Serving 6th through 12th
Dr. Howard Fuller Collegiate Academy has been making history since its inception in 2004. The tuition-free, non-profit, public charter high school originally started as a private school and then converted in 2011 to a charter school. Most of its students reside on Milwaukee’s Northside, and with a 100% college acceptance rate for its students since 2012, it only made sense that this school expanded.
According to a Milwaukee Journal Sentinal article, the academy merged with the former charter school Milwaukee Excellence allowing the school to educate 6th through 12th graders. The original academy building, located at 4030 N. 29th St., was renovated to serve middle schoolers thanks to the merger. In August 2024, the academy held a grand opening for its new $35 million building that serves high schoolers in Milwaukee’s historic Bronzeville neighborhood at 2228 N. Vel R. Phillips Avenue.
Mardak-Vandenberg Recording Studio
Included in the upgrades were state-of-the-art recording studios for the students at both campuses. Former Hal Leonard CEO Keith Mardak and his wife, Mary Vandenberg, who served as Hal Leonard’s former VP of business affairs, donated $5.25 million to give students another way to learn and create. According to its site, Hal Leonard is the world’s largest print music publisher.
The academy named its middle school the Mardak-Vandenberg Campus in honor of the donation.
Milwaukee Excellence founder and former CEO Maurice Thomas is now the academy’s chief development officer and said Mardak and Vandenberg’s donation comes from a place of love and admiration for the work the academy has been doing over the years.
“They want kids, especially Black kids, to have the ability to make art,” said Thomas. “[They want] kids in Milwaukee to be able to have that.”
The studios include podcast-themed stations where up to four students can record a podcast at a time and control panels that connect to isolation booths; there’s even room to record live instrumentalists. Along with having access to the studios, the academy ensures the students have direct connections and mentorship from legitimate writers, producers, and those in the music industry.
With the addition of the recording studios, Thomas said students are excited to come to school.
“It doesn’t take a $35 million high school to give back to our community,” said Thomas. “It takes for adults who are committed long term.”
Teaching Critical Thinking
One of the key components of the recording studios was finding creative avenues to not only connect with the students but also teach them critical thinking. Thomas said students are capable of starting podcasts and making beats on their own, so it is the job of the adults and avenues like school to help students create. And through that creating that’s where you can teach them how to think.
“The economy and the future of work is changing…[so] why not teach them how to think?” asked Thomas.