Summary:
ZIP code 53042 covers Kiel, Wisconsin, where five schools serve about 1,299 students across pre-kindergarten through 12th grade — two elementary schools, one middle school, and two high schools, all part of the Kiel Area School District. Three traditional brick-and-mortar schools — Zielanis Elementary, Kiel Middle, and Kiel High — enroll roughly 87% of those students, while the two virtual options, Between the Lakes Virtual Academy and Kiel eSchool, enroll the remaining 13%. The district overall ranks 189th of 432 Wisconsin districts, at the 56th percentile with 3 stars.
Kiel Middle is the clear academic standout: 59th of 643 schools, 91st percentile, 5 stars, and proficiency above the state in every reported subject and grade, including 8th grade social studies at 81.82% and 6th grade math at 80%. It has also improved for three straight years. Zielanis Elementary still beats the state in every reported 2025–2026 test, but its rank percentile has slipped from 79 to 73 to 64. Kiel High posts strong completion numbers — a 98.1% graduation rate and 0.8% dropout — with mixed test results: 10th grade ELA ACT is 62.07% versus the state's 48.47%, while math ACT (42.53%) and social studies (43.59%) fall slightly below state averages.
Attendance is a district-wide strength, with chronic absenteeism of 4.1% to 4.8% at the traditional schools against a 17.3% state rate. The virtual schools show a different picture. Kiel eSchool is rated 1 star at the 18th percentile, with ACT scores around 25% and a 9.6% dropout rate; Between the Lakes reports a 25.0% dropout rate and by far the highest student-teacher ratio (32.9), though its reported 8th grade social studies and science scores of 100% come from a very small cohort. Notably, higher per-student spending at the virtual schools ($18,592–$19,510) does not translate into higher proficiency than Kiel Middle ($16,299).
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