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East High renames Field House in honor of Milton L. McPike

Honoring the maker of a “field of dreams”

by Laura Salinger

What once was known simply as the Field House at Madison East High School now bears a familiar name.

Staff, students, and community members gathered at the school recently for the unveiling of the Milton L. McPike Field House. The emotional ceremony paid tribute to a man whose leadership and character forever changed East High School.

McPike led East High School as principal for 23 years until retiring in 2002. A one-time professional football player for the San Francisco 49ers and then a physical education and technical education teacher in Illinois, McPike’s charismatic leadership of East High School has become legendary.

In 1997, he was named State Principal of the Year and has also received the Madison Magazine Man of the Year Award and NAACP’s Unsung Hero Award. He was named one of 10 “American Heroes in Education” by Reader’s Digest in 1990. In 1991, the U.S. Department of Education named East High School a National High School of Excellence.

McPike’s accomplishments were no small feat for the school that was once troubled by underachievement and student misbehavior. With over 2,000 students, East High School is one of the city’s most racially and economically diverse schools.

Minority Services Coordinator Richard Scott has worked at East High School for 29 years. He described McPike as an honest, straight-forward leader who made “an effort to know as many of the students’ names as he could.”

“He had clear expectations and he had a presence that reinforced those expectations,” Scott said. “It wasn’t about his size, it was about his character.”

Madison School Board member Johnny Winston Jr. attended Madison West High School and would go on to teach in other Madison-area schools. Although he didn’t attend East High School, he was always very well aware of who McPike was and of his contributions to East.

“Mr. McPike was a role model for me growing up here in Madison,” Winston said. “He is an institution. You think of East High School and you think of Milt McPike.”

As a school board member he commented, “You are only hoping to have more people like Mr. McPike as a part of your school district.”

East High School assistant principal Lee Thomas described McPike as “the principal who loved his students, who believed in students who didn’t believe in themselves, and who cared enough to take risks.”

Alan Harris will replace interim principal Loren Rathert this July as East High School’s new principal. He said that he hopes to tap into McPike’s great legacy of creating high expectations and caring about students.

“As the students talk about his presence, it is evident that each student really felt like he was their principal,” Harris said. “It is a tribute to [McPike’s] character.”

East High School students perhaps know best how McPike’s presence improved East’s environment and student achievement. They describe him as having a larger than life presence that demanded respect. They say he demonstrated a deep caring and passion about student well-being.

Post-graduate student Jeremy Thornton attended East High School under McPike and remembers his sister comparing him to a superhero.

“He was like a mentor to me,” Thornton said. “He is like an extension of my family and he treated everyone like that.”

East High School senior Maggie Smith said it was hard not to like McPike, but “even if you didn’t like him, you did respect him,” she said. “Everybody really listened to him.”

Now, McPike’s name will forever be visible on East High School’s campus and his legacy will live on.

“When I came to East High School, I had a vision,” McPike said. “My vision was to bring together staff, students, and administrators from downtown to make this the greatest place for young people. We did that.”

McPike said it was his goal to “bring pride back to the East side.”

“We have a proud tradition and I want to see this tradition carried on,” he said.

Naming the field house in McPike’s honor couldn’t be more fitting for the one-time professional athlete, Harlem Globetrotter, and physical education teacher. It was always McPike’s dream to transform the Field House into a spectator gym with more room for both athletes and fans. He said he hopes that before he dies, the spectator gym will become a reality for East School.

McPike was named to the University Board of Regents last year, succeeding Regent Fred Mohs. His appointment was praised by many who say his leadership and charisma will be a welcome asset to the Board of Regents. While he shifts his focus to the UW System, McPike said he will always view East High School as his home.

“This is my home, right here on this campus,” he said while standing beneath the gold letters on the East High Field House that bear his name.