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Stephen Foster Elementary Charter

Public, Charter Grades PK, KG-5

786^th

SchoolDigger Rank ?

of 1,039 Wisconsin Elementary Schools

Better than 24% of Wisconsin elementary schools

Summary

Stephen Foster Elementary Charter is a small PK–5 charter school in the Appleton Area School District at 305 W Foster St in Appleton, WI, serving about 200 students in a relatively high-poverty setting — 64.5% qualify for free or reduced-price lunch.

Academically, results are below average and uneven. For 2025–26 the school ranked 786th of 1,039 Wisconsin elementary schools (24th percentile, 1 star), after climbing into the mid-30s percentile range between 2021–22 and 2024–25. Proficiency is strongest in 5th-grade ELA (54.29%, above both district and state) and close to the district average in 3rd-grade math (50%). It is weakest in 3rd-grade ELA (26.92%, vs. 47.26% district and 52.08% state), 4th-grade math (27.27%), and 4th-grade science (27.27%, vs. 48.61% district and 53.46% state). Among nearby schools, Berry Elementary (3 stars) outperforms Stephen Foster in every tested area and Fox River Academy (5 stars) is far ahead; Richmond Elementary is stronger in the lower-grade reading and math results, while Ronald C Dunlap Elementary School is a close demographic peer at a similar 24th percentile. Stephen Foster does outperform Jefferson Elementary, which serves a similarly high-poverty population.

Attendance is a clear bright spot: chronic absenteeism fell to 11.5% in 2024–25, below district (15.7%) and state (17.3%) rates. The school also spends more per student ($18,249) and has smaller classes (9.5 students per teacher) than most nearby schools, though that has not yet shown up in test scores. Subgroup results are mostly below average, with one striking exception: the special education subgroup dropped from the 79th percentile (4 stars) in 2024–25 to the 28th percentile (1 star) in 2025–26 — a shift worth watching, though small grade-level cohorts can make yearly changes volatile.

200

Students ?

9.5

Student/teacher ratio ?

$18,249

Per pupil spending ?

64.5%

Free/reduced lunch eligible (2024-25) ?

91%

Kindergartners meeting all minimum immunization requirements (2025-26)

305 W Foster St
Appleton, WI 54915-1515

(920) 852-5470

District: Appleton Area School District

Students who attend Stephen Foster Elementary Charter usually attend:

Middle:	Madison Middle
High:	East High

Racial breakdown:

White:

61.5%

Asian:

17.5%

Hispanic:

8.5%

See top rated Wisconsin elementary schools

Compare Stephen Foster Elementary Charter to nearby elementary schools!

At a glance

▼ Ranking trend: Recently slipping — 39th percentile in 2024 → 24th in 2026

Strengths

✓Small classes — about 10 students per teacher

Worth a look

!Test scores below the Wisconsin average (41% vs 55% meeting standards)

!In the lower quartile statewide (24th percentile)

!Ranking has slipped from its 39th-percentile peak (2024) to 24th (2026)

Students meeting standards (2025-2026) ?

This school41%

District avg52%

Wisconsin avg55%

786^th of 1,039

Wisconsin public elementary schools ?

Bottom 24%▲ up 6 pts since 2016

From bottom 18% (2016) to bottom 24% (2026)

See the entire ranking list of Wisconsin Elementary Schools →

★★★★★

SchoolDigger rating ?

16^th of 21Elementary Schools in the Appleton Area School District

253^rd of 432Appleton Area School District among Wisconsin districts

Statewide rank percentile over time (100 = the top-ranked school in the state; click a legend item to add a student group)

Show full rank history (all student groups)

All Students

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Wisconsin percentile	Rating
2026	32.0	786 of 1039	24.4%	★☆☆☆☆
2025	43.0	682 of 1044	34.7%	★★☆☆☆
2024	47.1	652 of 1061	38.5%	★★☆☆☆
2023	41.2	697 of 1067	34.7%	★★☆☆☆
2022	41.0	713 of 1067	33.2%	★★☆☆☆
2021	25.9	832 of 1050	20.8%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	26.8	827 of 1037	20.3%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	31.4	799 of 1025	22.0%	★☆☆☆☆
2017	27.0	860 of 1071	19.7%	★☆☆☆☆
2016	23.5	879 of 1075	18.2%	★☆☆☆☆
2015	31.7	845 of 1076	21.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2014	41.4	749 of 1061	29.4%	★☆☆☆☆
2013	40.1	750 of 1053	28.8%	★☆☆☆☆
2012	47.2	724 of 1045	30.7%	★★☆☆☆
2011	44.1	758 of 1046	27.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2010	44.1	740 of 1045	29.2%	★☆☆☆☆
2009	26.7	881 of 1030	14.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2008	41.4	752 of 1021	26.3%	★☆☆☆☆
2007	45.5	473 of 689	31.3%	★★☆☆☆

