Darrell Lynn Hines Academy, Milwaukee WI

Original Research by School Decision on Darrell Lynn Hines Academy

Darrell Lynn Hines Academy is a charter school serving students from pre-kindergarten through eighth grade in Milwaukee. Because it is a charter school, it operates with some independence from the traditional public school system while remaining publicly funded. The school is its own district, Darrell L Hines Academy Inc, a single-school district. The school sits in Milwaukee’s 53224 ZIP code, a neighborhood on the city’s north side.

The student body is drawn from the surrounding community. The school is almost entirely Black, with a small Asian population and a very small share of students who identify as two or more races. A substantial share of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, which gives one measure of the economic circumstances families bring to the school. The school does not report the share of students who receive special education services or who are English learners, so a parent who needs to know about those support structures would want to ask the school directly.

Milwaukee itself is Wisconsin’s largest city, a historically industrial and manufacturing hub on Lake Michigan that now also anchors major financial-services, healthcare, and technology companies. Its neighborhoods are culturally rich and varied, shaped by waves of immigration and migration, though the city remains one of the most racially segregated in the country. The school is located north of downtown, in a part of the city that is less walkable and more car-dependent than the downtown core. The city’s population has declined over recent decades, and economic disparities are pronounced.

The school appears to be small for its grade band, with a consistent number of students in each grade from kindergarten through eighth grade, plus a pre-kindergarten program. Class sizes are likely moderate, given the per-grade enrollment figures.

On the Wisconsin Forward state assessments, the school’s performance is very low compared to state averages. In math, the share of students scoring proficient or advanced is in the single digits in third, fourth, and sixth grades, and rises only to around a fifth of students in fifth, seventh, and eighth grades. In reading, the pattern is similar: the highest proficiency rates are in fifth and eighth grades, but still well below a third of students, and in other grades the figure is in the low single digits or teens. Science scores are also very low. Social studies shows a slightly brighter spot in eighth grade, where two out of five students reached proficiency. When compared to other districts in Milwaukee County, the school’s overall proficiency index places it in the bottom quarter of the county. This is a consistent and significant academic challenge.

Because the school does not serve grades beyond eighth, there is no graduation rate to report. The school does not offer high-school-level programs such as Advanced Placement or dual credit, as those are not part of a middle school or elementary curriculum.

In terms of the school’s direction, the district brief found no publicly reported recent changes such as a referendum, a curriculum overhaul, or a new pedagogical approach. This does not mean nothing is happening; it means there is no public record of a lasting shift that would appear in a parent’s research.

The school’s housing market context, drawn from the ZIP code, shows home values well below the state and national benchmarks. Rents are also lower, which is consistent with the neighborhood’s economic profile. The broader metro area’s rental market has seen upward pressure, and the national 30-year fixed mortgage rate has hovered in a moderate range near the time of this analysis.

Darrell Lynn Hines Academy is a small, predominantly Black charter school in a north Milwaukee neighborhood, serving children from pre-kindergarten through eighth grade. Its academic results on state tests are very low across all subjects and grades, a pattern a parent would want to discuss with the school to understand what instructional strategies and interventions are in place. The school does not offer high school programs, so a family must plan for a transition to a different school after eighth grade. The neighborhood is affordable relative to the rest of the state, but the city itself has deep economic disparities and a long pattern of population decline.

See more original research from School Decision →

Academic performance

How students perform on state tests, by grade, set against the district.

Math

Grade 30%

School 0% · District 0%

▼ 56 pts below state median · ▼ 28 pts below county median

Grade 46%

School 6% · District 6%

▼ 49 pts below state median · ▼ 19 pts below county median

Grade 522%

School 22% · District 22%

▼ 29 pts below state median · ▼ 1 pts below county median

Grade 60%

School 0% · District 0%

▼ 54 pts below state median · ▼ 17 pts below county median

Grade 721%

School 21% · District 21%

▼ 33 pts below state median · ▼ 1 pts below county median

Grade 820%

School 20% · District 20%

▼ 31 pts below state median · ▲ 1 pts above county median

English language arts

Grade 38%

School 8% · District 8%

▼ 45 pts below state median · ▼ 19 pts below county median

Grade 411%

School 11% · District 11%

▼ 41 pts below state median · ▼ 14 pts below county median

Grade 528%

School 28% · District 28%

▼ 23 pts below state median · even with county median

Grade 67%

School 7% · District 7%

▼ 46 pts below state median · ▼ 16 pts below county median

Grade 714%

School 14% · District 14%

▼ 38 pts below state median · ▼ 13 pts below county median

Grade 827%

School 27% · District 27%

▼ 25 pts below state median · ▼ 2 pts below county median

Science

Grade 46%

School 6% · District 6%

▼ 46 pts below state median · ▼ 16 pts below county median

Grade 820%

School 20% · District 20%

▼ 31 pts below state median · ▼ 1 pts below county median

Social studies

Grade 417%

School 17% · District 17%

▼ 48 pts below state median · ▼ 22 pts below county median

Grade 840%

School 40% · District 40%

▼ 24 pts below state median · ▲ 3 pts above county median

This schoolDarrell L Hines Academy Inc, same grade

Graduation rate (ACGR) reflects the federally published Adjusted Cohort Graduation Rate for the most recent year available. We refresh this data annually at the close of each academic year in June. The federal source publishes a banded rate (for example, "90-94%") instead of an exact number for cohorts small enough to risk identifying individual students. The state distribution chart, where shown, plots every school in the state with a published rate or band; schools whose rate is federally suppressed are excluded. Where the federal source publishes a band rather than an exact rate, the school is placed within its band using a stable, ID-derived offset, so its position is consistent across visits.