New Dining Rooms

University School of Milwaukee will open two new dining rooms in August 2025—a remodeled and expanded Lower School and Middle School dining room, as well as a brand-new dining room with "right-sized" furniture located in the Preschool. Construction for both projects is currently underway, and will continue through the summer, with updates and new photos shared on this page.

In December 2024, USM’s Board of Trustees voted to approve the start of construction over the winter break, with the school having already secured more than 75% of the funds needed for the project—the minimum amount needed to begin a capital project. Both new dining rooms will open in time for the start of the 2025–26 school year.

The new Preschool dining room—for prekindergarten, junior kindergarten, and kindergarten students—will eliminate a long journey to and from lunch, and will also utilize size-appropriate furniture for the school’s youngest students, while the new Lower School/Middle School dining room will be expanded beyond the current footprint.  

“Together, these new spaces will be game changers for our Preschool, Lower School, and Middle School dining experiences—just as the opening of the Jack Olson ’67 Commons and Petronella Palermo Family Hall servery in 2018 were for our Upper School,” said Head of School Steve Hancock.

Right before USM’s winter break, Preschool, Lower School, and Middle School students enjoyed a celebratory farewell cake during lunch, and were invited to sign the walls and floors of the old dining room prior to demolition. They had the chance to say goodbye to the space where they enjoyed many delicious meals and fun times with friends and teachers.

New Lower School and Middle School Dining Room

  • Dedicated to serving 1st-4th grade and all Middle School students, reducing the overall headcount in each lunch period and making for a less-congested experience.
  • Two new seating wings, with dedicated single-use restrooms in each wing.
  • New entrance and larger servery area with multiple stations, allowing for additional food options and greatly improved traffic flow.
  • New, state-of-the-art kitchen facilities.
Rendering of the interior of the Lower School and Middle School dining room.
Rendering of the renovated dining hall.
Rendering of the renovated dining hall, with the new dining wings.
Rendering of the renovated dining hall and servery.
Rendering of the exterior of the Lower School and Middle School dining room.
Blueprint of the new Lower School and Middle School dining room.

New Preschool Dining Room

  • New dining room addition off the first floor junior kindergarten hallway, resulting in shorter distances to and from the Preschool and kindergarten  classrooms and less travel time in the hallways.
  • “Right-sized” tables and chairs that will also allow for adults at the tables.
  • Remodeled restrooms, along with a new conference room and office space and a remodeled Preschool workroom.
  • New support/prep kitchen adjacent to the dining room.
  • Handwashing station and dish collection located in the dining room.
Rendering of the interior of the Preschool dining room.
Rendering of the exterior of the Preschool dining room.
Blueprint of the new Preschool dining room.

These projects have been made possible through the philanthropy of several generous donors, and USM is extremely grateful for their support. To learn how you can further support these and other projects, contact Vanessa Nerbun, chief advancement officer, at 414.540.5330 or vnerbun@usm.org.