The University School of Milwaukee (often abbreviated to USM) is an independent

pre-kindergarten Pre-kindergarten (also called Pre-K or PK) is a voluntary classroom-based preschool program for children below the age of five in the United States, Canada, Turkey and Greece (when kindergarten starts). It may be delivered through a preschool ...

through

secondary Secondary may refer to: Science and nature * Secondary emission, of particles ** Secondary electrons, electrons generated as ionization products * The secondary winding, or the electrical or electronic circuit connected to the secondary winding i ...

preparatory school in River Hills and

Milwaukee Milwaukee ( ), officially the City of Milwaukee, is both the most populous and most densely populated city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the county seat of Milwaukee County. With a population of 577,222 at the 2020 census, Milwaukee is ...

Wisconsin Wisconsin () is a state in the upper Midwestern United States. Wisconsin is the 25th-largest state by total area and the 20th-most populous. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake M ...

. It was founded as the result of the merger of three schools, Milwaukee Country Day School, Milwaukee Downer Seminary, and Milwaukee University School. USM is accredited by the Independent Schools Association of the Central States and is a member of the

National Association of Independent Schools The National Association of Independent Schools (NAIS) is a U.S.-based membership organization for private, nonprofit, K-12 schools. Founded in 1962, NAIS represents independent schools and associations in the United States, including day, boar ...

(NAIS).

History

Milwaukee University School, the oldest of the three schools that merged as University School of Milwaukee, was founded in 1851 as the German-English Academy () by a group of Milwaukee

German Americans German Americans (german: Deutschamerikaner, ) are Americans who have full or partial German ancestry. With an estimated size of approximately 43 million in 2019, German Americans are the largest of the self-reported ancestry groups by the Unite ...

that included Peter Engelmann and hardware wholesaler

William Frankfurth William Frankfurth (1829–1891) was a German American businessman and founder of the ''German-English Academy '' (today University School of Milwaukee). Biography Frankfurth was born in Gudensberg, Hesse, Germany. He joined the Freie Gemeinde o ...

. The Academy offered classes that taught the

German language German ( ) is a West Germanic languages, West Germanic language mainly spoken in Central Europe. It is the most widely spoken and Official language, official or co-official language in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Liechtenstein, and the Ita ...

and

literature Literature is any collection of written work, but it is also used more narrowly for writings specifically considered to be an art form, especially prose fiction, drama, and poetry. In recent centuries, the definition has expanded to include ...

, as well as

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

. In 1891, the academy moved to the German-English Academy Building in downtown Milwaukee. The institution changed its name in 1917 to Milwaukee University School because of anti-German prejudice that occurred during

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

. In 1964, the Milwaukee University School, the

Milwaukee Country Day School Milwaukee Country Day School (MCD) was a country day school in Whitefish Bay, Wisconsin, United States. It operated under the headmastership of A. Gledden Santer. The school was begun in 1917, "incorporated by leading citizens.". According to alumn ...

and Milwaukee-Downer Seminary merged to become the University School of Milwaukee. It operated from two campuses, North and South, one in

Whitefish Bay Whitefish Bay is a large bay on the eastern end of Lake Superior between Michigan, United States, and Ontario, Canada. It is located between Whitefish Point in Michigan and Whiskey Point along the more rugged, largely wilderness Canadian Shield o ...

and the other in River Hills. In 1985, the two combined into one campus at the River Hills location, serving students from pre-kindergarten through twelfth grade.

Lawsuit

On Monday, April 18, 2022, Craig and Kelly Robinson filed a civil lawsuit alleging that "the school acted impermissibly to silence and to retaliate against those adversely affected by, and raising concerns about, the school's unfair treatment of students of color and underrepresented students." Earlier, the couple had given feedback towards the school based on racial and ethnic stereotypes in classroom assignments. Their children, then 9 and 11, were later removed from enrollment at the school. Craig Robinson stated, "We feel like they were retaliated against because we brought up some issues that were sensitive to the administration." The school issued a statement responding to the allegations, "USM's enrollment decisions had nothing to do with complaints of inequity or discrimination." More families later came out with allegations of discrimination.

Athletics

The school's athletic teams follow a no-cut athletic policy, which allows every student to participate in any sport. The athletic program begins in fifth grade, when students become eligible for a number of teams, including basketball, track and field, football and several intramural sports. The Middle School offers 13 interscholastic sports and intramural options. The Upper School has 24

varsity team In most English-speaking countries, varsity is an abbreviation of the word ''university''. In the United States and Canada, the term is mostly used in relation to sports teams. Varsity in the United Kingdom In the United Kingdom, varsity team ...

s level sports, in addition to a number of junior varsity programs.

Notable alumni

* Rakesh "Raj" Bhala, international trade law and Islamic law expert and professor at the University of Kansas *

Raj Chetty Nadarajan "Raj" Chetty (born August 4, 1979) is an Indian-American economist and the William A. Ackman Professor of Public Economics at Harvard University. Some of Chetty's recent papers have studied equality of opportunity in the United States an ...

, professor of economics at

Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...

Adam Ciralsky Adam Ciralsky (born September 22, 1971) is an American journalist, television and film producer and attorney. Many of his original reports have been optioned and adapted for film and television through his production company P3 Media. In 2018, Cir ...

