Enrollment
269
Elementary
DISTRICT 253 · STATE 323
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·RHINELANDER SCHOOL DISTRICT·NCES 551272001674
Central Elementary
418 N Pelham St, Rhinelander, WI 54501 · (715) 365-9600 · Oneida County
GRADES PK–05ELEMENTARY33-TOWNTITLE IREGULAR SCHOOL269 STUDENTS
Student : Teacher
10.5:1
26 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 10.1:1 · STATE 14.7:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
62%
166 students
DISTRICT 45% · STATE 42%
Community
0
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Pre-K | 45 | 17% |
| Kindergarten | 35 | 13% |
| Grade 1 | 50 | 19% |
| Grade 2 | 45 | 17% |
| Grade 3 | 29 | 11% |
| Grade 4 | 36 | 13% |
| Grade 5 | 29 | 11% |
This year's kindergarten class (35) is 21% larger than its 5th grade class (29).
Student demographics
27%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 21% · 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 Rhinelander School District. Attendance zones can vary; confirm enrollment with the district.
Test scores
Forward Exam 2024-25 . % Meeting or AdvancedEnglish Language Arts
42.2%
WI avg 53.1% . -0.5pp since 2023
Math
57.8%
WI avg 54.8% . -0.6pp since 2023
What this means: On the Forward Exam, Wisconsin's statewide test, about 42 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 58 of 100 do math at grade level. Across all Wisconsin schools, those numbers are about 53 and 55. Reading and writing scores have held steady since 2023, while math scores have held steady.
Forward Exam results by year
| School year | English Language Arts | Math |
|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | 42.2% | 57.8% |
| 2023-24 | 42.7% | 58.4% |
% 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
OUTPERFORMING
Top 10% of WI schools after controlling for student poverty
Actual proficiency
53.5%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
39.8%
based on WI schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
+13.8pp
above demographic expectation
What this means: About 54% of students here test proficient in math and reading, well above the roughly 40% typical for Wisconsin schools with a similar share of low-income students. BeatsExpectations ranks schools against others at the same poverty level, not by raw scores, so a school can post high scores and still fall short of its prediction, or post lower scores and still beat it. This school clears its prediction by about 14 points, placing it in Wisconsin's top 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 Central Elementary
Central Elementary's state test result (53.5% proficient) is higher than 2 of the 5 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| Central Elementary this school | 269 | 61.7% | 53.5% |
| Park Falls Elementary Park Falls | 290 | 59.3% | 51.8% |
| Humke Elementary Nekoosa | 313 | 60.1% | 37.1% |
| Lincoln Elementary Marshfield | 281 | 58.7% | 56.6% |
| Webster Elementary Webster | 248 | 61.3% | 56.2% |
| Boscobel Elementary Boscobel | 311 | 58.8% | 65.0% |
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 Central Elementary ranks
Among elementary schools| Measure | This school | In Wisconsin | In Oneida County |
|---|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 53.5% | #559 of 982 | #4 of 6 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 57.8% | #435 of 992 ▲ 32 | #4 of 6 no change |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 42.2% | #699 of 992 ▲ 6 | #5 of 6 ▼ 1 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 269 | #714 of 1,157 | #3 of 7 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 10.5:1 | #87 of 901 | N/A |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 27.4% | #621 of 901 | N/A |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 61.7% | #255 of 1,064 | #1 of 6 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked steepest decline first | -13.5% | #363 of 664 | N/A |
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
269
+39 (+17%) vs 2020
+37% since 1990-91, when it was 197
Student : Teacher
10.5:1
was 12.1:1
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 | 269 | 25.7 | 10.5:1 | 62% (166) |
| 2023-24 | 271 | 25.5 | 10.6:1 | 66% (179) |
| 2022-23 | 251 | 21 | 11.9:1 | 65% (164) |
| 2020-21 | 230 | 19 | 12.1:1 | 70% (162) |
| 2017-18 | 311 | 21.2 | 14.7:1 | 50% (157) |
| 2015-16 | 283 | 19 | 14.9:1 | 57% (160) |
| 2010-11 | 266 | 18 | 14.8:1 | 45% (120) |
| 2000-01 | 226 | 15 | 15.1:1 | 30% (68) |
| 1990-91 | 197 | 13 | 15.2:1 | N/A |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for Central Elementary.
