The Milwaukee School Board on Thursday approved a plan to turn Fritsche Middle School into a charter school - the first in what officials hope will be a new wave of MPS schools that take official ownership of what happens in their buildings.
Charter schools are public schools that operate independently of traditional public school systems.
Thursday's vote gives the school the go-ahead to begin negotiating a contract with the city attorney about how the school will be run and funded. The school then becomes officially accountable to the School Board based on the agreement established in the contract. In meetings at the school earlier this week, teachers and parents discussed a desire to free the school from working under parts of MPS' central office that they felt were holding Fritsche back from achieving its potential. There is only one other MPS charter school, Highland Community School, which has operated for several years. Another MPS middle school, Walker International, is up for consideration as a charter school later this month.