Curtin Elementary

Curtin Elementary is a PK–8 neighborhood school at 3450 S 32nd St in Milwaukee, serving 301 students as part of the Milwaukee School District, in a dense south-side cluster of ten similarly sized schools within about 1.7 miles; it serves a high-poverty population, with 90.03% of students qualifying for free or reduced-price lunch in 2024-25, higher than every nearby MPS peer.

Academically, Curtin's 2025-26 statewide rank is 945th of 1,039 (9th percentile, 0 stars) — the middle of its immediate peer group. Results split sharply by grade. Grades 6 and 7 are the school's clear strength, with both ELA and math above the district average, and grade 8 social studies is its single best relative result: 43.75% proficient, nearly 8 points above the district. Early grades lag badly, however — grade 3 ELA (8.7%) and grade 4 math (7.69%) fall well below an already-low district benchmark — and grade 8 math has stayed in single digits for four straight years (3.45%, 6.9%, 9.38%, 6.25%). Compared with its closest PK–8 analogue, U S Grant School, Curtin is slightly ahead in both reading and math.

Chronic absenteeism is 36.3%, about 10 points below the district's 46.2% and improved every year measured, but still more than double Wisconsin's 17.3%. Per-student spending has climbed 54% in five years to $18,986 while achievement stayed flat; nearby Glenwood Elementary in Greenfield spends about $3,200 less per student and ranks much higher. Class size (17.1 students per teacher) is middle-of-the-pack. English-learner and Hispanic students rank above the school's overall standing (18th and 20th percentiles), while special education students remain the weakest subgroup, though the trend is improving.