Best Public Schools in Racine, WI

Racine, Wisconsin has 21 schools in this data set — 14 elementary, 6 high, and 1 alternative, with no separate middle schools, since several elementaries serve middle grades in PK–8, K–8, and PK–7 configurations. Most belong to Racine Unified School District, which ranks 411 of 432 districts statewide (about the 5th percentile) with 0 stars; the charter district Racine Charter One Inc ranks 428 of 432, and one school belongs to the Wisconsin Department of Corrections. Total listed enrollment is about 14,388 students, led by Case High (1,856), Gifford School (1,331), Horlick High (1,212), and Park High (1,203).

Bright spots exist. Goodland Montessori has the city's best elementary rank (629 of 1,039, 39th percentile, 2 stars), the lowest regular-school chronic absenteeism at 11.1% versus the state's 17.3%, and the lowest per-student spending among regular RUSD schools ($14,073) while posting 7th-grade ELA of 76.47%. Gifford School (723 of 1,039, 2 stars) has 14.0% chronic absenteeism and 8th-grade social studies of 77.14% against the state's 64.63%. Walden III High is the high school outlier with a 94.4% graduation rate (state: 92.0%), a 0.1% dropout rate, and ACT ELA of 53.62% (state: 48.47%). Red Apple School, O Brown Elementary, and Case High also outperform nearby peers, though Case's 43.2% chronic absenteeism and 31.85% ACT ELA remain below state norms.

Many schools face severe challenges. Mitchell School (4th percentile), Jerstad-Agerholm School, Julian Thomas Elementary, and Johnson Elementary report chronic absenteeism from 33.5% to 46.7%, free/reduced lunch of 74.69% to 83.33%, and math proficiency often under 10%. Wadewitz Elementary has the highest regular RUSD per-student spending ($21,740) but ranks in the 7th percentile. Horlick High and Park High show chronic absenteeism of 56.7% and 57.6% with graduation rates of 84.8% and 81.1%. 21st Century Preparatory School reports exact 0% proficiency in 4th-grade math and science; its spending figure is from 2020–2021. The justice-related settings — Racine County Jail, Racine County Detention Center, and DOC: Racine Youthful Offender Correctional Facility — enroll 10 to 32 students and should not be compared with regular schools.