Kenosha Unified School District

Kenosha Unified School District 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.

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Mission statement

The Kenosha Unified School District's mission is to "provide excellent, challenging learning opportunities and experiences that prepare each student for success."

Governance

KUSD is overseen by a board of education and a superintendent, Jeffrey Weiss.
As of April 2025, the board of education members are:

Mary Modder - President
Carl Bryan - Vice President
Todd Alan Price - Clerk
Bob Tierney - Treasurer
Yolanda Adams
Sabrina Landry
Rebecca Stevens

History

Origins and early years

In early 1845, Southport pioneer Michael Frank, a strong advocate of free public education and a territorial representative for Racine County, Wisconsin, introduced a bill to establish a school district for the Southport community. 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. Despite much opposition, Frank convinced enough voters to pass the measure on April 30 by an 11-vote margin, establishing Southport School District 1.
On June 16, 1845, the first free public school in Wisconsin opened in the basement of Southport village's St. Mark's Catholic church; primary school classes were also held in various local buildings, including in an existing "white school house" dating from 1841. Village voters, however, refused to fully fund a public school system, and in 1846, the north ward of Southport seceded to form a second school district. With effect from February 10, 1847, Southport School District 2 received territorial approval to levy a tax to purchase land and build a schoolhouse. 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. Upon opening, it was possibly the first free public school in Wisconsin to be housed in a dedicated building.
On October 18, 1847, voters in School District 1 passed the required tax levy for a dedicated school building. Consequently, the first free graded public school in the community and state was built, opening on July 31, 1849. Although the new institution was designated a "high school," it enrolled all students from elementary school-age and older. By 1854, Michael Frank, then the Kenosha school superintendent, proposed merging both city school districts to reduce costs, with the "North Ward" school to be used for primary school students and the existing high school to be enlarged. 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. This measure was affirmed from March 2, 1857, when it was incorporated into an act to amend the city charter. 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. In 1861, the first high school graduates received diplomas.
An insufficiently thorough curriculum and the effects of the Civil War resulted in low enrollments and few high school graduates through the 1880s. In January 1878, 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. In 1884, the old North Ward school building - now the North Side School- was replaced. In 1889, the University of Wisconsin accredited the Kenosha High School. In July 1890, the first high school building and the "New Building" were demolished and replaced with a larger facility; the new high school, designed by Frank Shaver Allen, opened in September 1891, but continued to house students from the first through 12th grades.

Development and expansion

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. In response, the Kenosha school district built three more grade schools by 1900, by which time the second North Side/Second Ward school building had become crowded. A replacement Second Ward school was then built, opening in September 1902 as the Weiskopf School. 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. The first kindergartens opened in fall 1905 at the Gillett and Durkee grade schools. 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, and who subsequently designed the original Edward Bain and the Columbus grade schools.
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. Her tenure, which lasted until her retirement in 1921, established a modern Kenosha school district, witnessing the introduction of more comprehensive curricula, special education and vocational training programs, and consistent, higher standards for teachers. In 1911, the district pioneered an "open-air school" concept to address 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. Continued growth led to the introduction of portable classrooms in the 1913–14 school year. In 1915, to improve overall educational standards, Bradford introduced the "6-3-3" educational model; new junior high school programs first admitted students in fall 1916. 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 opened in February 1917.
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. In February 1926, a new and larger central high school replaced the former building, which was retained as an annex to the new structure. In 1929, through the efforts of local disabled rights advocate Dorothy Schackmuth, the Kenosha Orthopedic School opened as the first Wisconsin school built for special-needs education; it served students with disabilities until 1962. 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. From then on until the early 1950s, the effects of the Depression and World War II prevented significant investment in the school system. In 1940, Kenosha High School was renamed Bradford High after the district's former leader.

Growth, consolidation, and unification

Kenosha and its school district grew expansively in the postwar years. During the tenure of Harold R. Maurer, superintendent from 1949 to 1967, the student population more than doubled to 20,000, staff numbers tripled to 1,200, and the number of school buildings doubled to 34. With enrollment surging, a second Kenosha high school, Tremper High, opened in September 1964. Initially sharing facilities with the Bradford high school, Tremper high school was installed in a new, dedicated building on December 7, 1964.
Reflecting local changes, the district also became more diverse during this period. Although Kenosha had long had Black and Latino communities, whose children had received fully integrated educations in city schools, both communities remained small until the postwar period due to widespread local housing and employment discrimination, which had deterred many from those communities from moving to the city. The situation subsequently began to improve, and a local chapter of the NAACP was established in 1950; its advocacy led to Ann L. Williams becoming Kenosha's first Black public school teacher in 1955. In 1956, Kenosha native Mary Lou Mahone became the first Black school PTA president, at Weiskopf Elementary. The numbers of Black and Latino students notably increased during the 1960s.
The region also experienced the 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 Kenosha high schools, for which the town governments paid fees to the Kenosha school district. In 1959, newly enacted state legislation phased out tuition-school systems. 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 all three local governments initially favored this proposal, 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. 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. As opposed to a unified district, the proposed joint district would have its budgets and necessary tax levies determined by the Kenosha city council and the town chairs of Pleasant Prairie and Somers. After Pleasant Prairie and Somers voters rejected building their own high school, the leadership of both communities merged their school systems into a joint district with Kenosha on March 29.
The new "Joint School District No. 1, City of Kenosha and Towns of Pleasant Prairie and Somers" was formed with effect from June 18, 1965. On July 1, 13 former Kenosha county elementary school districts were dissolved as part of the consolidation process, with the former Kenosha city school board assuming charge of the new joint district until elections could be held the following year. Despite the formation of a joint district, the district parent-teacher association continued to advocate for a unified district. By January 16, 1967, the association had secured the support of enough local residents to request a motion to form a unified district either be adopted by city and town leaders, or again be included in a referendum that April. On February 6, the fiscal control board for Kenosha, Pleasant Prairie, and Somers declined to form a unified district, instead including the measure in the scheduled referendum. On April 4, the conversion to a unified district was approved with strong voter support, resulting in the formation of Kenosha Unified School District No. 1 on June 27, 1967.

