South High

South High is a substantial secondary school in Waukesha, Wisconsin, operated by Waukesha School District. The school hosts 833 students in grades 9 through 12. Enrollment runs roughly 75% bigger than the state mean of about 475.

Across the 27 schools in Waukesha School District (10,922 students total), South High accounts for its share of the district's footprint.

On the student-mix side, South High records that the largest single group is Hispanic at 41%, but no single group is in the majority. Other groups include 40% White, 12% Black, 5% multiracial. That is meaningfully more Hispanic than the county at large, where the share is closer to 6%.

On the income-and-resources front, Staff filings list 72 full-time-equivalent teachers, which works out to roughly 11.6:1 students per teacher. That figure is tighter than the state norm's 14.6:1 average. Around 55% of the student body qualifies for free or reduced-price meals, which schools and policymakers use as a rough income-mix signal. That share is noticeably above Waukesha County's rate of about 17%.

On a demographically-adjusted basis, South High falls in the UNDERPERFORMING tier of the BeatsExpectations residual. Given its student profile, a typical campus would land near 43.8%; this one comes in at 28.2%, -15.6 points off the demographic line.

In the area at large, ACS estimates for Waukesha County put median household income runs about $106,076, 49% of adults hold a bachelor's degree or higher, and the poverty rate sits near 3%. Across Waukesha County's 113 public schools (combined enrollment of about 60,032 students), South High is one campus in the mix.

Waukesha Academy of Health Professions is the nearest neighboring public school, about 0.0 miles from this campus. 8 of the 8 nearest public schools sit inside a five-mile radius. Ranking that nearby cluster on reported proficiency puts South High at 9th of 9; the average score across the group is 56.5%.

The campus sits in an inner-city setting.

Trend over the last 7 years. Looking back 7 years, enrollment at South High has decreased 12%, going from 946 students in 2018 to 833 in 2025. The White share of enrollment decreased from 51% to 40% over that span. The student-to-teacher ratio narrowed from 12.9:1 in 2018 to 11.6:1 today.

Within the allk12 community for this school, members of the South High community share and discuss sports schedules, lunch menu changes, and school spirit week. Contributors range from current parents to recent graduates and teachers.