Milwaukee German Immersion

Milwaukee German Immersion is an elementary school of high-enrollment scale in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, part of Milwaukee School District, serveing 549 students in grades pre-K through 5. That puts it 70% larger than the typical public school in Wisconsin, which averages around 323 students.

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

For racial and ethnic makeup, Milwaukee German Immersion shows that the most-represented group is White (52%), with the rest of the student body spread across multiple groups. Beyond that, the school reports 25% Black, 14% multiracial, 8% Hispanic. That mix tracks the wider county fairly closely.

Looking at school resources, Staff filings list 25 full-time-equivalent teachers, which works out to roughly 22.3:1 students per teacher. The state averages around 14.7:1, so this campus is higher than the state norm typical. An estimated 27% of students are eligible for free or reduced-price lunch, a commonly cited indicator of low-income enrollment. Set against Milwaukee County (around 64%), the school's rate is south of typical.

Adjusting for the school's free-and-reduced-lunch share, Milwaukee German Immersion tracks the demographic baseline. The model predicts 60.9% given the school's FRL share; actual proficiency is 66.7%.

Around the school, community-level numbers for Milwaukee County indicate median household income runs about $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. Milwaukee German Immersion is one of 284 public schools in Milwaukee County (combined enrollment of about 122,496 students).

Nearest neighbor: Milwaukee School of Languages, around 0.7 miles off. Counting just inside five miles, 8 other public schools cluster around Milwaukee German Immersion. Among the 9 schools in that immediate cluster with test data (this one included), Milwaukee German Immersion ranks 1st on composite proficiency, above the local average of 19.8%.

The campus sits in a metropolitan setting.

Five-year trend. Over the past 7-year window, the student count declined 10%: 607 students in 2018 compared to 549 in 2025. Over the same period, the White share edged down from 62% to 52%. The student-to-teacher ratio narrowed from 38.5:1 in 2018 to 22.3:1 today.

On this page, the page collects discussion, questions, and updates around open house dates, ride-share offers, and field-trip permission slips. Contributors range from current parents to recent graduates and teachers.