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What's one community event at Fernwood Montessori more people should show up to?
Community prompt from u/allk12. Replies below.
Enrollment
731
Elementary
DISTRICT 370 · STATE 323
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·MILWAUKEE SCHOOL DISTRICT·NCES 550960001160
Fernwood Montessori
3239 S Pennsylvania Ave, Milwaukee, WI 53207 · (414) 294-1300 · Milwaukee County
GRADES PK–08ELEMENTARY11-CITYREGULAR SCHOOL731 STUDENTS
B-
allk12 Grade
Scored higher than 46% of Wisconsin public elementary schools
- B+Test scores Share of students meeting the state standard in reading, math, and other tested subjects, 2023-24 and 2024-25.
- C-Beats expectations How far test scores land above or below what the share of low-income students predicts for a school in this state.
- ·Three-year trend Not available for this school, so the grade uses the other parts.
Grades compare a school only with schools in the same state, because every state gives its own test. How grades work · Top-graded Wisconsin public elementary schools
Student : Teacher
21.6:1
34 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 16.8:1 · STATE 14.7:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
21%
150 students
DISTRICT 84% · STATE 42%
Community
1
0 members
Enrollment and student:teacher ratio compared against other elementary schools. Free/Reduced Lunch and demographics compared against all schools.
Enrollment by grade, 2024-25
| Grade | Students | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Pre-K | 79 | 11% |
| Kindergarten | 78 | 11% |
| Grade 1 | 70 | 10% |
| Grade 2 | 70 | 10% |
| Grade 3 | 70 | 10% |
| Grade 4 | 71 | 10% |
| Grade 5 | 76 | 10% |
| Grade 6 | 59 | 8% |
| Grade 7 | 87 | 12% |
| Grade 8 | 71 | 10% |
This year's kindergarten class (78) is 10% larger than its 8th grade class (71).
Student demographics
53%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 66% · STATE 54% · US 70%
Student head counts by race/ethnicity from federal NCES enrollment data. District, state, and US figures are each group's share of all public school students in that area (US excludes territories). Very small groups may be suppressed in the source, so categories do not always sum exactly to total enrollment.
Gender split
Test scores
Forward Exam 2024-25 . % Meeting or AdvancedEnglish Language Arts
69.2%
WI avg 53.1% . -0.4pp since 2023
Math
47.1%
WI avg 54.8% . -2.9pp since 2023
What this means: On the Forward Exam, Wisconsin's statewide test, about 69 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 47 of 100 do math at grade level. Across all Wisconsin schools, those numbers are about 53 and 55. Reading and writing scores have held steady since 2023, while math scores are down about 3 points.
Forward Exam results by year
| School year | English Language Arts | Math |
|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | 69.2% | 47.1% |
| 2023-24 | 69.6% | 50.0% |
% Meeting or Advanced, all students and all tested grades.
Source: Forward Exam. All students, all grades. See all years and grades →
BeatsExpectations
Demographically-adjusted score · methodologyTier
AS EXPECTED
Performing as predicted given the school's student profile
Actual proficiency
62.8%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
65.0%
based on WI schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
-2.2pp
below demographic expectation
What this means: About 63% of students here test proficient in math and reading, compared with the roughly 65% typical for Wisconsin schools with a similar share of low-income students. BeatsExpectations measures results against demographically similar schools rather than by raw scores, and this school falls within the typical range, neither among Wisconsin's top nor bottom 10%.
BeatsExpectations runs a per-state regression of proficiency on free/reduced-lunch share, then scores each school by residual. How this is calculated →
Schools most like Fernwood Montessori
Fernwood Montessori's state test result (62.8% proficient) is higher than 2 of the 5 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fernwood Montessori this school | 731 | 20.5% | 62.8% |
| Waunakee Heritage Elementary Waunakee | 537 | 15.6% | 72.0% |
| Winnequah School Monona | 602 | 20.3% | 68.7% |
| Sugar Creek Elementary Verona | 645 | 29.9% | 61.0% |
| Waukesha STEM Academy Waukesha | 580 | 25.0% | 72.4% |
| Lake Mills Elementary Lake Mills | 613 | 22.0% | 61.5% |
Matched among Wisconsin elementary schools on enrollment, the share of students from low-income families (eligible for free or reduced-price lunch), and racial and ethnic makeup. Proficient is the average share of students meeting the state standard across all of the school's state tests in 2023-24 and 2024-25, the same combined score our test-score rankings use. Online schools and schools serving specialized populations are not matched.
Where Fernwood Montessori ranks
Among elementary schools| Measure | This school | In Wisconsin | In Milwaukee County |
|---|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 62.8% | #340 of 982 | #30 of 171 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 47.1% | #641 of 992 ▼ 15 | #47 of 174 ▼ 3 |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 69.2% | #151 of 992 ▲ 12 | #21 of 174 ▼ 4 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 731 | #24 of 1,157 | #4 of 180 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 21.6:1 | #879 of 901 | #150 of 158 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 53.0% | #279 of 901 | #69 of 158 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 20.5% | #882 of 1,064 | #162 of 174 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked steepest decline first | -6.5% | #537 of 664 | #106 of 133 |
Ranked against other public elementary schools. Online schools are left out of every list, and test-score lists leave out schools that serve specialized populations. Each rank links to the full list. Arrows under a test-score rank show places moved since the prior test year, among schools tested both years.
