Summary:
Zip code 53218 on Milwaukee's northwest side has 13 schools serving 5,323 students: 10 elementary schools and 3 high schools, with no standalone middle or alternative schools — though several elementaries are PK–8 and one high school serves grades 6–12, so middle grades are taught inside those buildings. Most schools belong to Milwaukee School District, with two charter operators: Milwaukee Scholars Charter School Inc and Rocketship Education Wisconsin Inc. District rankings are very low statewide — MPS ranks 418 of 432 — and every school here falls in the bottom 11% of Wisconsin schools, with most in the bottom 6%.
Craig Montessori School is the clearest standout: it is the only school in the zip code with chronic absenteeism below the state rate (13.3% versus 17.3%), and it is tied for the highest rank here at the 11th percentile with 1 star. Milwaukee Scholars Charter School, the largest school at 696 students, posts the strongest upper-grade results, including 48.72% in 7th-grade ELA. Hampton Elementary has solid 4th-grade social studies (43.48%). Among high schools, Carmen High Southeast Campus has the best outcomes — an 86.4% graduation rate and 1.3% dropout rate.
The biggest shared concern is attendance: the average chronic absenteeism rate is about 54.7%, far above Wisconsin's 17.3%, and only Craig is below the state figure. James Madison Academic Campus is the most severe case, with 88.0% chronic absenteeism, a 7.9% dropout rate, and proficiency of 0% to 4.55% across reported subjects. Lancaster Elementary (1st percentile) and Congress Elementary, which reports 0% proficiency in 4th- and 5th-grade math in both years, are also very weak. No reported 2025–26 test cell beats the state value for its subject and grade, and higher spending — notably Kluge Elementary at $26,270 per student — does not track with stronger results.
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