Hartford Avenue Elementary

Hartford Avenue Elementary operates as an intimate elementary-level community in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, part of Milwaukee School District. Current enrollment sits at 256 students spanning grades pre-K through 8. By comparison, Wisconsin's public schools average about 323 students each, so Hartford Avenue Elementary sits 21% below that benchmark.

Within Milwaukee School District, which oversees 155 schools and 65,835 students, Hartford Avenue Elementary is one campus in the system.

In terms of who attends, Hartford Avenue Elementary lists that nearly all students (84%) are Black. Beyond that, the school logs 8% multiracial, 5% Hispanic. The wider county runs roughly 26% Black, putting the school's mix visibly more Black than the area baseline.

In terms of school funding signals, Staff filings list 16 full-time-equivalent teachers, which works out to roughly 15.6:1 students per teacher. The state averages around 14.7:1, so this campus is higher than the state norm typical. An estimated 93% of students are eligible for free or reduced-price lunch, which schools and policymakers use as a rough income-mix signal. By comparison, Milwaukee County runs at roughly 64%, so the school's eligibility rate is above the surrounding baseline.

With demographic context factored in, Hartford Avenue Elementary tracks the demographic baseline. The model predicts 20.6% given the school's FRL share; actual proficiency is 11.2%.

In the broader community, 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. In all, Milwaukee County runs 284 public schools (combined enrollment of about 122,496 students), of which Hartford Avenue Elementary is one.

Nearest neighbor: Riverside High, around 0.6 miles off. Counting just inside five miles, 8 other public schools cluster around Hartford Avenue Elementary. On composite proficiency, Hartford Avenue Elementary comes 7th of 8 in the immediate cluster, beneath the nearby-schools average of 44.9%.

The campus sits in a high-density setting.

Over the past 7-year window. Over the past 7-year window, the student count edged down 58%: 604 students in 2018 compared to 256 in 2025. Class-load math has narrowed: from 29.3:1 in 2018 to 15.6:1 in 2025.

In the discussion threads here, posts here usually surface around school events, parent volunteer needs, and clubs. Parents, students, alumni, and staff are welcome to weigh in.