Benjamin Franklin Elementary and Early Learning Center, Menomonee Falls WI

Original Research by School Decision on Benjamin Franklin Elementary and Early Learning Center

Benjamin Franklin Elementary and Early Learning Center serves students from prekindergarten through second grade in Menomonee Falls, a village in Waukesha County, Wisconsin. Because the school covers only the earliest grades, state testing data is available for grades three, four, and five, which are not grades the school serves. The testing results on the record come from the 2016-17 school year and reflect students who were enrolled in higher grades at that time, not the current population. A parent considering this school will want to focus on what the school actually offers for its youngest learners rather than on those older test results.

The school is a regular public school within the Menomonee Falls School District. It enrolls a substantial number of students across PK through second grade, with the largest groups in first and second grade. The student body is predominantly white, with Asian students making up a notable share and Black, Hispanic, and multiracial students each represented in smaller but meaningful proportions. A modest share of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch. Data on students with disabilities and English learners was not available in the school's profile, so a parent may wish to ask the school directly about the services and staffing for those groups.

The school's name includes "Early Learning Center," which signals a focus on the youngest years, and the PK through second-grade span means children move to another elementary school in the district after second grade. For a family with a child entering preschool, kindergarten, or first or second grade, this school is the entry point. The peer environment will be children of similar age, and the academic work is foundational.

Menomonee Falls itself is a large village by Wisconsin standards, covering more than 30 square miles in northeast Waukesha County. The community is a mix of a historic downtown business district, suburban subdivisions, and corporate and industrial campuses. Major employers include Kohl's headquarters, Froedtert Health, and several manufacturing firms, giving the village an employment base that draws commuters as well as residents. Housing values in the area have risen over the past year, and the market shows moderate demand. The village has invested in sidewalks, trails, and parks, including a recreational trail and an award-winning village park, though much of the area is suburban and car-dependent. The district passed a significant bond referendum in 2023 to fund infrastructure, safety, and accessibility improvements across all six schools, which will be repaid through property taxes, a factor for homebuyers to weigh.

Relative to other districts in Waukesha County, the school's overall proficiency across tested subjects and grades sits in the bottom quartile. Given that this school serves only PK through second grade and the testing data comes from grades it does not teach, this comparison is not a direct measure of the school's current instruction. A parent should interpret that positioning cautiously and may want to learn how the early learning program prepares children for the district's later elementary grades.

The district has not provided current program offerings or staff-to-student ratios for this school in the available data. The school's website was not included in the profile, so a family interested in specific curricula, enrichment, or early childhood programs would need to contact the district or visit the school directly. The absence of that detail does not suggest weakness; it simply means the information was not collected here. For a parent seeking a school that focuses exclusively on the early elementary years in a suburban community with a strong employment base and recent facility investments, Benjamin Franklin Elementary is a straightforward option worth investigating firsthand.

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Academic performance

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

Math

Grade 378%

School 78% · District 69% · ▲ 10 pts above district

▲ 22 pts above state median · even with county median

Grade 476%

School 76% · District 73% · ▲ 4 pts above district

▲ 22 pts above state median · ▲ 1 pts above county median

Grade 557%

School 57% · District 70% · ▼ 13 pts below district

▲ 6 pts above state median · ▼ 16 pts below county median

English language arts

Grade 341%

School 41% · District 63% · ▼ 22 pts below district

▼ 12 pts below state median · ▼ 32 pts below county median

Grade 460%

School 60% · District 63% · ▼ 3 pts below district

▲ 7 pts above state median · ▼ 12 pts below county median

Grade 561%

School 61% · District 64% · ▼ 3 pts below district

▲ 10 pts above state median · ▼ 11 pts below county median

Science

Grade 460%

School 60% · District 65% · ▼ 6 pts below district

▲ 8 pts above state median · ▼ 8 pts below county median

Social studies

Grade 461%

School 61% · District 71% · ▼ 10 pts below district

▼ 4 pts below state median · ▼ 21 pts below county median

This schoolMenomonee Falls School District, 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.

Proficiency by household income

English language arts

Grade 3Lower-income0%Higher-income47%47 pp gap

Grade 4Lower-income44%Higher-income61%17 pp gap

Grade 5Lower-income55%Higher-income62%7 pp gap

Mathematics

Grade 3Lower-income40%Higher-income84%44 pp gap

Grade 4Lower-income56%Higher-income79%23 pp gap

Grade 5Lower-income55%Higher-income57%2 pp gap