The top reported proficiency rate is 23% in Social studies. The lowest is 0% in Math.
Original Research by School Decision on Hopkins Lloyd Community School
Hopkins Lloyd Community School sits in the heart of Milwaukee, a city shaped by its lakefront, its manufacturing history, and deep demographic divides. The school itself serves students from pre-kindergarten through fifth grade in a regular public school setting. It is part of Milwaukee School District, a large urban system that is in the middle of a facilities overhaul and facing a projected budget deficit as federal relief funds expire and enrollment declines.
The student body is small, a factor that can allow for close relationships but also limits the scale of programming. Nearly every student comes from a low-income household, as measured by the share of students eligible for free or reduced-price lunch. The enrollment is almost entirely Black, and this racial composition reflects both the neighborhood immediately around the school and the broader patterns of residential segregation that the city has long grappled with.
Academically, state test results point to a school where most students are not yet reaching the proficient bar. In mathematics, across grades three through five, no students in the tested group scored at the proficient level. In English language arts, the share of students who met the proficiency mark was very small at each grade level, with third grade and fourth grade each showing a modest handful of students reaching that level and fifth grade showing none. Science results in fourth grade followed a similar pattern, and social studies, also tested in fourth grade, showed a somewhat larger but still low portion of students scoring proficient. When compared with other elementary schools across Milwaukee County, the school’s overall proficiency is in the bottom quarter of districts, a meaningful placement that points to significant academic challenges. The school’s participation rate on state tests was full, meaning every enrolled student took the assessments, so the results give a complete picture of tested achievement for those grades.
Because the school stops at fifth grade, there is no graduation rate to report, and data on chronic absenteeism and special education identification was not available in the source material. A parent may want to ask the school directly about those areas, as they matter for understanding the daily support environment.
The housing context around the school is relatively affordable by both city and national standards, with home values and rents in the surrounding zip code well below typical figures for the metro area. Milwaukee County’s housing market has seen prices rise moderately in the past year, but the neighborhood near Hopkins Lloyd remains one of the more accessible parts of the city for families seeking lower-cost options. The school is in a residential area of Milwaukee’s central-north side, not far from the Milwaukee River corridor and within a short drive of the downtown core where major employers such as Northwestern Mutual and Harley-Davidson are concentrated.
On the district side, voters recently approved a long-term referendum to fund accessibility improvements in aging school buildings, part of a larger facilities plan that may eventually lead to school consolidations. The district is also weighing budget cuts that could affect class sizes and programs. These district-level financial pressures are worth watching for families, as they may shape what is available at Hopkins Lloyd in the years ahead.
For a family considering this school, the picture is straightforward. Hopkins Lloyd is a small neighborhood elementary in a large urban district, serving a high-poverty student population with test results that lag well behind the county median. The school itself is not a charter or magnet; it follows a regular public school model. Parents who value a close-knit setting with a student body that reflects the immediate community may find it a familiar option, but the academic data suggests that families should investigate what academic support and intervention the school provides, and how it is working to move students toward proficiency. The school’s website and direct conversations with staff would be the best next step for understanding those specifics.
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