Hayward Center for Individualized Learning

Hayward Center for Individualized Learning (HCIL) is an alternative PK–12 school in Hayward, Wisconsin, serving about 250 students at 15574 State Hwy 77 as part of the Hayward Community School District, which ranks 249 of 432 districts statewide — roughly the 42nd percentile, with a 2-star rating. The only nearby comparison provided is Lac Courte Oreilles Ojibwa School, an alternative K–12 school about 7.34 miles away with 389 students; since no test-score or graduation data is available for that school here, academic comparisons between the two cannot be made.

HCIL's clearest strengths are completion and attendance. Its graduation rate was above both the district and the state in every reported year, hitting 100% in three of the last five years. Reported chronic absenteeism is effectively zero — between 0.0% and 0.5% — while the district and state generally sit in the 16%–22% range. Dropout is modest, between 0.8% and 2.5%, though it was above the state rate in 2024–25, 2022–23, and 2021–22. In academics, tenth-grade Social Studies is far above district and state every year (66.67% vs. 47.15% and 48.25% in 2025–26), and ACT Science and ACT ELA are also strong at 68.42% and 57.89%. ELA generally performs well, especially in the upper grades.

Math is the main red flag: in 2025–26, every tested grade 3–8 was below both the district and the state, with proficiency ranging from 20.00% to 52.38%, compared with 49.59%–70.69% for the district and 51.81%–55.67% for the state; ACT Math was also below both. Science is mixed — strong in 8th grade, uneven in 4th. Parents should weigh context: with 250 students across PK–12, grade-level results swing sharply year to year, and the nearby school serves a very different population and staffing profile (99.23% free/reduced lunch and a 5.6 student-teacher ratio, versus 26.00% and 35.2 at HCIL).