Vel R Phillips School

Wauwatosa · WI · Wauwatosa School District · Public · K-12 combined

Public 🏛 Wauwatosa School District →

Similar nearby schools

Most similar nearby schools

Veritas High → Lake Country Classical Academy Inc → Capital High → Barneveld High → Potosi High → Southwestern Wisconsin High → Three Lakes High → Tenor High →

📋 At a glance

Programs & features

Academic signals

🎓 AP rigor: Bottom 6% of US high schools
📝 SAT/ACT participation: Bottom 1% by test-taker volume

Composed from federal CRDC offerings, EDFacts ACGR, and other public data. Full breakdowns below.

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How Vel R Phillips School compares for families

What families should know about Vel R Phillips School.

▸ LocallyWI students outperform the US average on NAEP 8th-grade math (+8 points).
▸ vs Similar SchoolsThe closest comparables nearby: Veritas High, Lake Country Classical Academy Inc, Capital High and 5 more. See the sidebar to compare side-by-side.

For Parents

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Get an email when Vel R Phillips School's numbers change — new admissions results, enrollment shifts, test scores. A few updates a year, no spam.

SAT / ACT participation

CRDC federal data · 2020-21

Bottom 1% by test-taker volume

SAT/ACT test-takers

11th-12th graders who took 1+ college admissions test

Test-taking intensity

0.8

takers per 100 students in grades 9-12

Compared against

18,426

US high schools reporting SAT/ACT participation

Source: federal Civil Rights Data Collection (CRDC 2020-21). Volume — not score — is what's reported here. A higher count means more students at this school are entering the college admissions pipeline. Note: 2020-21 was COVID-disrupted; some districts (especially those that stayed remote longer) report unusually low or zero takers.

👩‍🏫 Teacher workforce · federal CRDC

Teacher experience & reliability

% inexperienced teachers (1st-2nd yr)

2.5%

Strong: experienced corps. New teachers rotate through but most have ≥3 years in.

% chronic teacher absence (≥10 days/yr)

59.2%

Elevated. Teacher absence directly affects classroom continuity and student outcomes.

Source: federal Civil Rights Data Collection (CRDC 2017-18 — the most recent vintage that publishes per-school teacher quality fields; the 2020-21 sweep had them suppressed). "Inexperienced" = teachers in their first or second year. "Chronic absence" = teachers absent 10+ days/year.

🏛️ Your state's public flagship

University of Wisconsin-Madison

43%

admit rate

$11,603

in-state tuition/yr · $42,103 out-of-state

1360–1510

SAT 25–75 · ACT 28–32

The in-state tuition gap is the flagship's biggest draw — most in-state families pay far less than the out-of-state sticker. Average net price after aid runs about $17,354/yr. Admission odds depend on your student's GPA and test scores, not which high school they attend.

See the full University of Wisconsin-Madison profile → Estimate your odds with your scores →

Source: IPEDS admissions, tuition & enrollment + College Scorecard net price. Flagship = the state's primary public research university.

Chronic absenteeism

Share of students absent 15+ days

10.1%

Roughly average. The national post-COVID rate climbed to ~16% nationwide; this school is in the middle of the pack.

Students absent 15+ days

Federal definition: absent (excused or unexcused) for at least 15 of ~180 school days — about 10% of the school year.

Why this matters to enrollment: Chronic absence is the strongest early indicator of dropout, transfer-out, and family disengagement. A school's absenteeism trend forecasts its enrollment trend 1-3 years out. For school leaders: an Enrollment Trend Audit traces this dynamic forward →

Source: U.S. Department of Education, Civil Rights Data Collection 2020–2021. Rate = students chronically absent ÷ 2024 total enrollment.

Counselor capacity

Student : Counselor

107:1

Below the ASCA 250:1 recommendation — strong capacity for college planning, course selection, and student supports.

Counselor FTE

1.3

Full-time-equivalent school counselors on staff.

Teacher FTE

Full-time-equivalent classroom teachers.

Source: U.S. Department of Education, Civil Rights Data Collection 2020-2021. Counselor ratio = the school's most recent total enrollment ÷ counselor FTE. The American School Counselor Association (ASCA) recommends a 250:1 maximum; the US national median across schools with on-staff counselors is roughly 430:1.

Enrollment trend & projection

Total enrollment + grade 12, NCES Common Core of Data (2021–2024).

If the recent trend holds…

At its recent rate of +12.0%/year, projecting from 2024's 139 students:

2025

156

2027

195

2029

245

An extrapolation of the recent trajectory, not a forecast of the school's plans; ignores one-off shocks.

Most similar nearby high schools

The schools most like this one — same type, blended on distance and size — and where their enrollment is heading. These are the schools families here weigh against each other.

School	Type	Miles	HS enrollment	Trend
Veritas High Milwaukee	Public · charter	5.8	256	+2.0%
Lake Country Classical Academy Inc Oconomowoc	Public · charter	24.4	94	—
Capital High Madison	Public	70.7	129	-32.8%
Barneveld High Barneveld	Public	93.7	118	-3.3%
Potosi High Potosi	Public	136.6	107	-4.5%
Southwestern Wisconsin High Hazel Green	Public	126.8	151	-1.3%
Three Lakes High Three Lakes	Public	198.0	156	+12.2%
Tenor High Milwaukee	Public · charter	6.3	651	+25.0%