updated on Nov. 10, 2026 in Secondary Education

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Assata High School plans to close effective November 30, 2026, citing declining enrollment, according to a letter sent November 3 by its board chair to Milwaukee Public Schools Superintendent Brenda Cassellius. The Milwaukee School Board is scheduled to consider mutual termination of its contract with Assata on November 12, 2026.

Why it matters

The school has served Milwaukee students at risk of not graduating since 1992, and its closure affects families who must now find new schools. Its enrollment dropped to 78 in 2024 and rose to 83 in 2025, below the 90 to 130 students it typically enrolled over two decades.

Milwaukee Public Schools allocated about $13,916 per Assata student this school year and projects saving about $4,894 per student, or about $303,000 total, if the school closes. The Assata board's 2025 tax filing shows spending about $370,000 more than revenue, leaving a negative net position of about $79,000, and the board agreed to pay about $132,000 to lease the building this year.

The players

Milwaukee Public Schools

The Milwaukee Public Schools district funds and oversees Assata through its contract and has been working with families to place each student in a new school.

Brenda Cassellius

Brenda Cassellius is the superintendent of Milwaukee Public Schools, to whom Assata's board chair sent the closure announcement.

Tony Kearney

Tony Kearney is the board chair of Assata High School who announced the school's closure in a November 3 letter.

The details

Assata is a partnership school run as a nonprofit by an independent board and funded through a contract with Milwaukee Public Schools. Board chair Tony Kearney announced the closure in a November 3 letter. The Milwaukee School Board must approve the mutual termination of the contract, after which Assata officials will have 30 days to vacate the building.

2025: Assata enrollment rose to 83 students, up from 78 in 2024.
November 3, 2026: Kearney sent the closure letter to Superintendent Brenda Cassellius.
November 12, 2026: The Milwaukee School Board will consider terminating the Assata contract.
November 30, 2026: The closure becomes effective.
30 days after board approval: Assata must vacate the building.

Season Trajectory

Assata's closure reflects the vulnerability of Milwaukee's contract-based partnership schools, which depend on enrollment to justify district funding. The decision signals how enrollment declines can end long-running alternative programs that have served at-risk students since 1992.

Families of current Assata students should expect to be contacted by Milwaukee Public Schools staff about placement at a new school before the November 30 closure. Former students and parents should watch for the board's November 12 decision, which determines when the building must be vacated.

The takeaway

Assata's closure shows how declining enrollment can end an alternative school that has served at-risk students for decades. Families affected by the decision should confirm their child's placement with Milwaukee Public Schools before the November 30 effective date.

What happens next

The Milwaukee School Board will consider the mutual termination of Assata's contract on November 12, 2026, and the closure takes effect November 30, 2026.