'We all get to be a community now': Carmen High School students and staff celebrate ribbon-cutting for new Southgate building
MILWAUKEE (CBS 58) — Carmen High School students on Milwaukee's south side will start the school year in a brand-new building.
The $55 million project combines two of the charter school's campuses, previously housed in parts of Milwaukee Public Schools (MPS) buildings.
Faculty, students, alumni, and neighbors gathered Tuesday in the courtyard of the new Carmen High School Southgate campus to celebrate the new chapter.
Carmen High School Southgate
"We've been looking for a new building, a new campus for about a decade," said Aaron Lippman, the CEO of Carmen Schools of Science and Technology.
The building spans more than six acres off of 20th and Oklahoma. It will house students from the Carmen South and Southeast High Schools, which previously operated out of rented space in MPS' ALBA and Pulaski buildings, respectively.
"We didn't have the proper space; we didn't have the athletic facilities or the tech space," said Ivan Gamboa, the board chair of Carmen Schools.
MPS voted to end their contracts with the charter this summer. Now authorized under UW-Milwaukee, the new building is opening just in time.
"This was a chance for MPS to utilize their space fully for their district schools, and for us to find an opportunity to fully own and operate a campus, so 24/7, 365, our kids, families, and community could benefit," said Lippman.
"We all get to be a community now together," said Aiyanna Seymore, an incoming 11th grader at Carmen Southgate.
Carmen students on the south side will now have air conditioning -- something they've never had before -- along with a large fieldhouse, turf soccer fields, steam labs, and a college and career office.
"I play volleyball, so I'm very excited for volleyball season," Seymore said. "I'm very excited to see how the classroom environment is going to be. I love the classrooms, it's beautiful inside."
The Southgate school has the capacity for 1,100 students, and leaders say it will meet a growing demand.
"We have the largest waiting list we've ever had," Gamboa said. "For me, that's the proof that we built something that our families wanted."
The first day of the 2026-2027 school year for all Carmen students is Aug. 24.
Carmen High School Southgate