Best High Schools in Zip Code 53204

ZIP code 53204 in Milwaukee is home to three public high schools — Bradley Technology High, South Division High, and South Accelerated Academy — all serving grades 9–12 within the Milwaukee School District, which ranks 418th of 432 districts statewide. Together they enroll 2,028 students, and 84–88% of them qualify for free or reduced-price lunch. Two are large comprehensive schools (Bradley Tech at 1,048 students and South Division at 923); the third, South Accelerated Academy, is a 57-student program sharing South Division's campus address.

If you're comparing these schools, Bradley Technology High is the relative bright spot. It graduates 78.5% of students — the only one above the district's 71.5% — and has the lowest dropout rate (3.0%). South Division graduates 60.6% and drops out 7.7%; South Accelerated Academy graduates 54.5% and drops out 22.2%, about 20 times the state rate, though with only 57 students a few students swing that figure sharply. Chronic absenteeism is the defining issue here: 76.1% at Bradley Tech, 62.3% at South Division, and 100% at South Accelerated Academy, versus 17.3% statewide. Notably, higher spending does not track with stronger results — South Division spends the most ($21,132 per student) yet posts the weakest outcomes of the two large schools, while Bradley Tech spends the least ($18,981).

Academics are severely depressed across all three. In every available school-versus-district test comparison, each school falls below the district, which itself sits far below the state. Math proficiency is the lowest floor: 2.76% at Bradley Tech and 1.99% at South Division, compared with 42.93% statewide. Bradley Tech shows the only upward movement, with Social Studies proficiency rising from 6.99% to 13.64%, though its ELA proficiency fell from 8.76% to 4.97%. South Accelerated Academy reports no test scores at all, and South Division has sat at the 1st–2nd percentile for over a decade. These are observations from a small set of schools, not causal findings.