Best Public Schools in Green Bay, WI

Green Bay, Wisconsin is home to 53 schools serving students from pre-kindergarten through high school — 34 elementary, 7 middle, 9 high, and 3 alternative schools — spread across the Green Bay Area Public School District, Howard-Suamico School District, Ashwaubenon School District, Pulaski Community School District, New Leaf Prep Academy Inc, and the Wisconsin Department of Corrections, with a combined enrollment of 26,699 students.

Academic results vary enormously from school to school. Leonardo da Vinci School for Gifted Learners ranks #2 of 1,039 elementary schools statewide with 5 stars, proficiency near or at 100% in several grades, and only 3.3% chronic absenteeism. Bay Port High is the strongest comprehensive high school, beating the state in every tested subject with a 95.8% graduation rate and 0.5% dropout rate, while Ashwaubenon High graduates 97.0% with a 0.1% dropout rate. Suburban districts generally outperform: Howard-Suamico ranks 61 of 432 with 4 stars and Pulaski ranks 108 of 432, while Green Bay Area Public School District ranks 383 of 432 with 1 star — yet still contains bright spots such as McAuliffe Elementary, Aldo Leopold Community School K-8, and Red Smith K-8.

Chronic absenteeism is one of the clearest dividing lines: the state rate is 17.3% and the Green Bay district average is 27.3%, but top schools sit far below at 3–9%, while struggling schools run much higher. Washington Middle (34.7%), Fort Howard Elementary (38.4%), and Nicolet Elementary Community School (27.4%) combine high absenteeism with low test proficiency. Higher spending does not guarantee results — Fort Howard spends the most per student in the list at $22,431. Alternative and correctional settings such as Northeast Wisconsin School of Innovation, Brown County Institute of Learning, and Dr Rosa Minoka-Hill School serve very different populations and should be compared separately from neighborhood schools.