Humboldt Park Elementary

Humboldt Park Elementary is a PK–8 school serving 604 students at 3230 S Adams Ave on Milwaukee's south side, part of the Milwaukee School District. It carries a 1-star, 15th-percentile rating, and that is not a one-year blip: the school has held 1 star in seven of the last ten reported years, sliding from 2 stars in 2016-18 to a steady plateau since 2021. About 83% of students come from low-income families, chronic absenteeism is 32.6%, and per-pupil spending has climbed 57% since 2019-20 to $18,331.

Compared with its own district, Humboldt Park Elementary does better — it outperforms the district in nearly every grade-level reading and math test, with a wider edge in math. Its English Language Learner students are the standout: the only 4-star subgroup here, at the 72nd percentile statewide and improving three years running. Nearby, the neighborhood splits in two. Three Montessori programs within about a mile — Fernwood Montessori, Downtown Montessori and Bay View Montessori School — rank between the 41st and 68th percentile, while traditional MPS neighbors such as Zablocki Elementary, Riley Dual Language Montessori School, Burdick Elementary, Clement Avenue Elementary, Trowbridge Street School of Great Lakes Studies and Milwaukee Parkside School sit between the 5th and 27th. Humboldt Park lands in the middle of that MPS group, ahead on math.

Test scores climb steeply by grade: 3rd-grade reading sits near 16%, while 7th-grade reading reaches about 44%, making early literacy the clearest place to gain ground. Absenteeism is far below the district's 46.2% but still nearly double Wisconsin's 17.3%, and dropout is 0.0%. With 19.4 students per teacher — a heavier load than several nearby schools — and spending that has not yet shown up as higher proficiency, results have been flat rather than falling. The opportunity is to extend what already works for English learners to 3rd-grade and general-education students.