Original Research by School Decision on Shared Journeys
Shared Journeys is an alternative charter school serving grades seven through twelve in the West Allis-West Milwaukee School District. It is a very small school, with a total enrollment in the single digits, composed entirely of eleventh and twelfth graders in the data available. The student body is diverse, with a substantial share of Hispanic students and smaller shares of Black and White students. Because of the school’s size and its alternative designation, many of the metrics typically used to evaluate a school—state assessment results, a graduation rate, chronic absenteeism data, and information on free-or-reduced-price lunch eligibility—are absent from the record. This is not unusual for a school of this type and grade span. An alternative school often serves students who are in need of a non-traditional setting, and the lack of standard academic performance measures means a parent or guardian would need to speak directly with the school about the academic pathways it offers, how it defines and measures student progress, and what the graduation requirements look like. No state testing data was available, and no graduation rate was reported.
The school is part of the West Allis-West Milwaukee School District, which serves the nearby city of West Allis. West Allis is a dense inner-ring suburb of Milwaukee with a working-class-to-middle-class residential character. Its history is tied to the Allis-Chalmers manufacturing plant, and while that industrial anchor has closed, the city retains a grid of tree-lined streets with sidewalks, a complete streets policy adopted in recent years, and a substantial park system with bike trails. The Wisconsin State Fair Park, the Milwaukee Mile racetrack, the Pettit National Ice Center, and a large farmers market are major civic anchors. Housing in the area has a median value in the mid to high range for the region, and rents have been climbing. The city has seen a modest population decline from its 2020 count, and the economic base has shifted from heavy manufacturing toward entertainment, healthcare, retail, and public-sector employment. The district itself did not surface any recent major changes such as a referendum, curriculum overhaul, or school closure in available public reporting; a parent may want to check directly with the district office for any current plans.
For a family considering Shared Journeys, the school’s defining characteristic is its role as an alternative setting. It is not a comprehensive high school with a broad roster of AP, career, or dual-credit programs—such program information was not provided. The school’s peer environment is extremely small, which can be a good fit for a student who has struggled in a larger, traditional school building. The lack of readily available outcome data means that a family would need to learn about the school’s approach and track record through direct inquiry rather than through published metrics. The surrounding community of West Allis offers an urban-suburban mix with reasonable access to Milwaukee’s larger job and cultural markets, though the auto-oriented commercial corridors mean that a car or access to the county bus system is necessary for most trips. A parent looking into this school should plan to visit, ask about the instructional model, the level of individual support, and how the school prepares its small cohort of students for life after high school.
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