Next Door Foundation reverses plan to close charter school, will continue 4-K program

With a new president at the helm, Next Door Foundation has canceled plans to close its 4-year-old kindergarten program, which will continue for at least another year.

Next Door's previous president, Tracey Sparrow, had informed Milwaukee Public Schools in November 2022 that it would be ending its 5-K program after the 2022-23 school year and ending its 4-K program after the 2023-24 school year.

The programs had faced challenges hiring staff. Sparrow told Fox 6 at the time that Next Door, like many early childhood programs nationwide, was struggling to find workers and was down 20 teachers. She said at the time that Next Door had nine classrooms it wasn't able to open, leaving many students on waitlists.

Next Door's new president , former St. Sebastian Catholic School principal Heather Mehring Grams, told MPS this June that she believed the organization was capable of carrying on the 4-K program. The 4-K charter school is run independently from MPS by Next Door's board of directors, but it receives public funding through a contract with MPS.

Mehring Grams acknowledged that hiring qualified staff was still a challenge but said the organization was determined to do so.

"Though recruiting and retaining high-quality educators remains a local and national challenge, we believe there is more work to be done," Mehring Grams said in a letter to MPS. "Next Door is determined to meet this need, ensuring all children have access to exceptional educators and the highest quality in educational programming."

The Milwaukee School Board on July 25 approved a one-year extension for Next Door to continue operating its 4-K program for the coming school year. Mehring Grams said she plans to request another contract with MPS for future years.

Next Door had about 107 students in its 4-K program in the last school year, state data show, down from 126 the year before. About 94% of Next Door 4-K students go on to attend MPS schools for 5-K, according to Bridget Schock, director of contracted school services for MPS.

Next Door also offers home-based prenatal care and early childhood education, as well as childcare and Head Start preschool at its centers.

MPS recently announced the closures of its own Head Start preschool programs , preparing for the potential loss of an estimated $10.5 million in federal funding because of safety problems at the sites . MPS will continue offering 3-K and 4-K programs at many of its schools, which can be found on the district's " Find a School " site.

This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Next Door Foundation reverses plan to close charter school, will continue 4-K program