Original Research by School Decision on Lafollette High
LaFollette High serves students in grades nine through twelve on Madison’s east side, as one of several comprehensive high schools in the Madison Metropolitan School District. It is a regular public school, not a charter or magnet, and sits within a city that is the state capital and home to the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Madison’s economy draws on government, education, healthcare, and technology, and the city has grown steadily. The downtown, on an isthmus between lakes, is walkable and dense, with a pedestrian mall linking the Capitol to the university campus. The school’s address on Pflaum Road puts it in a residential neighborhood east of the isthmus, away from the urban core but within the city limits.
A parent considering LaFollette will find a sizable high school whose student body reflects the diversity of the east side and of Madison broadly. The largest racial or ethnic group among students is Hispanic, followed by white and Black students, with smaller shares of Asian students, students identifying with two or more races, and a very small number of American Indian or Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander students. More than half of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, a marker that a substantial share of families have lower household incomes. English learner and special education enrollment data was not available in the profile, so a parent may want to ask the school directly about those supports.
State testing data for LaFollette was suppressed or unavailable in the records reviewed, so there is no overall proficiency picture to report from those assessments. That gap can sometimes reflect a school’s grade band or a state’s reporting policy for high schools, but in this case the reason is not stated. A parent looking for academic performance benchmarks will want to ask the school for its most recent state report card, ACT participation and scores, and Advanced Placement or other college-readiness results. Without that data, it is not possible to place LaFollette’s academic achievement in context with other Dane County high schools.
The school offers a full high school program through the Madison district, which includes a broad range of courses and pathways. The district has not provided a specific program listing for LaFollette in this profile, but Madison Metropolitan High Schools typically offer Advanced Placement courses, career and technical education, and dual-credit opportunities through partnerships with Madison College and the University of Wisconsin system. LaFollette may have signature programs or academies; a parent should confirm directly what is available.
The building itself is in a part of Madison that has seen development pressure as the city grows. Madison was the fastest-growing city in Wisconsin as of 2024, and it annexed most of the remaining Town of Madison in 2022, expanding its boundaries eastward. Housing values in the school’s ZIP code are above the state average but slightly below the national benchmark, and rents are moderate relative to incomes. The area’s job market is driven by the university, state government, and large employers such as Epic Systems, UW Health, and American Family Insurance, and unemployment has been low nationally.
A family choosing LaFollette will be joining a district that has invested in facilities and programming in recent years, though the profile did not provide details on specific new construction at this school. The Madison Metropolitan School District serves a diverse and growing student population across the city, and each of its comprehensive high schools draws from a defined attendance area. LaFollette’s enrollment is large for a high school, which means a wide range of course offerings and extracurriculars are typical, but class sizes and individual attention are worth investigating.
For a parent or resident, LaFollette offers a large, diverse high school in a growing, economically stable city. The missing state assessment data is a significant gap for any family comparing academic outcomes. The student composition and economic profile suggest a school that serves a broad cross-section of the east side community, including many families with lower incomes. A family should seek out current test score trends, graduation rates, and program details directly from the school to round out the picture.
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