Dom Ricks, Middleton's first Black principal, took on a 'beautiful opportunity'
February is Black History Month, and the Wisconsin State Journal is highlighting women and men who blazed trails in their fields to have a positive impact on Madison.
By Lucas Robinson | Wisconsin State Journal | February 12, 2024
Principal Dom Ricks visits with students during class change at Kromrey Middle School in Middleton. Photo by Amber Arnold/State Journal
Hundreds of students laugh and shuffle down the hallways at Middleton’s Kromrey Middle School after lunch, on their way to their next class. As they pass Principal Dom Ricks, some of them stop to share a story, make a suggestion about how to improve something, or simply say hello.
Ricks, 31, has been principal here since 2019, and in that time, he’s had to navigate educational, public health and political challenges that his predecessors didn’t.
But Ricks’ presence in the job is historic on its own, too. The day he started at the 1,200-student school, he became the first Black principal in the history of the Middleton-Cross Plains School District.