Asian

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Wisconsin percentile	Rating
2024	30.0	86 of 123	30.1%	★★☆☆☆
2023	26.2	87 of 116	25.0%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	28.2	75 of 110	31.8%	★★☆☆☆
2021	25.5	77 of 106	27.4%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	26.6	87 of 122	28.7%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	25.0	78 of 107	27.1%	★☆☆☆☆

English Language Learner

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Wisconsin percentile	Rating
2024	35.3	174 of 269	35.3%	★★☆☆☆
2023	51.8	96 of 249	61.4%	★★★☆☆
2022	40.1	146 of 248	41.1%	★★☆☆☆
2021	24.6	206 of 222	7.2%	☆☆☆☆☆
2019	27.2	230 of 275	16.4%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	28.6	237 of 287	17.4%	★☆☆☆☆

Female

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Wisconsin percentile	Rating
2026	39.0	696 of 986	29.4%	★☆☆☆☆
2025	50.8	554 of 1001	44.7%	★★☆☆☆
2024	46.5	643 of 1011	36.4%	★★☆☆☆
2023	31.9	761 of 1010	24.7%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	31.1	767 of 1017	24.6%	★☆☆☆☆
2021	22.3	830 of 1004	17.3%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	26.6	808 of 1002	19.4%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	26.5	817 of 997	18.1%	★☆☆☆☆

Low Socio Economic Status

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Wisconsin percentile	Rating
2026	37.5	585 of 848	31.0%	★★☆☆☆
2025	38.4	583 of 870	33.0%	★★☆☆☆
2024	45.3	516 of 866	40.4%	★★☆☆☆
2023	46.1	488 of 871	44.0%	★★☆☆☆
2022	46.9	477 of 859	44.5%	★★☆☆☆
2021	19.9	751 of 847	11.3%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	27.5	712 of 874	18.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	36.3	612 of 854	28.3%	★☆☆☆☆

Male

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Wisconsin percentile	Rating
2026	25.3	787 of 989	20.4%	★☆☆☆☆
2025	35.2	726 of 1000	27.4%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	48.3	604 of 1012	40.3%	★★☆☆☆
2023	53.4	526 of 1011	48.0%	★★☆☆☆
2022	50.7	551 of 1017	45.8%	★★☆☆☆
2021	32.4	745 of 1003	25.7%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	31.0	771 of 1002	23.1%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	41.2	674 of 997	32.4%	★★☆☆☆

Special Education

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Wisconsin percentile	Rating
2026	30.6	569 of 791	28.1%	★☆☆☆☆
2025	69.0	170 of 802	78.8%	★★★★☆
2024	70.5	164 of 790	79.2%	★★★★☆
2023	70.0	159 of 770	79.4%	★★★★☆
2022	44.4	390 of 748	47.9%	★★☆☆☆
2021	39.8	444 of 746	40.5%	★★☆☆☆
2019	62.9	207 of 742	72.1%	★★★★☆
2018	79.9	71 of 721	90.2%	★★★★★

White

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Wisconsin percentile	Rating
2026	22.2	589 of 697	15.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2025	30.8	551 of 718	23.3%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	34.2	531 of 727	27.0%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	34.4	534 of 715	25.3%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	31.6	527 of 704	25.1%	★☆☆☆☆
2021	28.6	562 of 699	19.6%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	22.4	615 of 718	14.3%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	28.5	546 of 686	20.4%	★☆☆☆☆

How student groups rank statewide ? (each group's percentile vs the same group at other schools — higher is better; the +/- beside each compares the group with this school's overall percentile)

English Language Learner (2024)35th percentile-3 vs school

Low Socio Economic Status (2026)31st percentile+7 vs school

Asian (2024)30th percentile-8 vs school

Female (2026)29th percentile+5 vs school

Special Education (2026)28th percentile+4 vs school

Male (2026)20th percentile-4 vs school

White (2026)15th percentile-9 vs school

By subject vs Wisconsin (2025-2026) ?

