The top reported proficiency rate is 36% in Math. The lowest is 27% in Social studies.
Original Research by School Decision on Longfellow Elementary
Longfellow Elementary is a regular public school in Sheboygan, part of the Sheboygan Area School District, serving pre-kindergarten through fifth grade. It is one of many elementary schools in the district and draws its students largely from the surrounding neighborhoods in this Lake Michigan port city. The school’s enrollment is modest for its grade band, and it operates as a neighborhood school rather than a magnet or charter.
State assessment results, which are taken in grades three through five under Wisconsin’s Forward exam, show academic performance that falls below many other elementary schools in the county. Across math, English language arts, science, and social studies, the share of students reaching proficiency places the school in the bottom quartile relative to districts in Sheboygan County. This is a consistent pattern across the tested grades and subjects. For a parent trying to understand the academic environment, this signals that a large portion of students are not yet meeting grade-level expectations. Families considering Longfellow may want to ask the school staff what academic interventions and enrichment programs are in place and how the school supports students who need extra help.
The student body is notably diverse. Asian, Hispanic, White, and multiracial students each make up substantial shares, with a smaller representation of Black students. A very high proportion of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, indicating that the school serves a community with significant economic need. Data on the number of students receiving special education services or who are English learners was not available in the public records reviewed, so families may need to ask the school directly for these figures. The high poverty rate is a known factor often associated with lower test scores, and it shapes the support environment a family can expect.
Sheboygan itself is a mid-sized city with a mixed industrial and residential character, a working waterfront, and a history in furniture and manufacturing. It has sizable German-American and Hmong-American communities. Downtown and the lakefront area hold civic anchors such as the John Michael Kohler Arts Center, a performing arts theater, parks, and a marina. The overall housing market shows home values and rents that are moderate compared to national benchmarks, consistent with a city that is not a high-cost area. The schools in the Sheboygan Area School District are distributed across the city rather than concentrated on a single campus.
The district has recently adopted new elementary reading curriculum materials to comply with a state mandate requiring science-based early literacy instruction, which affects how reading is taught starting with the youngest grades. Families enrolling a child in Longfellow can expect the school to be implementing these district-wide changes. The district has also experienced a sustained decline in enrollment over recent years, a factor that can influence staffing levels and class sizes across its schools.
Because several measures that often matter to families were absent from the available data, including discipline rates, chronic absenteeism, and staffing ratios, a thorough picture of the school’s day-to-day environment is incomplete from public records alone. A visit to the school and conversations with current parents and teachers would help fill those gaps.
Longfellow Elementary offers a small, diverse elementary setting in a mid-sized city with a mix of economic backgrounds. The test results suggest that academic challenges are real, and families should expect to engage with the school around how it addresses those challenges. For a parent who values a neighborhood school with broad demographic diversity and is willing to be proactive about academic support, it may be a fit worth exploring directly.
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