Summary:
Zip code 53597 is home to three elementary schools — Waunakee Heritage Elementary (PK–4), Waunakee Prairie Elementary (K–4), and Arboretum Elementary (PK–4) — all part of the Waunakee Community School District, which ranks 27 of 432 districts in Wisconsin at the 94th percentile with 5 stars. Enrollment ranges from 435 to 537 students.
Arboretum is the current academic standout: ranked 45 of 1,039 schools (96th percentile, 5 stars), it posts the highest 2025-2026 proficiency in five of six reported tests, including 90.43% in Social Studies 4th grade, the top score in the data set. It also has the lowest free/reduced lunch rate (3.22%). Heritage (106 of 1,039, 90th percentile, 4 stars) performs strongly while serving the highest free/reduced lunch rate (15.64%) and spending the most per student ($17,867), with the lowest student-teacher ratio (11.9). Prairie (192 of 1,039, 82nd percentile, 4 stars) has the best attendance — chronic absenteeism of 7.0%, lowest among the three — but its current test scores trail the other two.
Even so, all three schools exceed state proficiency in every reported subject and grade, and every school's chronic absenteeism is below the district's 11.6% and the state's 17.3%. Arboretum improved the most year over year, gaining in five of six tests, while Prairie and Heritage posted mixed results by grade and subject. Families in 53597 can expect a consistently high-performing set of neighborhood schools, with Arboretum leading on current achievement, Heritage showing strength alongside higher student need, and Prairie notable for attendance.
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