Social Studies55%-11 vs state

English Language Arts42%-11 vs state

Mathematics40%-13 vs state

Science27%-26 vs state

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What people are saying

by a parent
Thursday, November 18, 2021

Do not trust these people with your children. Our daughter came home with bruises. We went straight to the superintendent and bypassed them and it finally stopped. A week later the butthurt guidance counselor knowing our daughter was a attention seeker brought our daughter into her office and asked misleading questions offering rewards. Now we are dealing with cps because of their ego. Send your children to private school. It's worth it to not have to deal with vindictive lowlife posing as educators. If you report any issues with the conduct of the students or staff expect retaliation. Close Quote

Schools Near Stephen Foster Elementary Charter

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Ranking:

E Elementary M Middle H High A Alternative P Private

Choose columns to see: Summary School Students/Teachers Ranking Test Scores Vaccination Finance All

School													Students/Teachers											Ranking (2026)				Ranking (2025)				Forward Exam English Language Arts (2026)					Forward Exam Mathematics (2026)					Forward Exam Social Studies (2026)	Forward Exam Science (2026)	Vaccination (2025-26)		Per Pupil Expenditures (2025)
Name	Type	Grades	Address	City	Zip	County	District	Is Charter	Is Magnet	Is Virtual	Is Title I	Phone	Enrollment	Full-time Teachers	Student/ Teacher Ratio	Free/reduced lunch (2024-25)	White	Black	Hispanic	Asian	American Indian	Pacific Islander	Two or More Races	Average Standard Score (2026)	Statewide Rank (2026)	State Percentile (2026)	SchoolDigger Rating (2026)	Average Standard Score (2025)	Statewide Rank (2025)	State Percentile (2025)	Rank Change from Previous Year	Forward Exam English Language Arts 3rd Grade	Forward Exam English Language Arts 4th Grade	Forward Exam English Language Arts 5th Grade	Forward Exam English Language Arts 6th Grade	Forward Exam English Language Arts 7th Grade	Forward Exam Mathematics 3rd Grade	Forward Exam Mathematics 4th Grade	Forward Exam Mathematics 5th Grade	Forward Exam Mathematics 6th Grade	Forward Exam Mathematics 7th Grade	Forward Exam Social Studies 4th Grade	Forward Exam Science 4th Grade	Vaccination: Kindergartners meeting all minimum immunization requirements	Vaccination: Exemption rate	Per Pupil Expenditures Total	Sub-total from Federal Funds	Sub-total from State/Local Funds
Stephen Foster Elementary Charter	Public, Charter	PK, KG-5	305 W Foster St	Appleton	54915	Outagamie County	Appleton Area School District	Yes	No	No	Yes	(920) 852-5470	200	21	9.5	64.5%	123 (61.5%)	8 (4.0%)	17 (8.5%)	35 (17.5%)	1 (0.5%)	0 (0.0%)	16 (8.0%)	32	786^th of 1039 public elementary schools	24.4%		43	682^nd of 1044 public elementary schools	34.7%	104	26.9	40.9	54.3			50.0	27.3	40.0			54.6	27.3	91%		$18,249	$609	$17,640
Fox River Academy	Public, Charter	K-8	1000 S Mason St	Appleton	54914	Outagamie County	Appleton Area School District	Yes	No	No	No	(920) 852-5500	150	8	17.8	23.3%	119 (79.3%)	0 (0.0%)	12 (8.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	19 (12.7%)	84.5	96^th of 1039 public elementary schools	90.8%		80.8	148^th of 1044 public elementary schools	85.8%	52	95.5	90.0	60.0	81.8	66.7	68.2	70.0	60.0	90.9	55.6	90.0	80.0	94%		$10,807	$609	$10,198
Jefferson Elementary	Public	PK, KG-5	1000 S Mason St	Appleton	54914	Outagamie County	Appleton Area School District	No	No	No	Yes	(920) 852-5500	212	23	9.3	65.6%	98 (46.2%)	24 (11.3%)	35 (16.5%)	16 (7.5%)	5 (2.4%)	0 (0.0%)	34 (16.0%)	25.1	835^th of 1039 public elementary schools	19.6%		37.5	752^nd of 1044 public elementary schools	28.0%	83	34.3	33.3	56.7			34.3	22.2	56.7			42.2	26.7	76%		$20,549	$609	$19,940
McKinley Elementary	Public	PK, KG-5	1125 E Taft Ave	Appleton	54915	Calumet County	Appleton Area School District	No	No	No	Yes	(920) 852-5510	380	32	11.9	49.5%	189 (49.7%)	17 (4.5%)	80 (21.1%)	70 (18.4%)	1 (0.3%)	1 (0.3%)	22 (5.8%)	38.4	733^rd of 1039 public elementary schools	29.5%		32.1	794^th of 1044 public elementary schools	23.9%	61	33.3	41.7	46.9			46.8	45.8	42.9			66.7	47.9	89%		$16,692	$609	$16,083
Richmond Elementary	Public	PK, KG-5	1441 E John St	Appleton	54915	Outagamie County	Appleton Area School District	No	No	No	Yes	(920) 852-5520	245	20	12.3	46.9%	147 (60.0%)	10 (4.1%)	44 (18.0%)	14 (5.7%)	4 (1.6%)	0 (0.0%)	26 (10.6%)	46.8	635^th of 1039 public elementary schools	38.9%		40.6	721^st of 1044 public elementary schools	30.9%	86	71.8	41.7	51.3			59.0	45.8	46.2			60.4	39.6	77%		$16,605	$609	$15,996
Edison Elementary	Public	PK, KG-5	412 N Meade St	Appleton	54911	Outagamie County	Appleton Area School District	No	No	No	Yes	(920) 852-5460	242	24	10.0	50.4%	165 (68.2%)	13 (5.4%)	29 (12.0%)	12 (5.0%)	6 (2.5%)	0 (0.0%)	17 (7.0%)	36.9	747^th of 1039 public elementary schools	28.1%		41.4	708^th of 1044 public elementary schools	32.2%	39	53.7	46.9	46.2			39.0	37.5	32.7			62.5	43.8	94%		$18,706	$609	$18,098
Appleton Bilingual School	Public, Charter	K-5	2224 N Ullman St	Appleton	54911	Outagamie County	Appleton Area School District	Yes	No	No	Yes	(920) 852-5495	139	8	16.4	39.6%	37 (26.6%)	2 (1.4%)	94 (67.6%)	2 (1.4%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	4 (2.9%)	42.1	696^th of 1039 public elementary schools	33.0%		42.3	694^th of 1044 public elementary schools	33.5%	2	50.0	42.9	27.8			70.0	52.4	16.7			66.7	47.6	87%		$14,172	$609	$13,564
Berry Elementary	Public	PK, KG-5	3601 S Telulah Ave	Appleton	54915	Calumet County	Appleton Area School District	No	No	No	No	(920) 852-5445	368	30	12.4	22.6%	264 (71.7%)	10 (2.7%)	46 (12.5%)	17 (4.6%)	1 (0.3%)	1 (0.3%)	29 (7.9%)	58.4	468^th of 1039 public elementary schools	55.0%		68.4	340^th of 1044 public elementary schools	67.4%	128	56.4	56.4	66.1			60.0	49.1	64.4			61.8	45.5	≥ 95%		$17,105	$609	$16,496
Horizons Elementary	Public	PK, KG-5	2101 Schaefer Cir	Appleton	54915	Calumet County	Appleton Area School District	No	No	No	Yes	(920) 852-5485	264	27	9.6	55.7%	129 (48.9%)	18 (6.8%)	59 (22.3%)	34 (12.9%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	24 (9.1%)	38.4	734^th of 1039 public elementary schools	29.4%		52.5	557^th of 1044 public elementary schools	46.6%	177	46.8	48.2	57.1			42.6	29.6	45.7			61.1	40.7	81%		$20,194	$609	$19,586
Ronald C Dunlap Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-5	1000 N Mason St	Appleton	54914	Outagamie County	Appleton Area School District	No	No	No	Yes	(920) 852-5455	314	31	10.0	65.6%	131 (41.7%)	33 (10.5%)	46 (14.6%)	58 (18.5%)	2 (0.6%)	0 (0.0%)	44 (14.0%)	31.1	792^nd of 1039 public elementary schools	23.8%		35.4	768^th of 1044 public elementary schools	26.4%	24	40.7	42.1	47.1			51.9	22.8	39.2			54.4	33.3	74%		$18,702	$609	$18,093

