New Madison charter school planned, focusing on the trades #CashNews.co

Under the plan being developed by Madison-area philanthropists and real estate developers John and Jo Ellen McKenzie, the Pathway Career and College Academy would be a be STEM-focused charter high school. Instruction would prepare students for careers as plumbers, carpenters, HVAC technicians, electricians and more. The school also would emphasize personal finance and investing, civics, entrepreneurship, communication and public speaking, along with teaching “soft skills” like self awareness, conflict resolution and stress management.

The school would build on the mission of the McKenzie Regional Workforce Center — named for John McKenzie, who sparked the idea — in Fitchburg, which opened in partnership with the Boys & Girls Clubs of Dane County in 2023.

The philosophy behind Pathway is to give college-bound students some experience to help them decide what to study and to give students not attending college hands-on experience working in the trades, all with the chance to earn a salary while still in school.

Beginning in 11th grade, Pathway students could complete paid internships and earn college credit through dual enrollment.

“What we’re really after with all of this is attacking the cycle of poverty. That cycle of poverty exists because kids aren’t given direction, aren’t given options and aren’t given any mentoring,” John McKenzie said. “The way I look at it is if you got a solid job that pays well, that you’re well adapted for, then you’re on your way to getting off of the cycle of poverty.”

“We started talking about the idea of exposing kids to all the workforce options that are out there, and how valuable that would be to kids that go to college or don’t go to college,” McKenzie said.

Charter schools are public schools governed by a board of directors. The schools are created through a business-like contract or “charter” between the governance board and the sponsoring school board. School districts may authorize charters, as can any UW System school or any technical college board.

The Wisconsin charter school law gives charter schools freedom from most state rules and regulations in exchange for greater accountability for results. The charter defines the missions and methods of the school.

Pathway’s leaders hope to secure a charter agreement with the Madison School District, but that’s a lengthy process and the school district has rejected charter school proposals in the past.

After the proposal is submitted to the School District — which is on track to happen Aug. 30 — a review committee will rate the application based on a rubric and forward the proposal to the operations work group. The School Board can invite the applicant to submit a more detailed proposal, according to district policy. After a public hearing, the superintendent submits a recommendation on the application. But it’s up to the School Board to decide whether to ultimately establish a charter agreement.

Organizers are aiming for the school to open in the fall of 2026 with a cohort of 150 ninth-grade students. Enrollment would ideally grow each year, McKenzie said, and be at 600 high school students by 2029.

Enrollment would be decided by a lottery system.

A location for the school has not been identified, he said. It won’t operate out of the existing workforce center in Fitchburg, as the plan is to continue running that facility as is.

He said constructing a new building could cost about $30 million. Buying commercial office space or operating out of an existing Madison school are other, less-expensive options.

McKenzie approached Paul Vallas, the former CEO of Chicago Public Schools and the School District of Philadelphia, to help develop the charter school proposal. Vallas also leads the McKenzie Foundation and has been a long-time proponent of charter schools and work-study programs.

Michael Johnson, the CEO of the Boys and Girls Clubs of Dane County, is involved, too.

“The goal here, through the foundation, through the Boys and Girls Club, by being in partnership with the charter school, is also to be able to connect kids who go to other schools in Madison to work opportunities, or work study opportunities,” Vallas said.

The school also would focus on building literacy and math skills through “boot camps” in the first year of enrollment. Beyond this bootcamp, students would get grade-level English instruction through the Odell High School Literacy Program, according to the proposal.

The Madison School District already operates two charter schools, Nuestro Mundo Community School and Badger Rock Middle School, but has fought against others.

Charter schools use state of Wisconsin per-pupil funding along with federal aid to create a yearly operating budget. When parents decide to send their child to a charter school, the money follows the student. New charter schools also are eligible for planning grants.

For the proposed Pathway Career and College Academy, all funds would flow through the authorizing school district to the charter school. The district would employ all personnel for the charter school.

McKenzie said he has met with teacher union President Mike Jones, Superintendent Joe Gothard and Deputy Superintendent TJ McCray about the proposal. He said those meetings have been positive, but he’s prepared for the school to be controversial.

“That’s how everything in Madison is, but as a real estate developer I have an understanding of that process,” he said.

For a proposal submitted on Aug. 30, the School Board would be on-track for a final vote at their regular board meeting in March 2025, district spokesperson Edell Fiedler told the Wisconsin State Journal via email.

Fiedler said charter schools need to support the district’s mission and belief statements as provided by law.

“The district looks to charter schools to drive school-wide innovation for the rest of the school district,” she wrote.

If the district rejects the proposal, McKenzie and Vallas said a charter agreement with the Universities of Wisconsin is a second, but not preferable, option.

“We want to be a part of the district, not separate,” Vallas said.

The Madison School Board does not accept every charter proposal that comes its way, sometimes to the point of being hostile.

Documents show district officials in 2019 attempted to derail the proposed Arbor Community School, which hoped to get a charter agreement with the UW system, which ultimately rejected the application.

In 2011, the Madison School Board rejected the proposal for what has now become One City Schools. The board rejected a different charter proposal in 2017 for what now is the Isthmus Montessori Academy.

Both those schools, and the Milestone Democratic School, now operate through a charter with UW Office of Educational Opportunity.