Subsequent history

By 1970, KUSD comprised the Bradford and Tremper high schools, five junior high schools, four county schools providing instruction through eighth grade, and 26 elementary schools. After voters rejected bond referendums to build a third high school in 1970, a high-school level night school program was established from September 8, 1971 as a temporary measure to alleviate overcrowding; the program was primarily based at Tremper. From February 3, 1975, the night high school was moved to a former University of Wisconsin–Parkside extension building, which had been leased to KUSD by its owners, the city and county of Kenosha.
On April 28, 1975, KUSD established an alternative high school program, which incorporated the previously established night high school. The alternative high school, named after Walter Reuther on June 16, opened on September 3. On February 21, 1978, voters approved a bond issue to purchase and convert the Reuther Alternative High facilities to house a full high school program; the measure involved the Bradford and Reuther High schools exchanging their facilities. Remodeling at the new Bradford High site began on May 9, 1979, and was largely completed on August 26, 1980, when both schools fully moved into their new locations. As part of the project, the dilapidated 1891/1907 annex to the former Bradford and new Reuther high school building was demolished in July 1980.
In October 1985, administrative offices were consolidated and moved into a new Educational Support Center. With the local population and student enrollments increasing from the late 1980s, a KUSD planning committee was established in 1990, which recommended numerous school expansion and construction projects, including building a fourth high school by about 1996. On December 15, 1994, the school board voted to move from a junior high to a middle school educational system, which was implemented beginning September 1998. On September 2, 1998, Indian Trail Academy opened as the district's fourth high school and its first magnet high school. Since 2010, when enrollment peaked at 23,122 students, KUSD has experienced declining enrollment due to falling birthrates.

Schools

KUSD encompasses sixteen elementary schools, four middle schools, three high schools, seven choice schools, and an eSchool program. 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.

Elementary schools

Bose Elementary School
Brass Community School
Curtis A. Strange Elementary School
Forest Park Elementary School
Frank Elementary School
Grant Elementary School
Grewenow Elementary School
Harvey Elementary School
Jeffery Elementary School
Nash Elementary School
Pleasant Prairie Elementary School
Prairie Lane Elementary School
Roosevelt Elementary School
Somers Elementary School
Southport Elementary School
Whittier Elementary School

Middle schools

Bullen Middle School
Lance Middle School
Mahone Middle School
Washington Middle School

High schools

Choice schools

Cesar E. Chavez Learning Station
Harborside Academy
Kenosha School of Language
LakeView K-8 Academy
LakeView Technology Academy
Reuther Central High School
Ruth Harman Academy

Other programs

Early Childhood
Even Start
Hillcrest School
Kenosha eSchool
STEP

Former schools

School	Opened	Closed as school	Notes
Gurdin Gillett Elementary School	March 5, 1900	January 30, 1939	Closed to reduce operating costs. Converted to temporary housing during World War II. Demolished June-July 1953.
Reuben Deming School	January 12, 1899	June 1962	Closed as school and converted to district offices; in use until building closed September 1982. Sold to community support organization; served as food pantry and homeless shelter from 1985 to 2017. Demolished 2018.
Hannan Elementary School		June 1969	Final structure built 1910. Utilized as district office space until building closed August 1977. Sold June 1978. Demolished September 9–13, 1985
Anton Weiskopf Elementary School	December 6, 1847	June 1977	Opened as North Ward School in December 1847, later known as North Side School. Moved to larger facilities in 1884 and again in 1902, when new building designed by Chandler and Park built. Renamed Anton Weiskopf School when new building opened September 8, 1902. Closed as school and used for district offices until building closed July 1981. Sold November 1987. Converted into apartments in 2019.
Berryville Elementary School	1855	June 1980	Final structure opened 1925. Sold February 27, 1991 and subsequently demolished.
Charles Durkee Elementary School	January 7, 1878	June 10, 2008	Rebuilt and new building opened January 9, 1905. Sold in 2006, then merged with Lincoln Elementary School after 2007–08 school year. Demolished from October 24 through November 2008.
Lincoln Elementary School	September 5, 1916	June 10, 2008	Building opened February 1, 1917. Merged with Durkee Elementary School to form Brass Community School.
Columbus Elementary School	April 18, 1910	June 13, 2011
McKinley Middle School	September 12, 1921	June 11, 2012
Edward Bain Elementary School/Edward Bain School of Language and Art	September 9, 1907	June 12, 2024	Original building closed June 2004, transferred to city November 2005, and demolished March-April 2018. New building opened September 2004 and used until school's closure in June 2024; building then remodeled for use by Washington Middle School.
Lincoln Middle School	September 5, 1916	June 12, 2024	Original building opened February 1, 1917. Shared with Lincoln Elementary until purpose-built Lincoln Junior High building opened September 3, 1930.
Jefferson Elementary School	March 12, 1924	June 12, 2024
McKinley Elementary School	September 6, 1950	June 12, 2024
Jane Vernon Elementary School	September 6, 1961	June 12, 2024
Irving F. Stocker Elementary School	September 1, 1993	June 12, 2024

Music

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.
The Orchestra Festival has been a part of Kenosha history since 1963. 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, 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".

Controversies

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.
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. However, as of 2023 the dress code has changed and all of the previously mentioned are now allowed.