Lake Bluff Elementary

Lake Bluff Elementary is a PK–6 school with 531 students in Shorewood, Wisconsin — a small suburban community on the edge of Milwaukee, sitting between Whitefish Bay and the city's north side — and it belongs to the Shorewood School District, which ranks 22nd of 432 Wisconsin districts.

Lake Bluff's results are consistently strong. In 2025–2026 it ranked 93rd of 1,039 Wisconsin schools (91st percentile, 5 stars), and its statewide rank has never fallen below the 88th percentile in ten years on record. Proficiency sits roughly 22–23 points above the state in ELA and about 20 points above in math, while tracking within a few points of the district average in every subject — a sign of a coherent, system-wide program. Chronic absenteeism is a standout: it has fallen four years running, from 19.6% to 4.8%, now less than a third of the state rate and essentially level with Atwater Elementary (3.6%). The school also spends far less per student ($13,117) than nearby Milwaukee schools with proficiency 60–70 points lower, and less than Atwater.

Neighboring schools are the most useful yardstick. Atwater outranks Lake Bluff at the 96th percentile and beats it in every 2025–2026 math grade and three of four ELA grades, while Whitefish Bay's Richards Elementary and Cumberland Elementary post roughly 83–86% math proficiency in grades 3–5, about 10–15 points higher. Lake Bluff's clear soft spot is grades 4–5 math, declining four years in a row (grade 4 math: 78.95 down to 65.75), even as grade 3 math reached 83.33 and grade 6 stayed near 80%. Social studies is a quiet strength, roughly 20 points above the state, and the school ranks 8th of 245 Wisconsin schools for its English Language Learner subgroup. Two things worth watching: a persistent gap between female and male students, and thinning resources — per-pupil spending is down 8.6% since 2021–22 while the student-to-teacher ratio rose from 13.4 to 16.4.