E W Luther Elementary, South Milwaukee WI

Original Research by School Decision on E W Luther Elementary

E W Luther Elementary is a regular public school in South Milwaukee serving students from pre-kindergarten through fifth grade. The school sits within the South Milwaukee School District, in a city that began as a streetcar suburb of Milwaukee in the 1890s and still carries a mix of residential neighborhoods, a historic downtown along Milwaukee Avenue, and commercial corridors with regional and national stores. A sizable share of the city’s land is dedicated to county parks, including the large Grant Park along Lake Michigan, giving the town a greenspace-rich, small-town character despite its proximity to Milwaukee.

The school enrolls a student body that is majority white, with a meaningful Hispanic presence, and small shares of students who are Black, Asian, or identify with two or more races. Roughly half of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, a marker of the economic mix in this community. The school is small enough that a parent is likely to find it manageable and personal, though specific class sizes are not provided here.

On the Wisconsin Forward state assessments for the most recent year, E W Luther’s results show a pattern in which third graders performed at a high level in both math and English language arts, with strong majorities reaching proficiency. Fifth graders also performed well in math and posted solid results in English language arts, with a clear majority proficient. Fourth-grade results were a different story. In that grade, just over half of students met proficiency in math and in English language arts, and the science proficiency rate was lower still, with fewer than half of fourth graders scoring at a proficient level. Social studies in fourth grade came in higher, with a solid majority proficient. This grade-level variation means a parent with a child entering fourth grade may want to understand what is driving that dip and whether supports are in place for that transition year. The school’s overall proficiency across tested subjects and grades sits above the midpoint among districts in Milwaukee County, a competitive reference set that includes many suburban peers.

The school is an elementary-only building, so there is no graduation rate to report, and discipline, attendance, and staffing data were not available in the data provided. Program offerings such as special education, English learner supports, or enrichment activities were also absent, so a parent interested in those areas should reach out to the school directly.

South Milwaukee as a community is described as walkable, with a pedestrian-friendly downtown anchored by the new Bucyrus Commons outdoor event space, the South Milwaukee Performing Arts Center adjacent to the high school, and seasonal events such as a weekly downtown market. The Oak Leaf Trail runs through the city. The dominant historical employer was Bucyrus International, a mining machinery company purchased by Caterpillar; the Bucyrus Museum remains downtown. The district secured voter approval in 2024 for two referendums that authorized additional operational funding on a recurring basis and debt for capital improvements across its six schools. Those projects include safety and security upgrades, accessibility improvements, and HVAC and roof work, which may mean ongoing construction or facility changes during a student’s time at the school. Housing values in the area are moderate relative to national benchmarks, and the local rental market has been rising, consistent with broader trends in the region.

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Academic performance

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

Math

Grade 383%

School 83% · District 47% · ▲ 35 pts above district

▲ 27 pts above state median · ▲ 55 pts above county median

Grade 454%

School 54% · District 43% · ▲ 11 pts above district

even with state median · ▲ 30 pts above county median

Grade 575%

School 75% · District 39% · ▲ 36 pts above district

▲ 24 pts above state median · ▲ 52 pts above county median

English language arts

Grade 379%

School 79% · District 52% · ▲ 27 pts above district

▲ 27 pts above state median · ▲ 53 pts above county median

Grade 454%

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

▲ 2 pts above state median · ▲ 29 pts above county median

Grade 563%

School 63% · District 42% · ▲ 21 pts above district

▲ 12 pts above state median · ▲ 35 pts above county median

Science

Grade 446%

School 46% · District 48% · ▼ 2 pts below district

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

Social studies

Grade 464%

School 64% · District 57% · ▲ 8 pts above district

▼ 1 pts below state median · ▲ 25 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-income71%Higher-income87%15 pp gap

Grade 4Lower-income33%Higher-income78%45 pp gap

Grade 5Lower-income39%Higher-income91%52 pp gap

Mathematics

Grade 3Lower-income79%Higher-income87%8 pp gap

Grade 4Lower-income38%Higher-income72%34 pp gap

Grade 5Lower-income62%Higher-income91%29 pp gap