Summary:
ZIP code 54601 in La Crosse, Wisconsin, contains 13 schools — 9 elementary, 1 middle, 2 high, and 1 alternative K-12 — all part of the La Crosse School District, serving about 3,889 students in total.
Several schools stand out. School of Technology and Arts I is the strongest-ranked in the ZIP, at the 82nd percentile with 4 stars and 3rd grade ELA at 89.47%. Spence Elementary is a poverty-to-performance standout: 54.71% free/reduced lunch, yet 75th percentile with 4 stars and 4th grade social studies at 90%. Emerson Elementary (66th percentile, 3 stars) and State Road Elementary (64th percentile, 3 stars) also rank well; State Road has the lowest chronic absenteeism in the ZIP at 7.3%, far below the district's 19.6% and the state's 17.3%. Central High, the largest school with 969 students, ranks at the 52nd percentile with a 96.7% graduation rate. Coulee Montessori Charter School improved most, rising from the 15th to the 45th percentile.
At the other end, Hamilton Elementary School (13th percentile) and Hintgen Elementary (11th percentile) have the highest poverty levels — 80.13% and 79.05% free/reduced lunch — and some of the highest absenteeism, 30.6% and 25.0%. North Woods International School (27th, 1 star) and Longfellow Middle School (37th, 2 stars) also trail, and Coulee Region Virtual Academy has the highest chronic absenteeism at 35.1%. Notably, Hamilton and Hintgen have the smallest classes and among the highest per-student spending yet rank lowest, so spending and staffing don't guarantee results. Math is the clearest weakness ZIP-wide, especially 5th grade and high school. Meanwhile, the district sits at the 32nd percentile, but the median ranked school here is at the 45th — many of these schools outperform their district.
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