Milwaukee College Preparatory School: Lola Rowe North Campus, Milwaukee WI

Original Research by School Decision on Milwaukee College Preparatory School: Lola Rowe North Campus

Milwaukee College Preparatory School: Lola Rowe North Campus is a charter school in the Milwaukee School District, serving pre-kindergarten through eighth grade. It is a regular school by type, and there is no information available on Title I status. The school's name reflects a college preparatory mission, and as a charter school it operates with some autonomy from the district while remaining publicly funded.

The student body is predominantly Black, with a much smaller share of students identifying as two or more races, Hispanic, American Indian or Alaska Native, or white. Asian and Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander students are not represented in the data. A substantial share of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, placing the school in a high-poverty context. The school is sizable for its grade band, with enrollment spread fairly evenly across grades from kindergarten through eighth grade, along with a pre-kindergarten program.

On state assessments, the school's proficiency rates in math and English language arts varied by grade level. In math, the share of students scoring proficient or above generally fell in a modest range across third through seventh grades, with a higher rate in eighth grade. In English language arts, a similar pattern emerged, with the lowest rates in the early elementary grades and a noticeably higher rate in seventh and eighth grades. Science and social studies assessments, given in fourth and eighth grades, also showed a range, with the eighth-grade social studies proficiency rate exceeding half of test-takers. Overall, across all tested subjects and grades, the school's proficiency index placed it below the midpoint when compared to other districts in Milwaukee County, a comparison set that includes both the Milwaukee School District and numerous suburban and charter districts.

Because the school does not serve high school grades, there is no graduation rate to report. The school is a regular school serving a full PK-8 grade span, so the absence of a high school metric is explained by the grade range itself, not by missing data.

The school is located on North Avenue in Milwaukee, a city that is a mix of commercial, industrial, and residential districts shaped by its history as a port and manufacturing hub on Lake Michigan. Milwaukee has five Fortune 500 company headquarters, a legacy brewing industry, major healthcare and financial sectors, and culturally distinct neighborhoods. The city also remains one of the most racially segregated in the U.S., a legacy of early-20th-century redlining. The school's neighborhood context is urban and central city.

Families with children at this school are part of the Milwaukee School District, which is currently navigating several significant changes. In early 2024, voters approved a substantial referendum to fund school building accessibility projects under the district's Long Range Facilities Plan, a property-tax-backed investment in infrastructure. The district is also implementing a Long Range Facilities Plan that addresses aging school buildings, ADA compliance, and excess capacity, with potential school closures or consolidations in coming years. At the same time, MPS is projecting a significant budget deficit for the 2025-26 school year, driven by declining enrollment and the expiration of federal COVID-19 relief funds, which could lead to program cuts and staffing reductions. A reorganization reducing regional offices from six to four took effect in the 2025-26 school year. These district-level developments could affect families through changes to school assignments, class sizes, and available programs, and parents may want to track them closely.

The housing market around the school is part of the broader Milwaukee market, where home values and rental costs are well below the national benchmark. The Milwaukee County housing market has seen a rise in active listings and pending sales, with a moderate increase in median listing prices, reflecting a market that is not as tight as many major metropolitan areas.

For a parent considering this school, the picture is of a charter school with a college preparatory focus in a high-poverty, predominantly Black central-city context. It serves a full PK-8 span, so children can attend through middle school before transitioning to a high school. Academic proficiency rates are below the midpoint of the county's districts, a comparison set that includes many wealthier suburban systems, but the school shows a pattern of higher performance in the upper grades, particularly in eighth-grade math and social studies. The district's financial pressures and facilities planning are active issues that could shape the school's operations and resources in the medium term.

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Academic performance

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

Math

Grade 339%

School 39% · District 24% · ▲ 15 pts above district

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

Grade 442%

School 42% · District 19% · ▲ 23 pts above district

▼ 12 pts below state median · ▲ 17 pts above county median

Grade 533%

School 33% · District 18% · ▲ 15 pts above district

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

Grade 633%

School 33% · District 18% · ▲ 16 pts above district

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

Grade 739%

School 39% · District 22% · ▲ 17 pts above district

▼ 15 pts below state median · ▲ 17 pts above county median

Grade 853%

School 53% · District 19% · ▲ 35 pts above district

▲ 2 pts above state median · ▲ 34 pts above county median

English language arts

Grade 325%

School 25% · District 22% · ▲ 3 pts above district

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

Grade 423%

School 23% · District 22% · ▲ 1 pts above district

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

Grade 528%

School 28% · District 21% · ▲ 7 pts above district

▼ 23 pts below state median · even with county median

Grade 631%

School 31% · District 24% · ▲ 8 pts above district

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

Grade 745%

School 45% · District 28% · ▲ 17 pts above district

▼ 7 pts below state median · ▲ 18 pts above county median

Grade 849%

School 49% · District 29% · ▲ 20 pts above district

▼ 3 pts below state median · ▲ 20 pts above county median

Science

Grade 419%

School 19% · District 20% · ▼ 1 pts below district

▼ 33 pts below state median · ▼ 3 pts below county median

Grade 827%

School 27% · District 22% · ▲ 4 pts above district

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

Social studies

Grade 429%

School 29% · District 32% · ▼ 3 pts below district

▼ 36 pts below state median · ▼ 10 pts below county median

Grade 855%

School 55% · District 36% · ▲ 19 pts above district

▼ 9 pts below state median · ▲ 18 pts above county median

This schoolMilwaukee 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-income17%Higher-income71%55 pp gap

Grade 5Lower-income22%Higher-income46%24 pp gap

Grade 7Lower-income43%Higher-income50%7 pp gap

Grade 8Lower-income51%Higher-income40%11 pp gap

Mathematics

Grade 3Lower-income33%Higher-income71%38 pp gap

Grade 5Lower-income31%Higher-income36%5 pp gap

Grade 7Lower-income38%Higher-income43%5 pp gap

Grade 8Lower-income51%Higher-income60%9 pp gap