Summary:
Fontana, Wisconsin is a small community served by just one public school — Fontana Elementary, an elementary building covering grades PK–8 with 197 students, part of the Fontana J8 School District. The area profile reflects that single-school makeup: 1 elementary, 0 middle, 0 high, and 0 alternative schools. The district holds a 4-star rating and ranks 123rd of 432 districts statewide (72nd percentile), while the school itself has earned 3 stars in each of the last three reported years.
On the Forward Exam, Fontana Elementary scored above the state average in every subject in both 2025–2026 and 2024–2025, though the margin narrowed in the more recent year and the number of grade-subject comparisons beating the state slipped from 14 of 16 to 10 of 16. Eighth grade is the standout: in 2025–2026, 8th graders topped the state in ELA (76.19% vs. 54.38%), math (71.43% vs. 53.67%), social studies (80.95% vs. 64.63%), and science (76.19% vs. 51.86%). Third grade also performed well, with 71.43% proficiency in both ELA and math. The clearest weak spot is 5th grade, where ELA was 47.06% vs. 53.63% and math was 35.29% vs. 51.81% — the largest below-state gap in the current data. Fourth grade was mixed: strong math (70.59% vs. 52.87%) but below-state ELA and science.
Beyond test scores, the school's profile is encouraging. Chronic absenteeism is 6.6%, less than half the state's 17.3%, and the dropout rate is 0.0% compared with 1.1% statewide. Per-student spending is $20,875, the student-teacher ratio is 9.3:1, and 17.77% of students qualify for free or reduced lunch. Parents should note that with only 197 students, grade-level cohorts are small, so year-to-year percentage swings can reflect just a few students.
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