4-year change
SY 2020-21 vs SY 2024-25Enrollment
731
-41 (-5%) vs 2020
+49% since 1990-91, when it was 491
Student : Teacher
21.6:1
was 23.4:1
Source: NCES Common Core of Data
Enrollment and staffing by year
| School year | Students | Teachers (FTE) | Students per teacher | Free and reduced lunch |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | 731 | 33.8 | 21.6:1 | 21% (150) |
| 2023-24 | 772 | 33.4 | 23.1:1 | 23% (179) |
| 2022-23 | 756 | 33 | 22.9:1 | 24% (179) |
| 2020-21 | 772 | 33 | 23.4:1 | 23% (178) |
| 2017-18 | 782 | 27.8 | 28.1:1 | 24% (184) |
| 2015-16 | 714 | 9 | 79.3:1 | 23% (167) |
| 2010-11 | 578 | 25 | 23.1:1 | 22% (130) |
| 2000-01 | 344 | 21 | 16.4:1 | 69% (237) |
| 1990-91 | 491 | 25 | 19.6:1 | N/A |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for Fernwood Montessori.
Since 2017-18: students down 7% (782 to 731); teachers up 22% (27.8 to 33.8).
About Fernwood Montessori
Fernwood Montessori is a large elementary school with its address in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Grades offered run from pre-K through 8, with 731 students enrolled. For comparison, elementary schools in Wisconsin average about 323 students.
Fernwood Montessori is run by Milwaukee School District, whose 155 schools enroll 65,835 students.
By race and ethnicity, Fernwood Montessori is 65% White. Beyond that, enrollment is 21% Hispanic, 8% multiracial, and 5% Black. In Milwaukee County overall, about 51% of residents are White. By the diversity index, Fernwood Montessori comes in at 53%.
Fernwood Montessori counts 33.8 full-time-equivalent teachers, about 21.6 students for each one. Among elementary schools in Wisconsin, the typical ratio is 14.7:1. About 21% of enrolled students meet the income rules for free or reduced-price lunch. Among public schools in Milwaukee County, the average eligibility rate is 64%.
Fernwood Montessori is graded B- by allk12, scoring above 46% of Wisconsin public elementary schools once test results, poverty-adjusted performance, and the recent trend are combined.
Based on student poverty, the model expects 65.0% at Fernwood Montessori; the school's average proficiency rate on state tests is 62.8%.
Milwaukee County census figures show that median household income is about $64,435, about 35% of adults have at least a bachelor's degree, and the poverty rate is about 13%. A total of 284 public schools operate in Milwaukee County, serving about 122,496 students.
Of nearby public schools, Trowbridge Street School of Great Lakes Studies is the closest, at about 0.5 miles. Inside a five-mile radius, there are at least 8 other public schools. Fernwood Montessori comes in 2nd of 8 nearby schools on average proficiency.
Fernwood Montessori falls in the City: Large locale category, used for schools inside a principal city with a population of 250,000 or more.
Between 2020-21 and 2024-25, the student count declined from 772 to 731. Federal data show the ratio falling from 23.4:1 to 21.6:1.
Discussion on this page can cover school safety, transportation, and start times. Reviews and ratings from people who know the school are welcome.
Milwaukee County at a glance
View full county profilePopulation
926,331
Census ACS
Median income
$64,435
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
35%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
13%
Below federal line
Schools in county
284
122,496 students
Quick facts
Related schools
Other schools in Milwaukee School District
- HAPA-Hmong American Peace Academy K3-12Combined · 1,974 students
- Hamilton HighHigh · 1,472 students
- Reagan College Preparatory HighHigh · 1,372 students
- King InternationalHigh · 1,308 students
- Obama School of Career and Technical EducationCombined · 1,294 students
- Riverside HighHigh · 1,240 students
Other schools in Milwaukee
- HAPA-Hmong American Peace Academy K3-12Combined · 1,974 students
- Milwaukee Academy of ScienceCombined · 1,711 students
- Hamilton HighHigh · 1,472 students
- Reagan College Preparatory HighHigh · 1,372 students
- Bruce GuadalupeElementary · 1,364 students
- King InternationalHigh · 1,308 students
Nearby schools
- Trowbridge Street School of Great Lakes Studies0.5 mi · 228
- Deer Creek Intermediate0.6 mi · 300
- Clement Avenue Elementary0.9 mi · 238
- Bay View High1.1 mi · 1,021
- Humboldt Park Elementary1.1 mi · 604
- Willow Glen Primary School1.3 mi · 263
Frequently asked questions
About Fernwood MontessoriHow many students attend Fernwood Montessori?
Fernwood Montessori enrolls approximately 731 students in grades PK-08.
What grades does Fernwood Montessori serve?
Fernwood Montessori serves grades PK-08.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Fernwood Montessori?
The student-to-teacher ratio at Fernwood Montessori is approximately 21.6:1 (34 FTE teachers).
How diverse is Fernwood Montessori?
Fernwood Montessori reports a student body of 65% White, 21% Hispanic, 5% Black, 1% Asian, 8% Two or more.
Who oversees Fernwood Montessori?
Fernwood Montessori is overseen by Milwaukee School District in Milwaukee County.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.