Enrollment
266
Elementary
DISTRICT 176 · STATE 323
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·CLEAR LAKE SCHOOL DISTRICT·NCES 550261000291
Gaylord A Nelson Educational Center
135 8th Ave, Clear Lake, WI 54005 · (715) 263-2117 · Polk County
GRADES PK–06ELEMENTARY43-RURALREGULAR SCHOOL266 STUDENTS
C
allk12 Grade
Scored higher than 30% of Wisconsin public elementary schools
- C+Test scores Share of students meeting the state standard in reading, math, and other tested subjects, 2023-24 and 2024-25.
- CBeats expectations How far test scores land above or below what the share of low-income students predicts for a school in this state.
- ·Three-year trend Not available for this school, so the grade uses the other parts.
Grades compare a school only with schools in the same state, because every state gives its own test. How grades work · Top-graded Wisconsin public elementary schools
Student : Teacher
11.7:1
23 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 13.0:1 · STATE 14.7:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
39%
103 students
DISTRICT 31% · 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 | 35 | 13% |
| Kindergarten | 24 | 9% |
| Grade 1 | 32 | 12% |
| Grade 2 | 36 | 14% |
| Grade 3 | 33 | 12% |
| Grade 4 | 40 | 15% |
| Grade 5 | 35 | 13% |
| Grade 6 | 31 | 12% |
This year's kindergarten class (24) is 23% smaller than its 6th grade class (31).
Student demographics
18%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 16% · 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 Clear Lake School District. Attendance zones can vary; confirm enrollment with the district.
QUIET COMMUNITY
Be the first to start a discussion at Gaylord A Nelson Educational Center.
START A DISCUSSIONTest scores
Forward Exam 2024-25 . % Meeting or AdvancedEnglish Language Arts
43.0%
WI avg 53.1% . -6.6pp since 2023
Math
48.1%
WI avg 54.8% . -13.4pp since 2023
What this means: On the Forward Exam, Wisconsin's statewide test, about 43 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 48 of 100 do math at grade level. Across all Wisconsin schools, those numbers are about 53 and 55. Reading and writing scores are down about 7 points since 2023, while math scores are down about 13 points.
Forward Exam results by year
| School year | English Language Arts | Math |
|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | 43.0% | 48.1% |
| 2023-24 | 49.6% | 61.5% |
% 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
52.0%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
53.9%
based on WI schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
-1.9pp
below demographic expectation
What this means: About 52% of students here test proficient in math and reading, compared with the roughly 54% 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 Gaylord A Nelson Educational Center
Gaylord A Nelson Educational Center's state test result (52.0% proficient) is higher than 1 of the 5 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gaylord A Nelson Educational Center this school | 266 | 38.7% | 52.0% |
| River Valley Elementary Spring Green | 258 | 38.8% | 51.1% |
| Westby Elementary Westby | 277 | 39.0% | 55.3% |
| Cochrane-Fountain City Elementary Fountain City | 271 | 36.2% | 66.6% |
| Amery Intermediate Amery | 260 | 41.2% | 64.8% |
| Lien Elementary Amery | 299 | 40.8% | 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 Gaylord A Nelson Educational Center ranks
Among elementary schools| Measure | This school | In Wisconsin | In Polk County |
|---|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 52.0% | #590 of 982 | #8 of 9 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 48.1% | #627 of 992 ▼ 223 | #8 of 9 ▼ 2 |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 43.0% | #685 of 992 ▼ 83 | #8 of 9 no change |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 266 | #721 of 1,157 | #5 of 11 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 11.7:1 | #226 of 901 | #5 of 7 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 17.6% | #792 of 901 | #3 of 7 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 38.7% | #597 of 1,064 | #7 of 10 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked steepest decline first | -21.3% | #193 of 664 | #5 of 9 |
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
266
-50 (-16%) vs 2020
-33% since 1990-91, when it was 398
Student : Teacher
11.7:1
was 12.6:1
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 | 266 | 22.7 | 11.7:1 | 39% (103) |
| 2023-24 | 269 | 22.9 | 11.8:1 | 41% (111) |
| 2022-23 | 284 | 23.5 | 12.1:1 | 40% (113) |
| 2020-21 | 316 | 25 | 12.6:1 | 43% (137) |
| 2017-18 | 338 | 25 | 13.5:1 | 34% (114) |
| 2015-16 | 341 | 25 | 13.6:1 | 44% (151) |
| 2010-11 | 350 | 27 | 13.0:1 | 41% (144) |
| 2000-01 | 363 | 29 | 12.5:1 | 24% (87) |
| 1990-91 | 398 | 20 | 19.9:1 | N/A |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for Gaylord A Nelson Educational Center.
