Best Public Schools in Glendale, WI

Glendale, Wisconsin has three public schools serving students from pre-kindergarten through 12th grade across two districts: Parkway Elementary (PK–3, 490 students) and Glen Hills Middle (4–8, 483 students) in the Glendale-River Hills School District, plus Nicolet High (9–12, 1,043 students) in the separate Nicolet Union High School School District. Together they enroll 2,016 students, and Nicolet alone accounts for about 52% of them.

Nicolet High is the clear standout. Its district ranks 39th of 432 statewide (91st percentile, 5 stars). It graduates 96.9% of students versus 92.0% statewide, has a 0.0% dropout rate versus 1.1%, and chronic absenteeism of 2.8% versus 17.3% — roughly one-sixth the state rate. It also scores above state in every reported subject, including social studies and the ELA, math, and science ACT exams in both 2025–26 and 2024–25. Its school rank percentile slipped from 94th in 2023–24 to 85th and then 87th, but it remains a high performer.

The two Glendale-River Hills schools share a 1-star district ranked 330th of 432 (24th percentile) and generally score below state. Glen Hills has a bright spot: its 2025–26 7th graders scored 66.33% in ELA and 70.41% in math, well above state, after that same group also beat state as 6th graders. But Glen Hills 4th grade is below state in every subject, and 8th-grade social studies swung from 66.28% (above state) to 51.65% (below state). Parkway's 3rd-grade ELA and math are also below state. Notably, Glen Hills has the lowest student-teacher ratio (11.1) yet generally lower scores than Nicolet.