Best Public Schools in Appleton, WI

Appleton, Wisconsin has 38 schools serving elementary through high school students, including 21 elementary, 6 middle, 9 high, and 2 alternative schools, with 15,335 students enrolled across the Appleton Area School District and three schools in the Kimberly Area School District.

Top performers include Odyssey-Magellan, ranked 2 of 643 middle schools with 100th percentile, 5 stars, and chronic absenteeism at just 1.9%; Tesla Engineering Charter School and Renaissance School, both 5-star high schools with 100% graduation rates; Fox Cities Leadership Academy; Woodland School, Classical School, Fox River Academy, Sunrise Elementary, and Woodland Intermediate; and Einstein Middle and North High, the strongest comprehensive options. Struggling schools include West High, Wilson Middle, Badger Elementary, Highlands Elementary, Jefferson Elementary, Ronald C Dunlap Elementary School, Appleton Technical Academy, and Kaleidoscope Academy.

Across the 38 schools, enrollment is 15,335, average free/reduced-price lunch rate is about 40%, average per-student spending is about $15,038, and average student-teacher ratio is about 15.7:1. Average chronic absenteeism is about 13.7%, lower than the district’s 15.7% and Wisconsin’s 17.3%. The Kimberly schools combine low free/reduced-price lunch rates, low absenteeism, and high proficiency, while small charter/magnet high schools like Tesla Engineering Charter School, Renaissance School, and Fox Cities Leadership Academy post 96th–98th percentile results with high ratios and low spending. Higher spending does not guarantee higher achievement: Highlands Elementary spends $21,507 per student with a 10:1 ratio yet ranks in the 17th percentile. Poverty and achievement are strongly linked, but exceptions exist, such as Einstein Middle and North High. Chronic absenteeism does not always track with achievement, and very small schools should be interpreted cautiously.