The top reported proficiency rate is 63% in English language arts. The lowest is 50% in Math.
Original Research by School Decision on Willow Glen Primary School
Willow Glen Primary School serves a very specific role in the Saint Francis School District: it is the entry point for every district child, covering pre-kindergarten through third grade. Before they move on to Deer Creek Intermediate for fourth grade, children spend these early years at Willow Glen. Because the school only serves the primary grades, there is no graduation rate to report, and the academic performance picture is necessarily limited to the one grade that is tested by the state.
The single available window into academic performance comes from the third-grade state assessments. On the English language arts portion, a majority of third graders met or exceeded the proficiency standard, with the result landing above the midpoint for proficiency among schools in Milwaukee County when all tested subjects are combined into a single index. Math results were lower, with roughly half of third graders meeting the proficiency bar. These are early snapshot data points, and parents should note that third grade is the first year of state testing, so these results represent a baseline rather than a trend. There is no multi-year data available to see whether cohorts improve as they move through the school.
Willow Glen Primary is a regular public school, not a charter or magnet. The district recently undertook a major capital construction investment, which funded significant facilities work across the district. For a primary school, this could mean updated classrooms, playgrounds, or other learning spaces, but the specific scope at Willow Glen was not detailed in the available information.
The student body is diverse in its makeup. The largest racial or ethnic group is white students, followed by a substantial share of Hispanic students, with smaller numbers of Black, Asian, multiracial, and American Indian students. The share of students who qualify for free or reduced-price lunch is modest. Data on students with individualized education programs and English learners was not reported, so a parent with a child who receives special education or English language support would want to ask the school directly about those services and caseloads.
Saint Francis itself is a small, landlocked residential suburb of Milwaukee, sitting between the lake and the airport. The city is compact and has seen a mostly flat to slightly declining population over recent decades. Housing values in the area are near the typical range for the state, and rents are broadly in line with what the local median household income can support, though the housing market has been active with a rising number of listings. The city has no traditional downtown, but civic life is organized around Howard Avenue, where the community center and civic center are located. Families will find community events like summer concerts and St. Francis Days, and the lakeside Nojoshing Trail offers a spot for walks or bike rides.
The school sits on its own campus, separate from the intermediate and high school buildings, as the district's three schools are spread across the city rather than clustered together. For a parent looking at Willow Glen, the big question is what happens after third grade: the same district, the same cohort, moves together to Deer Creek. A family choosing Saint Francis is choosing that full pre-K through twelfth grade pathway, and Willow Glen is the start of it. The academic picture at third grade shows a school where literacy results are a relative strength and math is an area that a parent may wish to discuss further with the school, especially given that this is the only tested grade level and no trend data exists to show how students progress.
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