La Crosse Polytechnic School

La Crosse Polytechnic School is one of the tiny senior highs in La Crosse, Wisconsin, part of La Crosse School District, with 86 students on its rolls from grades 6 through 12. Enrollment runs roughly 82% below the state mean of about 475.

Across the 19 schools in La Crosse School District (5,717 students total), La Crosse Polytechnic School accounts for its share of the district's footprint.

On the student-mix side, La Crosse Polytechnic School records that nearly all students (84%) are White; the rest consists of 5% Hispanic, 5% multiracial, 2% Black.

On the resource side, The school reports having 5 full-time-equivalent teachers, for a student-teacher ratio near 17.2:1. The state averages around 14.6:1, so this campus is higher than the state norm typical. Roughly 31% of students at La Crosse Polytechnic School qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, a number frequently used as a low-income enrollment indicator.

Adjusting for the school's free-and-reduced-lunch share, La Crosse Polytechnic School performs roughly as the BeatsExpectations model predicts for a school with this FRL share. The predicted value is around 58.4%, the actual is 62.8%, a residual of +4.4 points.

Zooming out to the county, community-level numbers for La Crosse County indicate median household income runs about $73,013, roughly 37% of adults have completed at least a four-year degree, and roughly 5% of residents live below the federal poverty line. In all, La Crosse County runs 38 public schools (combined enrollment of about 14,903 students), of which La Crosse Polytechnic School is one.

Coulee Region Virtual Academy is the nearest neighboring public school, about 0.0 miles from this campus. 8 of the 8 nearest public schools sit inside a five-mile radius. Ranking that nearby cluster on reported proficiency puts La Crosse Polytechnic School at 2nd of 7; the average score across the group is 51.0%.

The school occupies a downtown site. La Crosse Polytechnic School operates as a public charter school, meaning it is publicly funded but governed independently of the surrounding district's traditional schools.

Looking at the recent track record. Over the past 7-year window, the student count climbed 62%: 53 students in 2018 compared to 86 in 2025.

On the community side, posts here usually surface around classroom updates, athletics, and weather closures. Parents, students, alumni, and staff are welcome to weigh in.