Photo by Tom Jenz
Kari Hendricks - La Causa School
La Causa Principal Kari Hendricks (2026)
Latinos are the second-largest population group in the United States, after non-Hispanic Whites. Nearly one in five Americans is Latino. According to the Census Bureau, about 65 million Latinos were living in the U.S. in 2023, with estimates approaching 67 million by 2025.
That realization led me to Milwaukee’s La Causa Charter School. I found it on South Second Street, just west of Kinnickinnic Avenue and Jones Island. The two-story building stood out against the sharp blue sky, stretching across nearly two-thirds of the block. Its smooth, tan-painted stone exterior is accented by tall windows dressed in blues, reds and yellows, colors that reminded me of a mural, as if the building itself were telling a story.
At the front door, director of education Kari Hendricks gave me a friendly greeting and led me into her office. The space felt cluttered, but purposefully so, organized in a way that suggested she alone could locate exactly what mattered and when it was needed. The room was, unmistakably, a principal’s office. It reminded me of childhood unease at the phrase, “Report to the principal.”
But Hendricks quickly dispelled that image. At 58, she is a veteran educator who comes across less as an authority figure and more as everyone’s mom, warm and attentive. That kind of presence seems essential here. La Causa serves students from K4 through eighth grade, and every child is expected to learn in two languages: English and Spanish.
Tell me about your upbringing, your parents, neighborhoods and your schooling.
Milwaukee born and raised. First seven years of my life, I grew up in the Bay View area. Then, my family moved to the west side of Greenfield and into the Whitnall School District. Those are good schools. I graduated from Whitnall High School. I still live in my childhood home where I raised my son. My parents both worked for the Auto Workers Union at American Motors here in Milwaukee. For my undergrad studies, I went to UWM. After a while, I dropped out of college to raise my son. Later on, I went back to UWM and graduated with a triple major in American Indian studies, in education curriculum & instruction, and in Spanish. I am not Latino, but I like the Spanish language. In fact, as a Spanish major, I lived in Costa Rica for three months. My first job was in the MPS system, teaching at a charter school. Then, I came here to La Causa, eventually earning my master’s degree and administrator’s license at Cardinal Stritch. At La Causa, I worked my way up until I became the director of education, basically the principal. I’ve had this job for four years. I’ve been here at La Causa since 2012.
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As director of education at the La Causa Charter School, what are your responsibilities?
My job is to oversee and manage the staff. I am responsible for budgeting, purchasing, and our curriculum. I have an assistant principal and an associate principal. I have two instructional deans and also coordinators for special education. But let me credit my incredible staff who work for me. If anything bad happens here, I believe it is because I made a bad decision or bad choice. The buck stops with me.
La Causa is a non-instrumentality charter school, which I believe is a Milwaukee public school but yet operates independently. What does that mean and how is the school governed?
We are a public charter school under La Causa, Inc. We are a non-profit organization that manages a school and other family-focused divisions. We have a CEO and a CFO who I report to. We are affiliated and accredited by MPS, but we are not governed by the MPS school board. Our staff is paid by us, not by MPS. We do more than just teach traditional school courses. For instance, we have Early Childhood Care for children from six weeks to 12 years. We have a crisis nursery to help parents care for children, who can stay with us for up to 72 hours free of charge. It is funded by donations and grants. We also have a Social Services Division, which helps people with mental health concerns. And we operate a treatment foster care program. We see ourselves as helping with all the needs of our families. But we do follow the MPS discipline system and Special Ed policies.
What is La Causa Charter School? Can you describe the curriculum?
We are a K4 through 8th grade bi-lingual school. We use a dual language education model. All our students receive instruction in English and in Spanish up until 6th grade and that includes social studies, literacy, science and math, English and Spanish. Also, more than half our staff are bi-lingual including our special education teachers. Unlike other schools, our students switch classes throughout the day. They don’t stay with one teacher in one classroom for an entire day.
Kind of like the college classes model.
