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Gaenslen Elementary

Public Grades PK, KG-8
1034th
SchoolDigger Rank ?
of 1,039 Wisconsin Elementary Schools
Better than 0% of Wisconsin elementary schools
Summary

Gaenslen Elementary is a PK–8 neighborhood school serving 641 students at 1250 E Burleigh St in Milwaukee's Riverwest/Harambee area, and it is the largest school among the nearby campuses compared here — part of the Milwaukee School District.

Academically, Gaenslen has ranked in the bottom 1–4% of Wisconsin elementary and middle schools for all ten years on record, and it currently sits at the 0th percentile with an average of 5.2% proficiency in English language arts and 3.1% in math — the lowest ELA and second-lowest math results among its nearby peers. That standing is not explained simply by money or class size: Gaenslen spends $25,310 per student, the most in the comparison group, and has the smallest classes at 11.6:1. Yet Atwater Elementary gets stronger results (80.4% ELA) on $14,818 per student, and Lake Bluff Elementary posts 76.2% ELA on $13,117. One mile away and in the same district, Maryland Montessori ranks in the 69th percentile with 20.2:1 classes and lower spending. Nearby schools with equal or higher poverty also outperform: Riverwest Elementary (88.5% low-income, nearly identical to Gaenslen's 88.3%) roughly doubles Gaenslen's averages, and Holmes Elementary (98.5% low-income) reaches the 10th percentile.

The clearest positive change is attendance. Chronic absenteeism fell from 70.6% in 2021–22 to 34.7% in 2024–25 — below the district's 46.2% and better than every district peer in the group, though still about double Wisconsin's 17.3%. Dropout is 0.6% versus 4.0% district and 1.1% state. Grade-level results are uneven: 8th grade is the strongest (12% ELA, 22% social studies, the narrowest gap to the district), while 3rd-grade ELA has stayed under 5% and 4th-grade science has been 0% for three straight years.

641
Students ?
11.6
Student/teacher ratio ?
$25,310
Per pupil spending ?
88.3%
Free/discounted lunch ?
 1250 E Burleigh St
       Milwaukee, WI  53212-2217

(414) 267-5700

District: Milwaukee School District


Students who attend Gaenslen Elementary usually attend:

Middle:    King International Baccalaureate Middle
    Lincoln Middle
    Roosevelt Middle
High:    Audubon Technology and Communication High
    Bradley Technology High
    King International
    Milwaukee High School of the Arts
    More...
Racial breakdown:

African American:
81.3%
Hispanic:
9.0%
Two or more races:
5.8%
more
 See top rated Wisconsin elementary schools

 Compare Gaenslen Elementary to nearby elementary schools!
At a glance
▬ Ranking trend: Holding steady — 4th percentile in 2016 → <1st in 2026
Strengths
✓Small classes — about 12 students per teacher
Worth a look
!Test scores below the Wisconsin average (5% vs 55% meeting standards)
!In the lower quartile statewide (<1st percentile)
!High chronic absenteeism (35% vs 17% Wisconsin)
Students meeting standards (2025-2026) ?
This school5%
District avg25%
Wisconsin avg55%
Elementary school
1,034th of 1,039
Wisconsin public elementary schools ?
Bottom 1%▼ down 3 pts since 2016
From bottom 4% (2016) to bottom 1% (2026)
See the entire ranking list of Wisconsin Elementary Schools →
★★★★★
SchoolDigger rating ?
Middle school
634th of 643
Wisconsin public middle schools ?
Bottom 1%▼ down 5 pts since 2016
From bottom 6% (2016) to bottom 1% (2026)
See the entire ranking list of Wisconsin Middle Schools →
★★★★★
SchoolDigger rating ?
101st of 105Elementary Schools in the Milwaukee School District
418th of 432Milwaukee School District among Wisconsin districts
Statewide rank percentile over time (100 = the top-ranked school in the state; click a legend item to add a student group)
Elementary school ranking
Show full rank history (all student groups)

All Students

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankWisconsin percentileRating
20261.31034 of 10390.5%☆☆☆☆☆
20251.31040 of 10440.4%☆☆☆☆☆
20241.41051 of 10610.9%☆☆☆☆☆
20232.51054 of 10671.2%☆☆☆☆☆
20222.41059 of 10670.7%☆☆☆☆☆
20213.51031 of 10501.8%☆☆☆☆☆
20191.71028 of 10370.9%☆☆☆☆☆
20181.51013 of 10251.2%☆☆☆☆☆
20171.41066 of 10710.5%☆☆☆☆☆
20163.21036 of 10753.6%☆☆☆☆☆
20153.41032 of 10764.1%☆☆☆☆☆
20141.51052 of 10610.8%☆☆☆☆☆
20131.61040 of 10531.2%☆☆☆☆☆
20120.11042 of 10450.3%☆☆☆☆☆
20110.21041 of 10460.5%☆☆☆☆☆
20100.01045 of 10450.0%☆☆☆☆☆
20090.11028 of 10300.2%☆☆☆☆☆
20080.11021 of 10210.0%☆☆☆☆☆
20070.7686 of 6890.4%☆☆☆☆☆
20061.3701 of 7121.5%☆☆☆☆☆
20056.6587 of 6327.1%☆☆☆☆☆
20040.2629 of 6330.6%☆☆☆☆☆

