Arboretum Elementary

Arboretum Elementary, an average-sized elementary campus in Waunakee, Wisconsin, part of Waunakee Community School District, caters to 435 students, covering grades pre-K through 4. Enrollment runs roughly 35% bigger than the state mean of about 323.

Across the 7 schools in Waunakee Community School District (4,415 students total), Arboretum Elementary accounts for its share of the district's footprint.

On demographics, Arboretum Elementary records that 84% of students identify as White, making the school strongly White-majority. Other groups include 6% multiracial, 4% Asian, 4% Hispanic.

On the resource side, Staff filings list 32 full-time-equivalent teachers, which works out to roughly 13.6:1 students per teacher. That figure is tighter than the state norm's 14.7:1 average. An estimated 3% of students are eligible for free or reduced-price lunch, which schools and policymakers use as a rough income-mix signal. That share is noticeably below Dane County's rate of about 32%.

After controlling for student poverty, Arboretum Elementary tracks the demographic baseline. The model predicts 75.7% given the school's FRL share; actual proficiency is 78.2%.

Around the school, community-level numbers for Dane County indicate median household earnings sit near $89,975, about 55% of the adult population holds a bachelor's degree or above, and census figures put the poverty rate at about 5%. Across Dane County's 169 public schools (combined enrollment of about 78,525 students), Arboretum Elementary is one campus in the mix.

The closest other public school is Waunakee Community 4K School, roughly 1.0 miles away. Within five miles, there are 8 other public schools. On composite proficiency, Arboretum Elementary comes 1st of 7 in the immediate cluster, higher than the nearby-schools average of 63.6%.

Geographically, the school is in an outer-ring area.

Trend over the last 7 years. Arboretum Elementary's enrollment has ticked down 4% since 2018, when it stood at 452 (now 435). Over the same period, the White share fell from 89% to 84%.

On this page, the page collects discussion, questions, and updates around enrollment questions, classroom assignments, and PTA news. The community welcomes input from current and former families.