MILWAUKEE — North Division High School Principal, Keith Carrington passed away unexpectedly after a medical complication Monday.
Carrington was a husband, father, and mentor to the community, dedicated to bringing up the next generation through education. He worked as an educator with Milwaukee Public Schools (MPS) for 25 years impacting the lives of thousands.
"He was the face of a positive African American man. He was a father to many kids who didn't have those father figures and just an advocate for the 53206 zip code where North Division was housed, where it is the most incarcerated zip code for African American males. He wanted to just be that pillar of light," said his wife Tanzanique Carrington.
Keith met Tanzanique 25 years ago while she was working at a bank.
"He would always come and wait for me. One day he just came up to me and was like 'I'm gonna say this really fast, but I find you very attractive, would go for a walk in the park with me?' I said sure," said Tanzanique.
The two took a long walk in Estabrook Park where they then began to dream and manifest their impacts on Milwaukee.
"We talked about wanting to be people that gave back to the community, potentially building centers for youth, not really knowing that we would end up in education."
Their careers would transform into being principals across different MPS schools, eventually leading Keith to North Division High School in 2016.
"He worked really hard to turn that place into a place where people could be proud to say they go to."
TMJ4 interviewed Keith back in 2019 where he shared his goal to transform North Division High School into a place where people saw success.
"This has probably been the biggest challenge of my education career," Keith previously said.
Tanzanique has received an outpouring of support from the North Division community, including students who saw Principal Carrington as a mentor.
"I looked at him as a father figure after I lost mine and it was just the embrace of, you know, you're not alone, you still have me as your dad here, and he has lived up to that ever since I can remember," said Myisha Jude, a former student.
Moving forward, Tanzanique hopes to carry on his impact through education.
"My next move is to just honor his legacy of him."
The family hopes to hold a funeral at North Division High School in the coming weeks.