African American

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankWisconsin percentileRating
202616.8142 of 1505.3%☆☆☆☆☆
202516.4137 of 1444.9%☆☆☆☆☆
202419.3129 of 1375.8%☆☆☆☆☆
202322.5124 of 13810.1%★☆☆☆☆
202220.7128 of 1333.8%☆☆☆☆☆
202127.8111 of 14121.3%★☆☆☆☆
201917.8154 of 1614.3%☆☆☆☆☆
201818.7157 of 1654.8%☆☆☆☆☆

Female

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankWisconsin percentileRating
20261.5984 of 9860.2%☆☆☆☆☆
20251.41000 of 10010.1%☆☆☆☆☆
20242.3991 of 10112.0%☆☆☆☆☆
20233.5993 of 10101.7%☆☆☆☆☆
20223.5993 of 10172.4%☆☆☆☆☆
20215.3972 of 10043.2%☆☆☆☆☆
20192.1991 of 10021.1%☆☆☆☆☆
20181.9992 of 9970.5%☆☆☆☆☆

Hispanic

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankWisconsin percentileRating
20227.0295 of 2960.3%☆☆☆☆☆
202114.5268 of 2742.2%☆☆☆☆☆

Low Socio Economic Status

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankWisconsin percentileRating
20261.8848 of 8480.0%☆☆☆☆☆

Male

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankWisconsin percentileRating
20262.2978 of 9891.1%☆☆☆☆☆
20252.0988 of 10001.2%☆☆☆☆☆
20241.51009 of 10120.3%☆☆☆☆☆
20232.61002 of 10110.9%☆☆☆☆☆
20222.61009 of 10170.8%☆☆☆☆☆
20213.7986 of 10031.7%☆☆☆☆☆
20192.4991 of 10021.1%☆☆☆☆☆
20182.6976 of 9972.1%☆☆☆☆☆

Special Education

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankWisconsin percentileRating
202611.5779 of 7911.5%☆☆☆☆☆
202511.3787 of 8021.9%☆☆☆☆☆
202414.9733 of 7907.2%☆☆☆☆☆
202315.5720 of 7706.5%☆☆☆☆☆
202214.9715 of 7484.4%☆☆☆☆☆
202117.7691 of 7467.4%☆☆☆☆☆
201914.5722 of 7422.7%☆☆☆☆☆
201814.0695 of 7213.6%☆☆☆☆☆
Middle school ranking
Show full rank history (all student groups)

All Students

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankWisconsin percentileRating
20261.8634 of 6431.4%☆☆☆☆☆
20252.1613 of 6282.4%☆☆☆☆☆
20242.2619 of 6413.4%☆☆☆☆☆
20233.5632 of 6401.3%☆☆☆☆☆
20223.6604 of 6172.1%☆☆☆☆☆
20213.3601 of 6132.0%☆☆☆☆☆
20192.4581 of 5942.2%☆☆☆☆☆
20182.1565 of 5792.4%☆☆☆☆☆
20172.7590 of 6123.6%☆☆☆☆☆
20164.9570 of 6096.4%☆☆☆☆☆
20156.1570 of 6126.9%☆☆☆☆☆
20141.5577 of 5851.4%☆☆☆☆☆
20132.0555 of 5692.5%☆☆☆☆☆
20120.5549 of 5591.8%☆☆☆☆☆
20110.1547 of 5490.4%☆☆☆☆☆
20100.1538 of 5390.2%☆☆☆☆☆
20090.2517 of 5210.8%☆☆☆☆☆
20080.6509 of 5191.9%☆☆☆☆☆
20071.4357 of 3662.5%☆☆☆☆☆
20060.5376 of 3821.6%☆☆☆☆☆
20055.4309 of 3326.9%☆☆☆☆☆
20043.4309 of 3244.6%☆☆☆☆☆

