Summary:
ZIP code 53228 in the Greenfield area of Milwaukee County contains three public schools serving the full K–12 pipeline — one high school, one middle school, and one PK–8 elementary — with a combined enrollment of 1,643 students. What makes this ZIP unusual is that its schools are split between two districts at opposite ends of Wisconsin's performance spectrum: Whitnall High and Whitnall Middle belong to the Whitnall School District (ranked 60th of 432 districts, 86th percentile), while Alcott Elementary belongs to the Milwaukee School District (ranked 418th, 3rd percentile).
Whitnall Middle is the strongest performer in the area, holding 4 stars and rising from the 71st to the 85th percentile statewide over three years. It beats the state average in all eight subject and grade combinations, with 8th graders posting 80.21% proficient in social studies and 75.94% in math. Whitnall High earned 3 stars in 2025-26 as its statewide percentile slipped from 72nd to 63rd, but its outcomes remain excellent: a 97.0% graduation rate (state: 92.0%), a 0.2% dropout rate (state: 1.1%), and 13.4% chronic absenteeism, below the state's 17.3%.
Alcott sits at the 9th percentile with 0 stars and a 39.7% chronic absenteeism rate — more than double the state's 17.3% — while its proficiency rates run roughly 31 points below the state average. Even so, Alcott outperforms Milwaukee district averages in several grades, including 8th-grade ELA, math, and social studies, and its 8th-grade cohort is clearly its strongest. The clearest dividing line in this ZIP is economic: about 28% of Whitnall students qualify for free or reduced lunch versus 74% at Alcott, a gap that tracks closely with the achievement gap between the schools.
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