West Ridge Elementary

Set in Racine, Wisconsin, West Ridge Elementary is a medium-sized primary school, part of Racine Unified School District. It enrolls 343 students across grades pre-K through 5.

Across the 27 schools in Racine Unified School District (16,557 students total), West Ridge Elementary accounts for its share of the district's footprint.

Looking at the student body, West Ridge Elementary lists that 44% of students identify as Black, with the remaining enrollment distributed across several groups. Beyond that, the school lists 27% Hispanic, 14% White, 13% multiracial. By comparison, Racine County as a whole is about 11% Black, so the school skews noticeably more Black than its surroundings.

Looking at the economic backdrop, On paper, West Ridge Elementary has 37 full-time-equivalent teachers, translating to a class-load average of around 9.7:1. Statewide, the average ratio sits near 14.7:1, putting West Ridge Elementary tighter than the state norm the norm. Roughly 83% of students at West Ridge Elementary qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, a commonly cited indicator of low-income enrollment. Set against Racine County (around 48%), the school's rate is noticeably above typical.

On a residual basis (actual vs predicted given the student mix), West Ridge Elementary falls in the UNDERPERFORMING tier of the BeatsExpectations residual. Given its student profile, a typical campus would land near 26.5%; this one comes in at 8.7%, -17.8 points off the demographic line.

Around the school, census data for Racine County shows median household earnings sit near $78,096, roughly 28% of adults have completed at least a four-year degree, and the poverty rate sits near 7%. Across Racine County's 54 public schools (combined enrollment of about 25,901 students), West Ridge Elementary is one campus in the mix.

Starbuck International School is the nearest neighboring public school, about 0.9 miles from this campus. Counting just inside five miles, 8 other public schools cluster around West Ridge Elementary. Ranking that nearby cluster on reported proficiency puts West Ridge Elementary at 9th of 9; the average score across the group is 30.2%.

The campus sits in a commuter-belt setting.

Five-year trend. Over the past 6-year window, the student count ticked down 20%: 427 students in 2018 compared to 343 in 2024. Over the same period, the White share contracted from 32% to 14%. The student-to-teacher ratio fell from 11.9:1 in 2018 to 9.2:1 today.

On this page, posts here usually surface around open house dates, ride-share offers, and field-trip permission slips. Anyone with firsthand experience at this school can post or comment.