Barbee Elementary

Barbee Elementary is one of the mid-tier elementary schools in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, run under Milwaukee School District, with 289 students on its rolls from grades pre-K through 7.

Milwaukee School District comprises 155 schools with combined enrollment of 65,835 students; Barbee Elementary is among them.

Looking at the student body, Barbee Elementary records that 78% of the student body identifies as Black; the rest is composed of 9% White, 6% multiracial, 5% Hispanic. The wider county runs roughly 26% Black, putting the school's mix noticeably more Black than the area baseline.

In terms of school funding signals, Staff filings list 18 full-time-equivalent teachers, which works out to roughly 16.5:1 students per teacher. Statewide, the average ratio sits near 14.7:1, putting Barbee Elementary higher than the state norm the norm. An estimated 86% of students are eligible for free or reduced-price lunch, which schools and policymakers use as a rough income-mix signal. That share is north of Milwaukee County's rate of about 64%.

On a demographically-adjusted basis, Barbee Elementary sits in the middle band of the BeatsExpectations distribution. Schools with this campus's student mix typically land near 24.8%; this one delivers 21.4%.

Across the wider county, Milwaukee County reports that median household earnings sit near $64,435, roughly 35% of adults have completed at least a four-year degree, and roughly 13% of residents live below the federal poverty line. Barbee Elementary is one of 284 public schools in Milwaukee County (combined enrollment of about 122,496 students).

The closest other public school is King International, roughly 0.6 miles away. 8 of the 8 nearest public schools sit inside a five-mile radius. On composite proficiency, Barbee Elementary comes 2nd of 7 in the immediate cluster, ahead of the nearby-schools average of 13.7%.

Barbee Elementary operates from a metropolitan location.

Five-year trend. Over the past 7-year window, the student count declined 13%: 331 students in 2018 compared to 289 in 2025. The Black share of enrollment fell from 83% to 78% over that span. The student-to-teacher ratio narrowed from 22.4:1 in 2018 to 16.5:1 today.

On the community side, the page collects discussion, questions, and updates around enrollment questions, classroom assignments, and PTA news. Parents, students, alumni, and staff are welcome to weigh in.