Since 2017-18: students down 14% (311 to 269); teachers up 21% (21.2 to 25.7).
About Central Elementary
Rhinelander, Wisconsin, is home to Central Elementary, a small elementary school. Its grade span covers pre-K through 5, with 269 students on the rolls.
Federal data list 6 schools in Rhinelander School District, with 2,224 students enrolled.
White students account for 85% of the school's enrollment. The rest of enrollment is 7% multiracial and 4% Hispanic. Among all residents of Oneida County, the White share is about 94%. Its diversity index, the chance that two randomly chosen students belong to different racial or ethnic groups, is 27%.
Staffing at Central Elementary comes to 25.7 full-time-equivalent teachers, or 10.5:1. Elementary schools in Wisconsin have an average ratio of 14.7:1. On the income side, 62% of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch. The rate at public schools in Oneida County averages 42%, lower than here.
A school in Wisconsin with Central Elementary's free or reduced-price lunch share would be expected to score about 39.8%. Central Elementary scores 53.5%.
In Oneida County, where the school is located, the median household earns about $69,371 a year, 29% of adults hold a bachelor's degree or higher, and about 5% of people live in poverty. Counting Central Elementary, Oneida County has 15 public schools.
About 0.5 miles separate Central Elementary from the closest public school, Rhinelander High. A five-mile radius around the school includes 4 other public schools. Local comparison: Central Elementary ranks 5th of 9 nearby schools, at 53.5% versus a 58.0% average.
Central Elementary has an NCES locale of Town: Remote.
The school grew from 230 students in 2020-21 to 269 in 2024-25. The student-to-teacher ratio dropped from 12.1:1 in 2020-21 to 10.5:1 in 2024-25.
The Central Elementary discussion page is a place for special education services, counseling, and support programs. Teachers and staff are welcome to share updates too.
Oneida County at a glance
View full county profilePopulation
38,167
Census ACS
Median income
$69,371
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
29%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
5%
Below federal line
Schools in county
15
3,949 students
Quick facts
Related schools
Other schools in Rhinelander School District
- Rhinelander HighHigh · 757 students
- James Williams MiddleMiddle · 454 students
- Crescent ElementaryElementary · 384 students
- Pelican ElementaryElementary · 263 students
- Northwoods Community ElementaryElementary · 97 students
Other schools in Rhinelander
- Rhinelander HighHigh · 757 students
- James Williams MiddleMiddle · 454 students
- Crescent ElementaryElementary · 384 students
- Pelican ElementaryElementary · 263 students
- Sugar Camp ElementaryElementary · 111 students
Other Central Elementary schools
151 other US public schools in 35 states are named Central Elementary. Central Elementary is the 119th largest of the 152.
- Central Elementary SchoolCarrollton, GA · 991 students
- CENTRAL ELEM.ST CHARLES, MO · 865 students
- Central ElementaryBanning, CA · 782 students
- Central ElementaryFresno, CA · 762 students
- Central ElementaryPalmyra, VA · 751 students
Nearby schools
- Rhinelander High0.5 mi · 757
- James Williams Middle0.8 mi · 454
- Crescent Elementary1.8 mi · 384
- Pelican Elementary2.4 mi · 263
- Sugar Camp Elementary11.0 mi · 111
- Northwoods Community Elementary12.7 mi · 97
Frequently asked questions
About Central ElementaryWhat is the total enrollment at Central Elementary?
Central Elementary enrolls approximately 269 students in grades PK-05.
What grades does Central Elementary serve?
Central Elementary serves grades PK-05.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Central Elementary?
The student-to-teacher ratio at Central Elementary is approximately 10.5:1 (26 FTE teachers).
How diverse is Central Elementary?
Central Elementary reports a student body of 85% White, 4% Hispanic, 2% Black, 0% Asian, 7% Two or more.
Is Central Elementary public or private?
Central Elementary is a public K-12 school, overseen by Rhinelander School District.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.