A Message from the CEO

For nearly four decades, Seeds of Health has been a leader and trailblazer in education in Milwaukee, quietly innovating and adapting to meet the changing needs of our city’s young people.

Though we’ve long been Milwaukee’s “best kept secret,” Seeds of Health’s history is remarkable, defined by a series of “firsts.” In 1987, Seeds of Health was the first to open a non-instrumentality charter school through MPS. In 1996, amid a burgeoning charter school movement, Seeds of Health was among the first to open a 2r independent charter through the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. We were the very first K-12 charter school agency in the State of Wisconsin. And Seeds of Health was the first to create a groundbreaking “3+1” program in partnership with Milwaukee Area Technical College at Tenor High School, through which students complete four years of high school in three years, then attend MATC their senior year. Innovation and adaptability are in Seeds of Health’s DNA.

Seeds of Health embodies the very intention of the charter school movement as it was originally conceived: to serve the community as public school alternatives that offer the promise of more innovative education, to be creative and nimble in order to pivot and discover what works for kids and their families, to be autonomous and highly accountable, and to drive high student expectations in caring, individualized environments.

We know how important this mission is, so in our commitment to maintaining it, we’ve developed three agency-wide strategic areas of focus that guide our continued innovation: Rigorous Instruction, Enhancing Community & Family Engagement, and Deepening School Culture & Climate. 

We prioritize Rigorous Instruction because we believe that every student deserves to be challenged with grade-level work that will prepare them for the futures they want to build for themselves. Our commitment to Enhancing Community & Family Engagement is rooted in the belief that education is most effective when schools, families, and the community are working together to benefit students. And by Deepening School Culture & Climate, we recognize that it’s not only curriculum and instruction that matter. Seeds of Health builds relationships and initiatives that support the student – whatever their interest, strength, challenge, or opportunity to grow.

We have a long history that will always inform our present and our future. Relationships will always sit at the heart of a Seeds of Health education. Our schools will always remain small, because we know small schools work. And we will always focus on helping students find and build their future vision – their why.

Yet, true to our history, our future will be defined by innovation, adaptation, and growth. I’m energized by the future that lies ahead for Seeds of Health and our continued leadership in building the effective educational landscape in Milwaukee that our young people deserve. I hope you’ll join us in our mission.