Summary:
ZIP code 53209 (Milwaukee and Glendale, Wisconsin) contains five elementary schools — Parkway Elementary, Barbee Elementary, Pratt Elementary, Hawthorne Elementary, and Thurston Woods Elementary — serving roughly 1,582 students in grades PK–3 through PK–8, with four schools in the Milwaukee School District and one in the Glendale-River Hills School District.
Parkway Elementary is the clear standout. Its chronic absenteeism is 7.4% (state: 17.3%), its low-income rate is 37.96%, and it has the smallest classes and the lowest per-student spending ($18,397) in the group — yet it posts the highest proficiency, at 45.54% in both 3rd grade ELA and math, only 6–9 points below state averages while every other school sits 30–50 points below. Among the four MPS schools, Barbee Elementary performs best: 8th grade ELA (40%) and 4th grade Social Studies (46.15%) are the top MPS results here, and its ELA beat the district in most grades. Pratt Elementary and Hawthorne Elementary each show one bright spot — 5th grade ELA rose to 18.18% and 20% respectively — but their overall proficiency ranges remain far below state levels.
Attendance is the biggest divide between these schools, spanning 7.4% to 62.4% — a far wider spread than class size or spending. Thurston Woods Elementary faces the deepest challenges: 62.4% chronic absenteeism, every tested math grade at or near 0% in 2025-26, and a bottom-percentile state rank. Spending does not track results here — Hawthorne Elementary spends the most ($22,933) and posts among the lowest proficiency, most likely because higher-need schools receive more need-based funding. One caveat for parents: Parkway's rankings date from 2004–07, so they are historical context rather than a current comparison.
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