BY TOM JENZ MAY 18, 2022

Life in the predominantly Black central city experiences violence and trauma unlike anywhere else in the metro area. If you are a student at a central city school, your main objective might be just to remain safe.  

Located on 4950 N. 24th Street, Milwaukee Excellence Charter School, with the partnership of Peace for Change Alliance, has taken on violence and trauma with seminars on reckless driving, gun violence, mental health, sexual assault and bullying. Think about your own community. If you are a student at a suburban high school, would these topics be on your curriculum agenda? Or would you like to find this comment in your social media mailbox—“Milwaukee fucked up so bad this fuckin city not gonna change this the new chic”—posted in a central city activist’s comment section a day after the Deer District shootings on May 13.   

Rodney Lynk, Jr., 36, is the CEO of Milwaukee Excellence, and his younger brother Marcus Lynk, 32, is the Restorative Practice Coach, similar to a High School Dean of Students. They were born and raised in the heart of North Side Milwaukee, at 27th and Burleigh and 27th and Chambers. The brothers went to Frederick Douglas Elementary, and then to Milwaukee School of Languages, sixth grade to twelfth. Theirs was a single mom household. Mom worked hard, and she also instilled the dedication to service, teaching her children how to give back to the community. Rodney Jr. earned his undergrad from the University of Wisconsin Madison, a Masters in Education from Marquette, an MBA from Milwaukee School of Engineering, and currently pursuing his PhD at his alma mater in Madison. Marcus earned his undergrad degree from San Jose State University in California, and their mother got her degree from Concordia College in the same time frame.

I spoke with the Lynk brothers at the Milwaukee Excellence Middle School, formerly McNair Elementary School. I found them intensely dedicated to educating their students on all fronts.

+ Read Full Article