Suamico Elementary

Suamico Elementary is a PK–4 school serving 266 students on School Lane in the Suamico area of Green Bay, Wisconsin, and is one of five elementary schools in the Howard-Suamico School District, which ranks 61st of 432 Wisconsin districts (86th percentile, 4 stars) — notably stronger than the neighboring Green Bay Area Public School District.

In absolute terms, the school is performing well: it scores above the Wisconsin state average in every subject and grade tested, with standout results in fourth-grade science (77.78% proficient, versus 53.46% statewide) and social studies (83.33%, versus 65.51%). Its most distinctive feature is attendance — chronic absenteeism was 6.3% in 2024-25, well below the district's 9.7% and the state's 17.3%, and less than a third of Howard Elementary's 21.5%, despite Howard being a similarly sized school just over five miles away. Poverty is also low, with 12.78% of students qualifying for free or reduced lunch — the second-lowest rate among nearby schools. Class sizes are small (a student-teacher ratio of 11.9) and per-pupil spending is high at $16,273.

The concern is trajectory. Suamico ranks 227th of 1,039 elementary schools statewide (78th percentile, 4 stars) — still above average, but its lowest placement in the ten years provided, down from the 98th percentile in 2015-16. Math now trails the district in both third grade (64% vs. 68.75%) and fourth grade (59.26% vs. 64.2%), and fourth-grade ELA fell 16.6 points in a single year to 59.26%, nearly 10 points below the district. Bay Harbor Elementary, 1.5 miles away in the same district, now ranks in the 91st percentile (5 stars) and outperforms Suamico in every fourth-grade subject despite higher poverty and absenteeism. Encouragingly, the incoming third-grade class posted 78% ELA proficiency — above the district — and special education students jumped from the 53rd to the 77th percentile.