The top reported proficiency rate is 46% in Science. The lowest is 13% in Math.
Original Research by School Decision on Penfield Montessori Academy Inc
Penfield Montessori Academy Inc was not a traditional school district. It was a single-school, tuition-free public charter district in Milwaukee, operating as a UW-Milwaukee authorized Montessori school serving early elementary through grade 6. The school has permanently closed. Its last academic year was 2022-23. As of the end of that school year, the entity ceased operations and has since initiated dissolution procedures, including the sale of its building. Families considering an inclusive, public Montessori option in Milwaukee will need to look elsewhere.
State testing data from that final year is available only for a small group of students. In mathematics, the share of students scoring at the proficient level or above was very low in grade 3 and grade 4. A modest share reached that bar in grade 5. Results for grade 6 were suppressed, meaning the tested group was too small to report. In English language arts, the pattern was similar: no students in grade 3 or grade 4 met the proficient threshold, while grade 5 had a meaningful share reaching proficiency. Grade 6 results were again suppressed. In science, a sizable share of grade 4 students tested proficient. In social studies, also at grade 4, roughly a quarter of those tested met the bar. With such small tested counts, year-to-year swings can be large, and these numbers should be read as a snapshot of a very small population rather than a stable trend.
Enrollment and student demographic data for the district were not available in this record, nor were figures on economic disadvantage, special education identification, or English learner status. The school described itself as fully inclusive, and publicly reported accounts indicate that the charter model received less per-pupil state funding than traditional Milwaukee public schools and that inadequate special education reimbursement from the state created an unsustainable funding gap. That gap was cited as the direct cause of the closure.
For families who were seeking an inclusive Montessori program, the closure removed the only tuition-free public Montessori charter in Milwaukee. Publicly reported sources note that some former staff and families subsequently launched West Side Montessori Academy, a satellite location of Adeline Montessori, to preserve part of the school community. That new school operates under a different charter and is a separate entity from Penfield Montessori Academy Inc, which no longer exists as an operating district. No data on academic performance, enrollment, or programs at the successor school is available here.
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