Blakewood Elementary, South Milwaukee WI

Original Research by School Decision on Blakewood Elementary

Blakewood Elementary serves students from prekindergarten through fifth grade in South Milwaukee, a lakefront suburb with a historic industrial past and a small-town feel. The school sits within the South Milwaukee School District, which in 2024 secured voter approval for both recurring operational funding and a facilities bond, signaling community support for the district’s financial stability and building upgrades.

The student body is diverse, with a majority white enrollment and a substantial Hispanic population, alongside smaller shares of Black, Asian, and multiracial students. More than half of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, a common measure of economic need. This economic profile places the school solidly within the middle range of the surrounding Milwaukee County district context.

Academically, Blakewood presents a mixed picture. In English language arts, the school’s third and fourth graders post strong proficiency rates, well above the county median, while fifth graders drop to a notably lower level, one that is below the county median. Math follows a similar pattern of decline: third graders and fourth graders perform around or above the midpoint for the county, but fifth graders again fall short, with a proficiency rate that is below the county median. Science and social studies, tested only in fourth grade, show high proficiency, well above the county midpoint. The overall proficiency index, which averages results across all tested subjects and grades, places Blakewood above the midpoint among Milwaukee County districts, but the grade-level pattern is uneven. The drop in both reading and math between fourth and fifth grade is sharp enough that a parent may want to ask the school about curriculum alignment or student support in the upper elementary years.

Blakewood is a regular neighborhood public school, with no charter or magnet designation. Its site is just off Blakewood Avenue, in a walkable residential part of South Milwaukee. The community itself is compact, with a revitalized downtown, a performing arts center built in the 2000s, and expansive county parkland including Grant Park along Lake Michigan. Housing values and rents in the 53172 zip code sit below the state average and well below the national average, making the area comparatively affordable for Milwaukee County. The local housing market has seen moderate price appreciation and low inventory, a common pattern across the region.

The school does not publish data on special education or English learner enrollment, nor does it report chronic absenteeism or discipline rates, so those dimensions of the school’s environment are not available for assessment. There is no graduation rate because the school ends at fifth grade.

For a family considering Blakewood, the core takeaway is this: early elementary reading and math results are solid, with fourth grade science and social studies also a strength. But the fifth-grade decline is real, and worth discussing with the school. The building is part of a district that has renewed its commitment to facilities and operations through a recent referendum, and it serves a community that is affordable, walkable, and connected to the Milwaukee metro area without feeling suburban-sprawl generic. It is a school that fits a family looking for a strong start in the primary years, with the understanding that the upper elementary transition may be an inflection point to watch closely.

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Academic performance

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

Math

Grade 354%

School 54% · District 47% · ▲ 7 pts above district

▼ 2 pts below state median · ▲ 26 pts above county median

Grade 451%

School 51% · District 43% · ▲ 8 pts above district

▼ 3 pts below state median · ▲ 27 pts above county median

Grade 537%

School 37% · District 39% · ▼ 2 pts below district

▼ 14 pts below state median · ▲ 14 pts above county median

English language arts

Grade 371%

School 71% · District 52% · ▲ 19 pts above district

▲ 19 pts above state median · ▲ 45 pts above county median

Grade 470%

School 70% · District 47% · ▲ 22 pts above district

▲ 18 pts above state median · ▲ 45 pts above county median

Grade 539%

School 39% · District 42% · ▼ 3 pts below district

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

Science

Grade 470%

School 70% · District 48% · ▲ 22 pts above district

▲ 18 pts above state median · ▲ 48 pts above county median

Social studies

Grade 477%

School 77% · District 57% · ▲ 20 pts above district

▲ 12 pts above state median · ▲ 38 pts above county median

This schoolSouth Milwaukee 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-income59%Higher-income83%25 pp gap

Grade 4Lower-income63%Higher-income74%12 pp gap

Grade 5Lower-income35%Higher-income45%10 pp gap

Mathematics

Grade 3Lower-income41%Higher-income67%26 pp gap

Grade 4Lower-income38%Higher-income59%22 pp gap

Grade 5Lower-income31%Higher-income45%14 pp gap