Richmond Elementary

Richmond Elementary is a PK–8 public school of about 410 students in Sussex, Wisconsin (Waukesha County), serving as the anchor school of the Richmond School District, one of the highest-ranked districts in the state.

Academically, Richmond Elementary is a consistent high performer. Across ten reported years it has never ranked below the 88th percentile and has earned 4–5 stars every year, sitting at the 95th percentile with 5 stars in 2025–26 — a top-50 position among more than 1,000 Wisconsin schools. The one soft stretch came in 2021–22 and 2022–23 (88th and 89th percentile), followed by a full recovery to 95th–97th percentile in the three most recent years. On the 2025–26 Forward Exam, Richmond students scored 73.17%–86.36% proficient in ELA and 75.0%–86.96% in math, roughly 20–30 points above state ranges in every subject and grade, with social studies and science showing similar gaps. Chronic absenteeism is the standout: 3.4% in 2024–25 versus 17.3% statewide, down steadily from 12.3% in 2021–22. Just 1.46% of students qualify for free/reduced lunch.

The surrounding area is unusually competitive. Swallow Elementary, Merton Primary, and North Lake Elementary belong to districts ranked #1, #3, and #10 in the state, ahead of Richmond's #14. Richmond's edge is breadth — it carries one cohort through eight grade levels, while most neighbors cover only two or three grades — and efficiency, producing these results with the largest class sizes in the comparison group (15.7 student–teacher ratio) and below-peer spending of $13,077 per student. Two items worth watching: a 3.5% dropout figure in 2024–25 that follows four years at or near 0.0%, best read as a one-year anomaly, and eighth-grade science scores that have swung between 60.78% and 83.33%.