Yes, and even starting in kindergarten, our kids rotate classes.
I read that your school focuses on Fine Arts Science and Technology, acronym: FAST. Why is that?
That is our STEM curriculum. Starting in kindergarten, kids begin to learn how to code by using computers or tablets. We have a curriculum called Project Lead the Way. As children progress in an upper grade, they learn more about STEM. From 5th through 8th grades, we have a robotics course.
How about your fine arts programs?
We have a strong after-school fine arts program. Kids can learn to play guitar, even percussion, and one instructor teaches cultural dance. Every year, we give a music, singing and dance performance.
The school teaches bi-lingual English and Spanish as an immersion program. Are all students required to be proficient in both languages? And if I am a student here, how does the bi-lingual requirement work?
For science and math, you are taught in English. For social studies, we teach in Spanish. But we do “bridging.” For instance, a teacher might conduct a course in Spanish but will bridge the two languages with “vocabulary” in English. We often give directions in Spanish or vice versa into English.
Are most of your students Hispanic?
We have about a 97% rate of Hispanic families in our school. Many can speak some level of Spanish, but some do not. There are a few who do not speak English.
Ultimately, I assume they have to be proficient in English, the common language of our country.
Yes, they do, but we don’t want them to lose their Spanish heritage.
I understand you value strong parental and community involvement from families. How do you go about that?
We do offer fun family events, but we also offer cultural events. For instance, last fall we did the Day of the Dead celebration. For our Christmas celebration, we do the traditional songs but add music from other cultures. And we have parent groups. We help parents who may be newcomers. Help them with reading, writing and speaking. We also let parents know how their children are developing. We have a school and family engagement council, and we conduct the meetings virtually in order to include more participants. Generally, we talk about school policy and rates of achievement. Parents provide their input.
What about AI, artificial intelligence? Are you an advocate?
AI can be useful. For example, helping teachers fill out lesson plans or come up with activities. We use AI as a tool. We know children use AI like ChatGPT, but our policy requires no cell phones in classrooms. We are beginning to inform parents on how the La Causa School is using AI. We always listen to our community for input and suggestions.
Where do your students generally attend high school after they graduate from La Causa?
Our students have the option of choosing any MPS high school, Reagan High School, Milwaukee High School of the Arts, Riverside, charter high schools, private schools, but there is no one high school where most attend.
How many students attend La Causa? How many teachers do you employ?
Five hundred-twenty students and 75 staff members including teachers. We have a full-time nurse and two bilingual interventionists who work with students who are behind in reading and math.
We Tour the School
Hendricks led me down a wide, long, tall hallway. Classrooms opened off either side, each one bright and alive. The lighting was warm and made the school feel less institutional and more human.
Bulletin boards lined the walls, filled with student artwork, handwritten assignments and colorful posters. Overhead, bold banners hung at regular intervals, each bearing a single word, a desirable human attribute: INTEGRITY, ACCOUNTABILITY, HONESTY, KINDNESS, RESPECT. They read like codes of conduct, not just for students, but for anyone passing through.
“Each month features a character trait,” Hendricks told me, “along with lessons on that trait, which help teachers build social and emotional learning around it.”
I asked a nearby teacher what this month’s word was. “Empathy,” she said. It felt like more than a curriculum choice, but rather a valuable suggestion for the world beyond the school’s walls.
We continued on to a bank of windows. Outside, a large recreational space opened up, anchored by a basketball court. Back inside, the gymnasium featured physical vigor as a teacher guided students through calisthenics. “All of our kids get 12 weeks of gym,” Hendricks said.
In the cafeteria, students clustered in animated conversation, the air full of energy and overlapping voices. “All of our food is made in-house,” Hendricks told me. “Our kitchen staff are bilingual. They prepare cultural meals, tacos and fajitas, or chicken teriyaki with rice.”
By the end of the tour, one thing was clear: when it comes to educating children, La Causa seems to have its bases covered.
