Washington Island Elementary

Washington Island Elementary is a PK–8 school serving 38 students at 888 Main Rd on Washington Island, Wisconsin, and it is the only school in the Washington Island School District — there are no other schools within 20 miles, so there is no nearby school to compare it against, and district and state figures are the only available benchmarks.

Academically, the school has been strong. In 2024–25 it ranked 353 of 1,044 Wisconsin elementary schools (66th percentile, 3 stars), following 302 of 1,061 (72nd percentile, 4 stars) the prior year, and it has stayed in the top third of the state since 2016–17. Of 20 reported Forward Exam results from 2022–23 through 2025–26, 17 came in above the statewide proficiency rate — including 8th grade ELA, science, and social studies all at 83.33% in 2023–24, the one year with complete grade-level coverage. The important caveat is size: with 38 students, a tested grade holds roughly 6 or 7 children, so a single student crossing the proficiency line moves a grade result by about 14–17 points. Treat any one year's number with caution and look at the multi-year direction instead.

Attendance is the standout strength: chronic absenteeism was 5.4% in 2024–25, less than a third of the 17.3% state rate, and the dropout rate has been 0.0% every year reported. The student–teacher ratio is 5.0, roughly one-third of a typical public school, supported by per-student spending of $26,411 — about double typical Wisconsin figures, though down 18% from its 2022–23 peak. Since spending has been declining while proficiency and rank have been roughly flat to slightly down, those two trends are worth watching together. Recent free/reduced-lunch data was not reported, so current family-income context is unknown.