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Honest take: what's the hardest part about being a student at South Division High?
Community prompt from u/allk12. Replies below.
Enrollment
923
High
DISTRICT 539 · STATE 475
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·MILWAUKEE SCHOOL DISTRICT·NCES 550960001247
South Division High
1515 W Lapham Blvd, Milwaukee, WI 53204 · (414) 902-8300 · Milwaukee County
GRADES 09–12HIGH11-CITYTITLE IREGULAR SCHOOL923 STUDENTS
·
allk12 Grade
Not graded
This school has no state test results for 2023-24 or 2024-25 to grade, which is common for schools that end before third grade. How grades work
Student : Teacher
13.9:1
67 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 18.9:1 · STATE 14.6:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
84%
772 students
DISTRICT 84% · STATE 42%
Community
1
0 members
Enrollment and student:teacher ratio compared against other high schools. Free/Reduced Lunch and demographics compared against all schools.
Enrollment by grade, 2024-25
| Grade | Students | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Grade 9 | 325 | 35% |
| Grade 10 | 225 | 24% |
| Grade 11 | 190 | 21% |
| Grade 12 | 183 | 20% |
Student demographics
60%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
BeatsExpectations
Demographically-adjusted score · methodologyTier
UNDERPERFORMING
Bottom 10% of WI schools after controlling for student poverty
Actual proficiency
4.9%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
26.3%
based on WI schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
-21.4pp
below demographic expectation
What this means: About 5% of students here test proficient in math and reading, below the roughly 26% typical for Wisconsin schools with a similar share of low-income students. BeatsExpectations compares each school with others at the same poverty level, not by raw scores, so a school lands here when its results trail those comparable schools, which is not the same as having low scores. A higher-scoring school can still fall in this tier if similar schools score higher still.
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 South Division High
South Division High's state test result (4.9% proficient) is higher than 1 of the 5 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| South Division High this school | 923 | 83.6% | 4.9% |
| Pulaski High Milwaukee | 1,041 | 76.9% | 2.6% |
| Hamilton High Milwaukee | 1,472 | 78.6% | 7.8% |
| Audubon Technology and Communication High Milwaukee | 436 | 78.2% | 16.1% |
| Bay View High Milwaukee | 1,021 | 83.8% | 11.8% |
| West High Green Bay | 777 | 65.4% | 24.2% |
Matched among Wisconsin high 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 South Division High ranks
Among high schools| Measure | This school | In Wisconsin | In Milwaukee County |
|---|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 4.9% | #396 of 402 | #35 of 40 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 923 | #102 of 532 | #19 of 59 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 13.9:1 | #130 of 325 | #5 of 40 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 59.6% | #45 of 325 | #16 of 40 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 83.6% | #22 of 418 | #18 of 47 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked steepest decline first | -9.2% | #111 of 203 | #17 of 26 |
Ranked against other public high 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
923
+83 (+10%) vs 2020
-47% since 1990-91, when it was 1,752
Student : Teacher
13.9:1
was 14.0:1
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 | 923 | 66.5 | 13.9:1 | 84% (772) |
| 2023-24 | 842 | 67.8 | 12.4:1 | 89% (752) |
| 2022-23 | 807 | 62.1 | 13.0:1 | 84% (675) |
| 2020-21 | 840 | 60 | 14.0:1 | 97% (818) |
| 2017-18 | 1,016 | 67.8 | 15.0:1 | 100% (1,012) |
| 2015-16 | 1,354 | 83 | 16.3:1 | 79% (1,065) |
| 2010-11 | 1,206 | 75 | 16.1:1 | 81% (974) |
| 2000-01 | 1,511 | 89 | 17.0:1 | 69% (1,042) |
| 1990-91 | 1,752 | 117 | 15.0:1 | N/A |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for South Division High.
Since 2017-18: students down 9% (1,016 to 923); teachers down 2% (67.8 to 66.5).
About South Division High
South Division High is one of the public schools in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. It is a large high school. Enrolled students number 923 students, in grades 9 through 12. Statewide, high schools in Wisconsin average about 475 students each.
The district for South Division High is Milwaukee School District, with 155 schools and 65,835 students.
Hispanic students account for 57% of enrollment at South Division High. The remaining students are 25% Black, 13% Asian, and 2% White. Census figures show Milwaukee County is about 17% Hispanic. By the diversity index, South Division High comes in at 60%.
Federal staffing data show 66.5 full-time-equivalent teachers at South Division High and a ratio of 13.9:1. That ratio is under the 14.6:1 average for high schools in Wisconsin. Free or reduced-price lunch eligibility covers 84% of students. For comparison, public schools in Milwaukee County average 64%.
On BeatsExpectations, which compares test results with what a school's student poverty level would predict, South Division High ranks in the bottom 10% in Wisconsin. Its average proficiency rate on state tests is 4.9%, against a prediction of 26.3%.
Census estimates describe Milwaukee County this way: median household income is about $64,435, 35% of adults hold a bachelor's degree or higher, and about 13% of people live in poverty. The public schools of Milwaukee County number 284 and enroll about 122,496.
South Accelerated Academy is the public school closest to South Division High, less than a tenth of a mile away. Inside a five-mile radius, there are at least 8 other public schools. Ranked by average proficiency, South Division High places 8th out of 8 schools in its immediate area.
Federal data place South Division High in the City: Large locale, which means it is inside a principal city with a population of 250,000 or more.
South Division High saw enrollment rise 10% between 2020-21 and 2024-25.
The South Division High community page is open for posts about enrollment questions, class placement, and PTA news. Anyone with firsthand experience at this school can post or comment.
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
- South Accelerated Academy0.0 mi · 57
- Forest Home Elementary0.2 mi · 559
- Allen-Field Elementary0.5 mi · 451
- Hayes Bilingual School0.5 mi · 670
- Kagel Elementary0.6 mi · 292
- Mitchell Elementary0.6 mi · 597
Frequently asked questions
About South Division HighHow many students attend South Division High?
South Division High enrolls approximately 923 students in grades 09-12.
What grades does South Division High serve?
South Division High serves grades 09-12.
What is the student-teacher ratio at South Division High?
The student-to-teacher ratio at South Division High is approximately 13.9:1 (67 FTE teachers).
What is the racial breakdown of students at South Division High?
At South Division High, the student body is approximately 2% White, 57% Hispanic, 25% Black, 13% Asian, 2% Two or more.
Is South Division High public or private?
South Division High is a public K-12 school, overseen by Milwaukee School District.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.