African American

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankWisconsin percentileRating
202617.2115 of 1258.0%☆☆☆☆☆
202518.3111 of 1175.1%☆☆☆☆☆
202421.2105 of 11811.0%★☆☆☆☆
202323.3118 of 1309.2%☆☆☆☆☆
202220.8114 of 1258.8%☆☆☆☆☆
202124.5122 of 1349.0%☆☆☆☆☆
201919.0121 of 1274.7%☆☆☆☆☆
201822.0109 of 12311.4%★☆☆☆☆

Female

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankWisconsin percentileRating
20263.9546 of 5724.5%☆☆☆☆☆
20256.1537 of 5736.3%☆☆☆☆☆
20243.8554 of 5804.5%☆☆☆☆☆
20234.2564 of 5792.6%☆☆☆☆☆
20224.0564 of 5762.1%☆☆☆☆☆
20214.2558 of 5742.8%☆☆☆☆☆
20192.6542 of 5572.7%☆☆☆☆☆
20182.7534 of 5513.1%☆☆☆☆☆

Hispanic

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankWisconsin percentileRating
20245.1238 of 2390.4%☆☆☆☆☆
20236.0229 of 2290.0%☆☆☆☆☆
20227.1221 of 2210.0%☆☆☆☆☆
20196.4209 of 2090.0%☆☆☆☆☆
20187.1203 of 2040.5%☆☆☆☆☆

Low Socio Economic Status

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankWisconsin percentileRating
20262.7510 of 5130.6%☆☆☆☆☆
20252.6504 of 5091.0%☆☆☆☆☆
20244.2509 of 5202.1%☆☆☆☆☆
20235.1521 of 5250.8%☆☆☆☆☆
20225.4519 of 5220.6%☆☆☆☆☆
20183.3488 of 4890.2%☆☆☆☆☆

Male

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankWisconsin percentileRating
20261.5569 of 5751.0%☆☆☆☆☆
20251.3571 of 5771.0%☆☆☆☆☆
20242.3574 of 5851.9%☆☆☆☆☆
20233.8585 of 5911.0%☆☆☆☆☆
20224.7559 of 5773.1%☆☆☆☆☆
20213.9559 of 5722.3%☆☆☆☆☆
20193.3545 of 5572.2%☆☆☆☆☆
20183.0537 of 5512.5%☆☆☆☆☆

Special Education

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankWisconsin percentileRating
202613.7423 of 4393.6%☆☆☆☆☆
202513.6398 of 4143.9%☆☆☆☆☆
202416.3387 of 4258.9%☆☆☆☆☆
202319.2405 of 4397.7%☆☆☆☆☆
202218.0404 of 4214.0%☆☆☆☆☆
202120.4402 of 4378.0%☆☆☆☆☆
201919.3374 of 4149.7%☆☆☆☆☆
201817.0387 of 4177.2%☆☆☆☆☆
How student groups rank statewide ? (each group's percentile vs the same group at other schools — higher is better; the +/- beside each compares the group with this school's overall percentile)
Elementary school
African American (2026)5th percentile+5 vs school
Special Education (2026)2nd percentile~ school
Male (2026)1st percentile~ school
Hispanic (2022)<1st percentile~ school
Female (2026)<1st percentile~ school
Low Socio Economic Status (2026)<1st percentile~ school
Middle school
African American (2026)8th percentile+7 vs school
Female (2026)5th percentile+3 vs school
Special Education (2026)4th percentile~ school
Male (2026)1st percentile~ school
Low Socio Economic Status (2026)1st percentile~ school
Hispanic (2024)<1st percentile-3 vs school
By subject vs Wisconsin (2025-2026) ?
Social Studies14%-51 vs state
English Language Arts5%-49 vs state
Science5%-47 vs state
Mathematics3%-51 vs state

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Frequently Asked Questions about Gaenslen Elementary

Students at Gaenslen Elementary are 81% African American, 9% Hispanic, 6% Two or more races, 3% White.

In the 2024-25 school year, 641 students attended Gaenslen Elementary.

Gaenslen Elementary ranks in the bottom 0.5% of Wisconsin elementary schools.

Rate Gaenslen Elementary!



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Latest Wisconsin data All new data »
2025–26 ACT & Forward Exam scoresNewOct 1, 2026
2021–22 through 2024–25 school spending dataJul 16, 2026
2024–25 attendance data, dropout rates & graduation ratesMar 5, 2026
2024–25 ACT & Forward Exam scoresSep 25, 2025


SchoolDigger data sources: National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Department of Education, the U.S. Census Bureau and the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction.

IMPORTANT DISCLAIMERS: Not all boundaries are included. We make every effort to ensure that boundaries are up-to-date. But it's important to note that these are approximations and are for general informational purposes only. To verify legal descriptions of boundaries or school locations, contact your local tax assessor's office and/or school district.

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