Since 2017-18: students down 21% (338 to 266); teachers down 9% (25 to 22.7).
About Gaylord A Nelson Educational Center
Gaylord A Nelson Educational Center is a low-enrollment elementary school in Wisconsin, located in Clear Lake. Students in pre-K through 6 attend the school, which enrolls 266 students.
Clear Lake School District oversees Gaylord A Nelson Educational Center and 2 other schools, with 527 students in total.
At Gaylord A Nelson Educational Center, White students make up 91% of the student body. The school is also 5% Hispanic and 4% multiracial. That is close to the 94% White share among all Polk County residents. Gaylord A Nelson Educational Center has a diversity index of 18%, compared with 70% for all US public school students.
Staffing totals 22.7 full-time-equivalent teachers, and the student-to-teacher ratio is 11.7:1. That ratio is under the 14.7:1 average for elementary schools in Wisconsin. The free or reduced-price lunch rate at Gaylord A Nelson Educational Center is 39%. That is close to the 37% average for public schools in Polk County.
The allk12 Grade for Gaylord A Nelson Educational Center is C. Compared with Wisconsin public elementary schools, the school scored higher than 30% on a mix of test scores, poverty-adjusted results, and recent trend.
Gaylord A Nelson Educational Center scores 52.0% on state tests, averaged across results. The predicted figure, based on its student poverty level, is 53.9%.
Within Polk County, median household income is about $77,219, the share of adults with a bachelor's degree or higher is 24%, and roughly 6% of residents are in poverty. The public schools of Polk County number 26 and enroll about 6,126.
Clear Lake Junior High is the closest public school, about 0.5 miles away in a straight line. There are 2 more public schools inside five miles. On state test proficiency, Gaylord A Nelson Educational Center ranks 7th in a group of 9 nearby schools.
NCES lists the school's locale as Rural: Remote. That means it sits in rural territory far from an urban area.
From 2020-21 to 2024-25, Gaylord A Nelson Educational Center went from 316 students to 266.
Topics for discussion here include school safety, transportation, and start times. Anyone with firsthand experience at this school can post or comment.
Polk County at a glance
View full county profilePopulation
45,555
Census ACS
Median income
$77,219
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
24%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
6%
Below federal line
Schools in county
26
6,126 students
Quick facts
Related schools
Other schools in Clear Lake School District
- Clear Lake HighHigh · 189 students
- Clear Lake Junior HighMiddle · 72 students
Other schools in Clear Lake
- Clear Lake HighHigh · 189 students
- Clear Lake Junior HighMiddle · 72 students
Nearby schools
- Clear Lake Junior High0.5 mi · 72
- Clear Lake High0.5 mi · 189
- Amery Intermediate5.3 mi · 260
- Amery Middle5.4 mi · 275
- Amery High5.5 mi · 418
- Lien Elementary5.6 mi · 299
Frequently asked questions
About Gaylord A Nelson Educational CenterWhat is the total enrollment at Gaylord A Nelson Educational Center?
Gaylord A Nelson Educational Center enrolls approximately 266 students in grades PK-06.
What age range does Gaylord A Nelson Educational Center serve?
Gaylord A Nelson Educational Center serves students from grade PK through grade 06.
How many students per teacher at Gaylord A Nelson Educational Center?
Approximately 11.7:1 students per teacher at Gaylord A Nelson Educational Center.
How diverse is Gaylord A Nelson Educational Center?
Gaylord A Nelson Educational Center reports a student body of 91% White, 5% Hispanic, 0% Black, 0% Asian, 4% Two or more.
Who oversees Gaylord A Nelson Educational Center?
Gaylord A Nelson Educational Center is overseen by Clear Lake School District in Polk County.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.