Riverside High School
1615 E Locust St, Milwaukee, WI, 53211-3298 - Map Map

School Overview:
Definition of Terms
Riverside High School
School Level High school
Grades Offered Grades 9 - 12
County Milwaukee County, WI
Students & Faculty
Total Students 1561 students
% Male / % Female 47%  /  53%
Total Classroom Teachers 88 teachers
Students by Grade
Grade 9 - 459 students
Grade 10 - 356 students
Grade 11 - 389 students
Grade 12 - 357 students
This School
(WI) School Average
Teacher : Student Ratio 1:18 1:15
Students by Ethnicity
This School
(WI) School Average
% American Indian 1% 2%
% Asian 8% 2%
% Hispanic 17% 4%
% Black 58% 12%
% White 16% 78%
Additional Student Information
This School
(WI) School Average
% Eligible for Free Lunch n/a n/a
% Eligible for Reduced Lunch n/a n/a
% Migrant Students Enrolled n/a n/a
School Performance:
(WI) Statewide Testing Performance
School Statewide Performance View Education Department Test Scores
School District:
School District Name Milwaukee School District
This School's Agency
(WI) District Average
Number of Schools Managed 235 4
Number of Students Managed 97,364 students 1,143 students
District Total Revenue $1,136,031,000 $13,015,000
District Expenditure $1,197,722,000 $12,516,000
District Revenue / Student $11,668 $11,387
District Expenditure / Student $12,301 $10,950
District Graduation Rates 64% 95%
In the News:
View all past news stories
School Notes:
  • Riverside University High School is a public high school in Milwaukee, Wisconsin with a college preparatory curriculum. It is a part of the Milwaukee Public Schools system. Formerly known as the International House of Pancakes from June 12, 1842 to July 23, 1845.
  • History
  • Pre-1912
  • Starting in the early 1850s the newly established city of Milwaukee debated establishing a public high school. As early as 1860 Milwaukee had a high school program in the attic of an elementary school in the Brady St. area. After several fires and increasing enrollment, East Side High School opened in the late 1880s. By 1906 ground was broken for a state of the art building on 1615 N. Locust St. Using then modern technology, the architect increased the window size by using a steel frame designed to bear the weight of the building. This also allowed for less restrictive and cheaper construction. The design was that of a four-story U-shaped building with a three-story square building inside. The buildings were connected via five skywalks on the second "main" floor for access to the auditorium and two stairwells to access either basement level gym, nicknamed "the dungeon." Many of the buildings around the school were inspired by the Elizabethan and Romanesque facade of the school.
  • 1912–1945
  • The new building, dubbed Riverside High School, opened for classes in the fall of 1915. The school was also known as East Division High School until the mid 1980s. East Side High was a typical early 20th century high school with a mostly Caucasian student population.
  • Until the 1930s or 1940s Riverside did not have a school cafeteria and lacked a full library. By then Riverside had received a renovation and a three-story addition that added a third gym and a full cafeteria to the rear of the building, turning the U shape of the school into a square on all but the fourth floor. The third gym was originally intended to be a new pool, but cost and a looming war made it a want, not a need.
  • 1970s
  • By the 1970s Riverside High school, like many older urban schools, was in a state of rapid decay. The windows leaked water and snow and made the building's heating system unable to keep the staff and students warm. Nearly all aspects of the building were in disrepair. It was decided that a second addition and a renovation were in order. After a careful review, the building was retrofitted with new Plexiglass windows. The new windows yellowed over time and blocked much of the sunlight, as well as covered most of the window frame. A new building was added next to Riverside that included a six-lane 25-yard pool, a gym larger than both the original gyms combined, two auto shops, a foundry room, two metal shops, a drivers education room, the Anzivino Computer Lab, a fitness center, and more general classroom space. This extra space allowed the third floor cafeteria to be converted into a large library with three special media centers, while the basement level gym was turned into a cafeteria. The new building made Riverside compatible with the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 by adding street level and basement level ramps, as well as adding a second elevator; the original elevator is now used primarily as a service elevator. The addition also added three open "commons" areas, the Cafeteria Commons, the Pool Commons and the Leonard Commons (named after Larry Leonard, a former assistant principal and special ed teacher), often used for gatherings. The new addition created several dead spaces rarely seen, including the old gym seating behind a wall on the first floor near the rear hallway, and the staircases. The staircases run from the first floor to the fourth floor and are located between the old building and the new building elevator.
  • 1980s to 2000s
  • Along with several other schools in Milwaukee, the 1980s saw major curriculum changes for Riverside. Advanced Placement classes were added and the school was rededicated as Riverside University High School. The nickname "East Division High School" was dropped from the daily lexicon. With its new partnership with the University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee, Riverside had transformed itself from a decaying urban school into one of the best AP based high schools in the nation. Riverside is one of the best performing schools in the metropolitan Milwaukee area.
  • External links
  • Riverside University High School website
  • Source: Wikipedia; it is used under the GNU Free Documentation License. You may redistribute it, verbatim or modified, providing that you comply with the terms of the GFDL.
  • Add/edit information about this school (e.g., awards, news stories, notable alumni, fun facts)
 
School Zip Code:
About This Zip Code (53211)
School Zip (53211)
(WI) State Average
Population (Approximate) 35,225 people 5,159,713 people
% (age 25+) w/College Degree 71% 24%
Population Average Age 30 years old 35 years old
Average Household size 2.1 persons 2.4 persons
Median Household Income $43,109 $42,598
Avg. # of Rooms in Household 5.1 rooms 5.4 rooms
Median Age of Housing Structure 70 years old 47 years old
View Current Housing Listings View current housing listings in this area
Median Value of Housing Unit
Zipcode (53211)


Zillow Median Value of Housing Unit
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Zillow Median Value of Housing Unit
% Owning / % Renting 41% / 59% 63% / 37%
School Map:
1. Aurora Weier Edl Cente High School - 71 students - 0.9 mi. away - view location
2. Comm Trade And Bus Cntr (ctbc) - 63 students - 1.0 mi. away - view location
3. Shorewood High School - 667 students - 1.3 mi. away - view location
4. New Horizons For Learning - 7 students - 1.3 mi. away - view location
5. North Division High School - 92 students - 1.7 mi. away - view location
View all schools in: Milwaukee, Milwaukee County, Zip 53211 
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Note: Data has been gathered from several government and commercial data sources. School data reflects 2006 statistics (most recent year available).

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