Hintgen Elementary

Hintgen Elementary is a PK–5 school serving about 210 students in the La Crosse School District in La Crosse, Wisconsin, and it currently ranks near the bottom of Wisconsin elementary schools — 920th of 1,039, or the 11th percentile, with a 1-star rating.

That rating isn't new: Hintgen has held 1 star every year from 2020–21 through 2025–26. A decade ago the picture was very different — 3 stars and the 63rd percentile in 2015–16 — so this is a long-term decline rather than a one-year dip. On the 2025–26 Forward Exam, proficiency trails the district and the state in nearly every subject and grade. Math is the biggest concern, ranging from 16.67% in 5th grade to 29.63% in 3rd grade, compared with roughly 52%–55% statewide. Chronic absenteeism has more than doubled, from 9.9% in 2020–21 to 25.0% in 2024–25 — above the district (19.6%) and the state (17.3%) — and it is still climbing while district and state rates have improved.

Hintgen is a high-poverty school (79.05% of students eligible for free or reduced lunch in 2024–25) and it is heavily staffed, spending $22,456 per student with a student–teacher ratio of 7.6. Those resources are more generous than at several higher-performing nearby schools, including Emerson Elementary ($15,886, ratio 12.4), State Road Elementary ($16,172, ratio 12.1) and School of Technology and Arts I ($15,322, ratio 15.6). Its results instead resemble neighboring high-poverty schools such as Northside Elementary and Hamilton Elementary School. Statewide, Hintgen ranks in the bottom 10% for male students, white students, special education students and low-income students, pointing to broad, school-wide challenges rather than one isolated gap. Its absenteeism also exceeds most nearby schools, including Spence Elementary (14.1%) and Southern Bluffs Elementary (10.9%).