Seeds of Health Elementary Program

Seeds of Health Elementary Program is a PK–8 school serving 380 students at 1445 S 32nd St on Milwaukee's south side, operating as its own single-school district, Seeds of Health Inc. It ranked 931 of 1039 Wisconsin schools in 2025–2026 (10th percentile, 1 star), and its district ranks 425 of 432 statewide (2nd percentile, 0 stars).

Test scores trail state averages in every subject, but there are bright spots. Fourth grade is a relative strength: ELA (35.48%), math (29.03%) and social studies (48.39%) are at or near the top among nearby high-poverty schools, though still below state averages. Sixth grade math (6.98%) and eighth grade science (14.63%) are among the lowest locally. English Language Learner students are a relative strength, ranking in the 27th percentile in 2025–26 and the 60th percentile in 2024–25 — well above the school overall — and special education students improved to the 30th percentile in 2024–25.

Chronic absenteeism is the biggest challenge: 36.9% in 2024–25, above the district's 31.1% and more than double the state's 17.3%, though improved from 52.3% in 2021–22. ALBA - Academia de Lenguaje y Bellas Artes is only 0.27 miles away, serves the same PK–8 grades and has similar poverty levels (87.02% free/reduced lunch versus 91.32% at Seeds), yet it ranks at the 14th percentile with just 4.9% chronic absenteeism — a sign that a similar student population can produce very different results. Pershing Elementary also has lower absenteeism (12.0%) and a higher rank (22nd percentile), and several nearby schools in the Milwaukee School District sit in the same low range. Seeds' reported per-student spending was $8,973 in 2019–20, far below the $15,623–$26,499 nearby schools report, though the years differ. Reducing absenteeism and targeting upper-grade math and science look like the highest-impact priorities.