The top reported proficiency rate is 14% in Social studies. The lowest is 4% in Math.
Original Research by School Decision on Brown Street Academy
Brown Street Academy is a regular public elementary school in the Milwaukee School District, serving students from pre-kindergarten through fifth grade. It is located in a residential area on the city's north side, within a district that is the largest in Wisconsin and one of the most financially and operationally challenged in the state. The school itself is a neighborhood elementary, not a charter or magnet, and its enrollment is small for a school serving this grade band.
The student body is almost entirely Black, with a small Hispanic population and a tiny number of students from other racial backgrounds. Nearly every student qualifies for free or reduced-price lunch, a rate that places the school in a high-poverty context. Data on the share of students with disabilities or those learning English was not available, so a parent may want to ask the school directly about the supports in place for these groups.
State testing results for the most recent school year show that proficiency rates in math, English language arts, science, and social studies were very low across all tested grades. In third-grade math, a small share of students met the state's proficiency standard, and in fourth and fifth grade math, no students did. In English language arts, the pattern was similar: a small share of third graders met the bar, a very small share of fourth graders did, and no fifth graders did. Science and social studies results for fourth grade were also low. The school's overall proficiency index, which averages results across all tested subjects and grades, placed it in the bottom quartile among districts in Milwaukee County. This is a straightforward picture of academic performance that a family considering the school will want to weigh carefully.
Because Brown Street Academy serves only pre-kindergarten through fifth grade, there is no graduation rate to report. The school is a regular public school within the Milwaukee School District, not a charter or magnet, and it does not serve high school grades, so measures like college readiness or career pathways do not apply here.
The school is located in a neighborhood on Milwaukee's north side, a part of the city shaped by the same patterns of segregation and disinvestment that the city's broader history reflects. The district itself is navigating a period of financial strain, with a projected budget deficit driven by declining enrollment and the end of federal pandemic relief funds. At the same time, voters recently approved a substantial referendum to fund accessibility improvements in school buildings, signaling a long-term commitment to the district's physical infrastructure. The district is also working through a Long Range Facilities Plan that could lead to school closures or consolidations, and a reorganization of regional offices is underway. These district-level dynamics mean that families at Brown Street Academy may experience changes in building conditions, staffing, or school assignments in the years ahead.
The school's enrollment is small, and the student-to-teacher ratio and other staffing details were not available in the data provided. A parent may want to ask about class sizes and the availability of specialists. The school does not serve grades beyond fifth, so there is no graduation rate to report, and no data on chronic absenteeism or discipline was available. The school is a regular public school, not a charter or magnet, and it operates within the Milwaukee School District's attendance zone structure.
For a family considering Brown Street Academy, the central facts are the school's very low state test scores, its high-poverty student population, and its location within a large urban district facing budget pressures and potential facility changes. The school itself is a neighborhood elementary with a small enrollment, and the academic data available points to significant challenges in reaching state proficiency benchmarks. A parent would want to understand what academic interventions and supports the school offers, and how the district's financial situation might affect staffing and programs at this building in the near term.
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