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If you could change one rule at Arboretum Elementary, what would it be?
Community prompt from u/allk12. Replies below.
Enrollment
435
Elementary
DISTRICT 438 · STATE 323
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·WAUNAKEE COMMUNITY SCHOOL DISTRICT·NCES 551581002648
Arboretum Elementary
1350 Arboretum Dr, Waunakee, WI 53597 · (608) 849-1800 · Dane County
GRADES PK–04ELEMENTARY21-SUBURBREGULAR SCHOOL435 STUDENTS
Student : Teacher
13.6:1
32 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 15.4:1 · STATE 14.7:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
3%
14 students
DISTRICT 9% · STATE 42%
Community
1
0 members
Enrollment and student:teacher ratio compared against other elementary schools. Free/Reduced Lunch and demographics compared against all schools.
Enrollment by grade, 2024-25
| Grade | Students | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Kindergarten | 78 | 18% |
| Grade 1 | 81 | 19% |
| Grade 2 | 86 | 20% |
| Grade 3 | 90 | 21% |
| Grade 4 | 100 | 23% |
This year's kindergarten class (78) is 22% smaller than its 4th grade class (100).
Student demographics
28%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 33% · STATE 54% · US 70%
Student head counts by race/ethnicity from federal NCES enrollment data. District, state, and US figures are each group's share of all public school students in that area (US excludes territories). Very small groups may be suppressed in the source, so categories do not always sum exactly to total enrollment.
Gender split
School pathway
Students here typically continue to
Based on grade levels within Waunakee Community School District. Attendance zones can vary; confirm enrollment with the district.
Test scores
Forward Exam 2024-25 . % Meeting or AdvancedEnglish Language Arts
77.7%
WI avg 53.1% . +1.8pp since 2023
Math
68.1%
WI avg 54.8% . -11.8pp since 2023
What this means: On the Forward Exam, Wisconsin's statewide test, about 78 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 68 of 100 do math at grade level. Across all Wisconsin schools, those numbers are about 53 and 55. Reading and writing scores are up about 2 points since 2023, while math scores are down about 12 points.
Forward Exam results by year
| School year | English Language Arts | Math |
|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | 77.7% | 68.1% |
| 2023-24 | 75.9% | 79.9% |
% Meeting or Advanced, all students and all tested grades.
Source: Forward Exam. All students, all grades. See all years and grades →
BeatsExpectations
Demographically-adjusted score · methodologyTier
AS EXPECTED
Performing as predicted given the school's student profile
Actual proficiency
78.2%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
75.7%
based on WI schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
+2.5pp
above demographic expectation
What this means: About 78% of students here test proficient in math and reading, compared with the roughly 76% typical for Wisconsin schools with a similar share of low-income students. BeatsExpectations measures results against demographically similar schools rather than by raw scores, and this school falls within the typical range, neither among Wisconsin's top nor bottom 10%.
BeatsExpectations runs a per-state regression of proficiency on free/reduced-lunch share, then scores each school by residual. How this is calculated →
Schools most like Arboretum Elementary
Arboretum Elementary's state test result (78.2% proficient) is higher than 0 of the 5 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| Arboretum Elementary this school | 435 | 3.2% | 78.2% |
| Swallow Elementary Hartland | 432 | 2.8% | 88.5% |
| Lake Country School Hartland | 447 | 7.6% | 84.1% |
| Stormonth Elementary Milwaukee | 473 | 6.3% | 83.2% |
| Richmond Elementary Sussex | 410 | 1.5% | 81.2% |
| Woodland School Appleton | 478 | 5.6% | 78.8% |
Matched among Wisconsin elementary schools on enrollment, the share of students from low-income families (eligible for free or reduced-price lunch), and racial and ethnic makeup. Proficient is the average share of students meeting the state standard across all of the school's state tests in 2023-24 and 2024-25, the same combined score our test-score rankings use. Online schools and schools serving specialized populations are not matched.
Where Arboretum Elementary ranks
Among elementary schools| Measure | This school | In Wisconsin | In Dane County |
|---|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 78.2% | #52 of 982 | #4 of 74 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 68.1% | #235 of 992 ▼ 159 | #23 of 74 ▼ 17 |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 77.7% | #52 of 992 ▲ 17 | #4 of 74 ▲ 2 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 435 | #275 of 1,157 | #25 of 93 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 13.6:1 | #518 of 901 | #66 of 83 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 28.1% | #606 of 901 | #76 of 83 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 3.2% | #1,050 of 1,064 | #89 of 91 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked steepest decline first | -3.8% | #587 of 664 | #56 of 61 |
Ranked against other public elementary schools. Online schools are left out of every list, and test-score lists leave out schools that serve specialized populations. Each rank links to the full list. Arrows under a test-score rank show places moved since the prior test year, among schools tested both years.
