Messmer’s summer school, SummerM, is anything but typical. It isn't a program for students who need to catch up. It's a launchpad for students ready to move forward, into their freshman year, into a paycheck, or into a career. Whether they were incoming freshmen, aspiring healthcare workers, or future tradespeople, every one of them left SummerM further along than where they started.

Freshmen, before day one. Dozens of incoming freshmen enrolled in SummerM this year, taking early coursework in Art, Health, and Physical Education. The goal was to arrive on day one of their official freshman year already knowing the building, their teachers, and a few new friends. Last year's cohort proved the model works with those freshmen participants finishing strong in their first year of high school.

Ten students, real paychecks. Through our partnership with Aurora Health Care, a group of Messmer students completed Messmer's CNA cohort this summer. Nine are now certified nursing assistants earning over $21 an hour, with additional pay for evening and weekend shifts. Several are already working at Aurora, and qualifying juniors and seniors can take early work release from Messmer to do it. This is the same pipeline that carried 2026 valedictorian Yeremi Sanchez from CNA certification through Messmer's dual enrollment academy. He’ll enter Milwaukee School of Engineering this fall just six credits shy of sophomore standing, saving him significant time and tuition dollars.

Eight students, three credentials. Messmer's Intro to Construction Trades program sent 8 students through a summer of hands-on learning, union hall visits, and certification testing. Every one of them earned OSHA 10 certification, passing on their first attempt, a 100% first-time pass rate. Many are also on track for RPP certification, a credential increasingly required on major city and federally funded developments. And for a workforce where a driver's license is often a hard requirement, these students are getting ahead of a barrier that keeps many of their peers out of the trades entirely: nationally, and even within Messmer's own recent graduating classes, most students interested in trades careers didn't have a license by graduation. This summer's cohort is changing that trajectory early.