Fernwood Montessori

Fernwood Montessori is an elementary school of expansive scale in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, one of the schools within Milwaukee School District, enrolling 731 students in grades pre-K through 8. Enrollment runs roughly 126% bigger than the state mean of about 323.

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

On the student-mix side, Fernwood Montessori lists that 65% of the student body identifies as White. The remainder breaks down as 21% Hispanic, 8% multiracial, 5% Black. That is meaningfully more White than the county at large, where the share is closer to 51%.

Looking at school resources, Fernwood Montessori shows 34 full-time-equivalent teachers, putting the student-to-teacher ratio at about 21.6:1. That figure is higher than the state norm's 14.7:1 average. Roughly 21% of students at Fernwood Montessori qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, which schools and policymakers use as a rough income-mix signal. That share is lower than Milwaukee County's rate of about 64%.

Adjusting for the school's free-and-reduced-lunch share, Fernwood Montessori tracks the demographic baseline. The model predicts 65.0% given the school's FRL share; actual proficiency is 62.8%.

In the broader community, ACS estimates for Milwaukee County put median household earnings sit near $64,435, roughly 35% of adults have completed at least a four-year degree, and census figures put the poverty rate at about 13%. Across Milwaukee County's 284 public schools (combined enrollment of about 122,496 students), Fernwood Montessori is one campus in the mix.

Trowbridge Street School of Great Lakes Studies is the nearest neighboring public school, about 0.5 miles from this campus. Counting just inside five miles, 8 other public schools cluster around Fernwood Montessori. Ranking that nearby cluster on reported proficiency puts Fernwood Montessori at 2nd of 8; the average score across the group is 38.0%.

The campus sits in a metropolitan setting.

Trend over the last 7 years. Over the past 7-year window, the student count declined 7%: 782 students in 2018 compared to 731 in 2025. Class-load math has fell: from 28.1:1 in 2018 to 21.6:1 in 2025.

On the community side, the feed for Fernwood Montessori typically covers science fair prep, picture-day reminders, and bus-route questions. Posting is open to anyone connected to the school.