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Employment and Education Experiences of Milwaukee Public Schools Graduates: A Follow-Up Study of the Class of 1999

Full report is now online.
a collaborative project of the Milwaukee Public Schools, Milwaukee Area Technical College and University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, 2000.

In Spring of 2000 a follow-up study was conducted of students who had graduated in June of 1999 (the Class of 1999) from Milwaukee Public Schools to determine their employment and schooling activities. The parents and guardians of all graduates were sent an introductory letter from Superintendent Spence Korte explaining the purpose of the study along with a written survey form. Families not responding to this initial mailing were contacted by phone during April and May of 2000. Survey responses tend to overrepresent graduates from traditional MPS high schools and to underrepresent families with disconnected or nonpublished phone numbers.

Summary of Findings

  • Half of the responding graduates in the Class of 1999 were enrolled in postsecondary education in Spring 2000. Of these, 60 percent attended Wisconsin public universities and colleges (including 21 percent at Milwaukee Area Technical College and 19 percent at University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee).

Graduates Enrolled in School

  • For male graduates, 73 percent were employed including 7 percent in the military, 3 percent in apprenticeship programs, and 27 percent who were working while attending school. Another 18 percent were in postsecondary education programs and not employed.

Spring 2000 Activities of Male Graduates

  • For female graduates, 70 percent were employed, including 2 percent in the military, less than 1 percent in apprenticeship programs, and 33 percent were employed while attending school. Another 20 percent were in postsecondary education programs and not employed.

Spring 2000 Activities of Female Graduates

  • Reported wages showed the strong demand for high school graduates in the current economy. Graduates (not in school) reported wages averaging $8.51 an hour. Graduates earned the highest wages in the construction sector, where reported wages averaged $12.48 an hour. The lowest reported wages were earned in retail trade companies, yet these wages still averaged $7.39 an hour.

Hourly Wages Earned by Employed Graduates

Industrial Sectors Employing MPS Graduates

  • Most (82 percent) of the graduates employed full-time earned enough to support two persons above the poverty level, and 90 percent earned enough to support one person above poverty.

  • Less than 2 percent of graduates (nearly all males) were participating in an apprenticeship program in the Spring of 2000. On average MPS graduates in apprenticeship programs earned $11.10 an hour and $309 a week.

  • About 4 percent of the graduating Class of 1999 had entered the military by Spring of 2000. Fields of training included computer science, civil engineering, surgical technology, fire fighting and military operations.

  • About a fourth (23 percent) of employed college students worked full-time during the school year, and another 47 percent worked 20-34 hours a week. Additional students worked during the summer and school vacations.

  • Females comprised 62 percent of four-year college survey repondents. They made up 73 percent of students with declared majors in business, 75 percent of declared majors in education, and all of the nursing majors.

  • Males made up 38 percent of the four-year college survey respondents, yet 75 percent of declared majors in engineering and 69 percent of majors in computer science.

  • Males made up half of the MPS graduates in two-year colleges and 94 percent of those enrolled in technical trade areas (automotive, electricity, carpentry) and 77 percent of majors in computer fields. Females made up 71 percent of majors in liberal arts, 68 percent of business majors, and all of the majors in nursing.

  • About 9 percent of the male graduates and 10 percent of the female graduates were not employed, in school, in the military or in an apprenticeship program. These included graduates who were raising children, looking for work, experiencing health problems, with handicapping conditions, and planning to apply for college in the summer or fall.

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Site updated April 2008
Employment and Training Institute
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