4-year change
SY 2020-21 vs SY 2024-25Enrollment
435
+5 (+1%) vs 2020
-19% since 2010-11, when it was 537
Student : Teacher
13.6:1
was 13.4:1
Source: NCES Common Core of Data
Enrollment and staffing by year
| School year | Students | Teachers (FTE) | Students per teacher | Free and reduced lunch |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | 435 | 32 | 13.6:1 | 3% (14) |
| 2023-24 | 427 | 31.9 | 13.4:1 | 3% (12) |
| 2022-23 | 435 | 32.9 | 13.2:1 | 3% (13) |
| 2020-21 | 430 | 32 | 13.4:1 | 4% (16) |
| 2017-18 | 452 | 31.1 | 14.6:1 | 3% (13) |
| 2015-16 | 471 | 32 | 14.7:1 | 4% (21) |
| 2010-11 | 537 | 33 | 16.3:1 | 5% (25) |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for Arboretum Elementary.
Since 2017-18: students down 4% (452 to 435); teachers up 3% (31.1 to 32).
About Arboretum Elementary
Arboretum Elementary is a medium-sized elementary school in Waunakee, Wisconsin, administered by Waunakee Community School District. The school had 435 students in pre-K through 4 in 2024-25. Average enrollment for elementary schools in Wisconsin is about 323, so this school runs 35% larger than that.
Within Waunakee Community School District, Arboretum Elementary is one of 7 schools. The district enrolls 4,415 students.
The large majority of students at Arboretum Elementary, 84%, are White. The next largest groups are 6% multiracial, 4% Asian, and 4% Hispanic. By the diversity index, Arboretum Elementary comes in at 28%.
The teaching staff at Arboretum Elementary is 32 full-time-equivalent teachers, and the ratio is 13.6:1. The average ratio among elementary schools in Wisconsin is 14.7:1, higher than at this school. About 3% of students, or 14, qualify for free or reduced-price lunch. That is lower than the 32% average for public schools in Dane County.
On a poverty-adjusted basis, Arboretum Elementary falls in the middle 80% of Wisconsin schools: 78.2% actual against 75.7% predicted.
Within Dane County, median household income is about $89,975, about 55% of adults have at least a bachelor's degree, and roughly 5% of residents are in poverty. Federal data list 169 public schools in Dane County, with a combined enrollment of about 78,525.
The nearest public school is Waunakee Community 4K School, at about 1.0 miles. There are at least 8 other public schools within five miles. On state test proficiency, Arboretum Elementary ranks 1st in a group of 7 nearby schools.
Federal data place Arboretum Elementary in the Suburb: Large locale, which means it is in a suburban area outside a principal city, within an urbanized area with a population of 250,000 or more.
Arboretum Elementary had 430 students in 2020-21 and 435 in 2024-25, nearly the same.
The Arboretum Elementary community page is open for posts about school events, clubs, and volunteer needs. Posting is open to anyone connected to the school.
Dane County at a glance
View full county profilePopulation
572,674
Census ACS
Median income
$89,975
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
55%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
5%
Below federal line
Schools in county
169
78,525 students
Quick facts
Related schools
Other schools in Waunakee Community School District
- Waunakee HighHigh · 1,335 students
- Waunakee MiddleMiddle · 667 students
- Waunakee IntermediateMiddle · 661 students
- Waunakee Heritage ElementaryElementary · 537 students
- Waunakee Prairie ElementaryElementary · 531 students
- Waunakee Community 4K SchoolElementary · 249 students
Other schools in Waunakee
- Waunakee HighHigh · 1,335 students
- Waunakee MiddleMiddle · 667 students
- Waunakee IntermediateMiddle · 661 students
- Waunakee Heritage ElementaryElementary · 537 students
- Waunakee Prairie ElementaryElementary · 531 students
- Waunakee Community 4K SchoolElementary · 249 students
Nearby schools
- Waunakee Community 4K School1.0 mi · 249
- Waunakee Middle2.0 mi · 667
- Waunakee High2.1 mi · 1,335
- Waunakee Prairie Elementary2.4 mi · 531
- Lindbergh Elementary2.7 mi · 180
- Waunakee Heritage Elementary2.8 mi · 537
Frequently asked questions
About Arboretum ElementaryWhat is the total enrollment at Arboretum Elementary?
Arboretum Elementary enrolls approximately 435 students in grades PK-04.
Is Arboretum Elementary an elementary, middle, or high school?
Arboretum Elementary is an elementary school covering grades PK-04.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Arboretum Elementary?
The student-to-teacher ratio at Arboretum Elementary is approximately 13.6:1 (32 FTE teachers).
How diverse is Arboretum Elementary?
Arboretum Elementary reports a student body of 84% White, 4% Hispanic, 1% Black, 4% Asian, 6% Two or more.
Who oversees Arboretum Elementary?
Arboretum Elementary is overseen by Waunakee Community School District in Dane County.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.