, journalist, television and film producer, and attorney *

James Graaskamp James A. "Jim" Graaskamp (1933–1988) was a professor and department chairman of real estate at the University of Wisconsin–Madison who helped establish his field within the realm of academia. He is credited with developing a multi-faceted ethi ...

, professor of real estate analysis and appraisal *

Carl Holty Carl Robert Holty (1900–1973) was a German-born American abstract painter. Raised in Wisconsin, he was the first major abstract painter to gain notoriety from the state. Harold Rosenberg described Holty as "a figure of our art history," known ...

, painter * Bob Jake, basketball player and physician * William Kasik, businessman and member of the

Wisconsin State Assembly The Wisconsin State Assembly is the lower house of the Wisconsin Legislature. Together with the smaller Wisconsin Senate, the two constitute the legislative branch of the U.S. state of Wisconsin. Representatives are elected for two-year terms, ...

Robert Koehler Robert Koehler (November 28, 1850 – April 23, 1917) was a German-born Painting, painter and art teacher who spent most of his career in the United States. Biography Koehler was born in Hamburg; his family spelled their name Köhler until ...

, artist and teacher *

Von Mansfield Von Mansfield (born July 12, 1960) is a former defensive back in the National Football League. Biography Mansfield was born Edward Von Mansfield on July 12, 1960 in Anderson, Indiana. Professional career Mansfield was drafted in the fifth round ...

, football player * Lane MacDonald, hockey player *

Sue Mingus Susan Mingus (née Graham, April 2, 1930 – September 24, 2022) was an American record producer and band manager. She was married to jazz composer and bassist Charles Mingus, and formed tribute groups to perform his music after his death. She ...

, record producer and band manager *

George Rathmann George Blatz Rathmann (1927–2012) was an American chemist, biologist, pioneer in biotechnology and corporate executive. In 1980 he co-founded and served as the first CEO of Amgen, and later founded Icos. Background Rathmann was born on Dece ...

, chemist and biotechnology executive, (co-founder of

Amgen Amgen Inc. (formerly Applied Molecular Genetics Inc.) is an American multinational biopharmaceutical Corporation, company headquartered in Thousand Oaks, California. One of the world's largest independent biotechnology companies, Amgen was esta ...

) * Henry Reuss, member of Congress *

Mark Rylance Sir David Mark Rylance Waters (born 18 January 1960) is a British actor, playwright and theatre director. He is known for his roles on stage and screen having received numerous awards including an Academy Award, three BAFTA Awards, two Laurenc ...

, Academy Award winner for best supporting actor; stage director * Wendy Selig-Prieb, businesswoman, former president of the

Milwaukee Brewers The Milwaukee Brewers are an American professional baseball team based in Milwaukee. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) National League Central, Central division. The Brewers are named for t ...

James Sensenbrenner Frank James Sensenbrenner Jr. (; born June 14, 1943) is an American politician who represented in the United States House of Representatives from 1979 to 2021 (numbered as the 9th district until 2003). He is a member of the Republican Party. ...

, member of Congress * Erich C. Stern, lawyer and Wisconsin State Representative *

August Uihlein August Uihlein (1842–1911) was a German-American brewer, business executive and horse breeder. Early life August Uihlein was born Georg Karl August Ühlein in 1842 in Wertheim am Main, Grand Duchy of Baden, which is now in Germany. He had a bro ...

, brewer and later owner of the

Joseph Schlitz Brewing Company The Joseph Schlitz Brewing Company was an American brewery based in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and once the largest producer of beer in the United States. Its namesake beer, Schlitz (), was known as "The beer that made Milwaukee famous" and was adve ...

Neal Ulevich Neal Hirsh Ulevich (born June 18, 1946) is an American photographer. He won a Pulitzer Prize in 1977 for "photographs of disorder and brutality in the streets of Bangkok". Life Ulevich was born and raised in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, where he attende ...

, photojournalist,

Pulitzer Prize The Pulitzer Prize () is an award for achievements in newspaper, magazine, online journalism, literature, and musical composition within the United States. It was established in 1917 by provisions in the will of Joseph Pulitzer, who had made h ...

winner *

D.A. Wallach D.A. Wallach (also known as D.A.) is an American musician and business executive. He is the former lead singer of the group Chester French and is currently a solo artist signed by Harvest Records, a subsidiary of Capitol Records. He is the form ...

, musician and business executive * Sarah P. L. Wolffe, Lady Wolffe, Outer House Senator of the

College of Justice The College of Justice includes the Supreme Courts of Scotland, and its associated bodies. The constituent bodies of the national supreme courts are the Court of Session, the High Court of Justiciary, the Office of the Accountant of Court, an ...

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...

Bill Zito William Francis Zito, Jr. (born September 16, 1964) is an American ice hockey executive, former attorney and professional sports agent currently serving as general manager of the Florida Panthers of the National Hockey League (NHL). Early life ...

, general manager of the

Florida Panthers The Florida Panthers are a professional ice hockey team based in the Miami metropolitan area. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division (NHL), Atlantic Division in the Eastern Conference (NHL), Eastern ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:University School Of Milwaukee High schools in Milwaukee Educational institutions established in 1851 Private high schools in Wisconsin Private middle schools in Wisconsin Private elementary schools in Wisconsin Preparatory schools in Wisconsin 1851 establishments in Wisconsin