MILWAUKEE — Milwaukee Public Schools (MPS) has teamed up with Children’s Wisconsin and the City of Milwaukee Health Department (MHD) to host another free lead testing clinic for kids on May 7. 


What You Need To Know

  • Milwaukee Public Schools (MPS) has teamed up with Children’s Wisconsin and the City of Milwaukee Health Department (MHD) to host another free lead testing clinic for kids on May 7

  • The clinic will be open from 2:30 to 6:30 p.m. at North Division High School, located at 1011 W. Center Street in Milwaukee

  • Insurance and identification are not required for kids to be tested. This clinic is only open to children

  • Officials said they expect turnout to exceed the clinic's capacity, which is 300 kids. Families are encouraged to arrive early in order to ensure their kids get screened

The clinic will be open from 2:30 to 6:30 p.m. at North Division High School, located at 1011 W. Center Street in Milwaukee. 

Insurance and identification are not required for kids to be tested. This clinic is only open to children. 

Testing begins with a finger poke; results will be available within minutes. A nurse will then guide families on any needed next steps. 

Results from the clinic are confidential.

Officials said they expect turnout to exceed the clinic's capacity, which is 300 kids. The last MHD lead screening clinic for MPS students tested about 250 kids. 

"The workflow was fairly sharp the first time around, so we’re trying to implement that again and just how to get more children screened is the biggest, the biggest concern," Tyler Weber, the environmental health deputy commissioner with the City of Milwaukee, said. 

Families are encouraged to arrive early in order to ensure their kids get screened. 

“We expect to have more children, just given Milwaukee and how much lead we have in our city, due to the lead paint that has eroded in our homes, that’s in the soil and lead surface lines. We do expect to find more children and expect to do an investigation come from home or school or other sources," Weber said. 

So far, seven MPS students have tested positive for lead poisoning. MHD said it expects that number to rise. 

For those who cannot make the May 7 clinic, ongoing testing is available at other, free lead screening clinics for kids between 9-months-old and 10-years-old. Locations include: 

  • Children’s Wisconsin Next Door Clinic, 2561 North 29th Street, Milwaukee
    March 20, through the end of the school year; Tuesdays and Thursdays from 1 to 4 p.m.
    Walk-ins; no appointment needed
  • MacCanon Brown Homeless Sanctuary (MBHS), 2461 West Center Street, Milwaukee
    Every second and fourth Saturday of the month
    Free for kids 10-years-old and under
    Call 414.404.0600, ext. 5 for more information
  • Sixteenth Street Community Health Centers - Community Outreach Program
    SSCHC office hours,
    1032 South Cesar East Chavez Drive
    Mondays through Thursdays from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.
    Fridays from 7:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. 
    Call 414.897.5594 to schedule an appointment

Get more information, here.

Milwaukee Public Schools (MPS) sent letters to parents of Brown Street Academy and Westside Academy students at the end of April informing them that students would be temporarily relocated to other MPS school buildings. 

Starms Early Childhood Center and LaFollette School remain closed for lead-hazard cleanup. Fernwood Montessori had been closed for lead cleanup, but the building has since passed a health inspections and students returned to their classrooms last month.

According to the new MPS Lead Action Plan, the summer will be dedicated to checking schools for lead dangers. MPS said it will bring in 130 workers to inspect schools and complete any lead remediation needed in the 54 MPS schools built before 1950. MPS said its goal is to have that completed by September. Then, MPS said it will inspect and work on any needed lead remediation in its 52 schools built between 1950 to 1978. In 1978, lead paint was banned. That work, MPS said, is expected to be done by the end of December. 

Aly Prouty - Digital Media Producer

Aly Prouty is a digital producer for Spectrum News 1 Wisconsin, Ohio and Kentucky. An award-winning, multimedia journalist, she holds an honors B.A. in journalism from Marquette University and an M.A. in journalism and media studies from The University of Alabama.