Frequently Asked Questions about Stephen Foster Elementary Charter

What is the racial makeup of Stephen Foster Elementary Charter?

Students at Stephen Foster Elementary Charter are 62% White, 18% Asian, 9% Hispanic, 8% Two or more races, 4% African American.

What schools do graduates of Stephen Foster Elementary Charter attend?

Students who attend Stephen Foster Elementary Charter usually go on to attend:

Middle : Madison Middle
High : East High

Is Stephen Foster Elementary Charter a good school?

Stephen Foster Elementary Charter ranks in the bottom 24.4% of Wisconsin elementary schools.

How many students attend Stephen Foster Elementary Charter?

In the 2024-25 school year, 200 students attended Stephen Foster Elementary Charter.

What district is Stephen Foster Elementary Charter in?

Appleton Area School District

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Latest Wisconsin data All new data »

2018–19 through 2025–26 immunization rates (updated)NewOct 20, 2026

2016–17 through 2017–18 immunization rates (updated)NewOct 19, 2026

2025–26 ACT & Forward Exam scoresOct 1, 2026

2021–22 through 2024–25 school spending dataJul 16, 2026

SchoolDigger data sources: National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Department of Education, the U.S. Census Bureau and the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction.

IMPORTANT DISCLAIMERS: Not all boundaries are included. We make every effort to ensure that boundaries are up-to-date. But it's important to note that these are approximations and are for general informational purposes only. To verify legal descriptions of boundaries or school locations, contact your local tax assessor's office and/or school district.