Best Elementary Schools in Zip Code 54729

ZIP code 54729 is home to five elementary schools — Parkview Elementary, Halmstad Elementary, Hillcrest Elementary, Stillson Elementary, and Southview Elementary — all serving grades K–5 within the Chippewa Falls Area Unified School District in Wisconsin. Together they enroll about 1,700 students, with school sizes ranging from 286 at Southview to 377 at Parkview. The district as a whole ranks 240th of 432 in the state, at the 44th percentile with a 2-star rating, but that single rating hides wide differences among these five schools, which range from the 26th to the 90th percentile.

Stillson Elementary is the standout, ranking in the 90th percentile with 4 stars in 2025–26 and scoring above district and state averages on every reported test, including 93.33% in 4th-grade math and 86.67% in 4th-grade social studies. Halmstad Elementary is the strong second, also above district and state on every reported 2025–26 test, though its math results softened from the prior year. Southview Elementary sits in the middle at the 50th percentile, with a standout 5th-grade math score of 85.37% but a weak 4th-grade social studies score of 44.90%. Hillcrest Elementary is highly variable — 66.67% in 3rd-grade ELA but 34.33% in 4th, and the lowest science score in the group at 31.34%. Parkview Elementary ranks lowest, in the 26th percentile with 1 star, and fell below district and state averages on every reported 2025–26 test.

Two patterns are worth noting. First, higher poverty and higher spending did not line up with stronger outcomes here: Parkview has the highest free/reduced lunch rate (55.70%) and the highest per-student spending ($16,411) but the weakest results, while Stillson has the lowest of both yet performs best — though Halmstad, with the second-highest poverty rate, still performed well above district and state. Second, student-teacher ratios range from 12.4 to 15.3 with no clear link to performance. Chronic absenteeism is a bright spot: all five schools are below the district's 14.5% and the state's 17.3%, from Hillcrest's low 5.9% to Parkview's 14.0%. Parkview's three-year decline and Stillson's consistent top-tier showing are the clearest trends.