Atwater Elementary

Atwater Elementary is a reasonably sized primary school in Shorewood, Wisconsin, overseen by Shorewood School District. The school works with 474 students in grades pre-K through 6. By comparison, Wisconsin's public schools average about 323 students each, so Atwater Elementary sits 47% bigger than that benchmark.

Shorewood School District comprises 5 schools with combined enrollment of 1,916 students; Atwater Elementary is among them.

On demographics, Atwater Elementary shows that 64% of the student body identifies as White. The remainder looks like 14% Black, 8% Hispanic, 7% Asian, 7% multiracial. The wider county runs roughly 51% White, putting the school's mix visibly more White than the area baseline.

In terms of school funding signals, Atwater Elementary lists 33 full-time-equivalent teachers, putting the student-to-teacher ratio at about 14.2:1. That tracks the state average closely. About 24% of enrolled students meet the income threshold for free or reduced-price lunch, a commonly cited indicator of low-income enrollment. By comparison, Milwaukee County runs at roughly 64%, so the school's eligibility rate is below the surrounding baseline.

On a residual basis (actual vs predicted given the student mix), Atwater Elementary sits in the middle band of the BeatsExpectations distribution. Schools with this campus's student mix typically land near 62.8%; this one delivers 74.1%.

In the area at large, Milwaukee County reports that median household income runs about $64,435, roughly 35% of adults have completed at least a four-year degree, and the poverty rate sits near 13%. Across Milwaukee County's 284 public schools (combined enrollment of about 122,496 students), Atwater Elementary is one campus in the mix.

Nearest neighbor: Shorewood High, around 0.3 miles off. Counting just inside five miles, 8 other public schools cluster around Atwater Elementary. Among the 6 schools in that immediate cluster with test data (this one included), Atwater Elementary ranks 2nd on composite proficiency, higher than the local average of 45.3%.

Atwater Elementary operates from an outer-ring location.

Over the past 7-year window. Over the past 7-year window, the student count declined 13%: 545 students in 2018 compared to 474 in 2025. The Asian share of enrollment shrank from 13% to 7% over that span.

On the community side, the page collects discussion, questions, and updates around school events, parent volunteer needs, and clubs. The community welcomes input from current and former families.