1
What clubs or activities at Northern Hills Elementary are worth joining?
Community prompt from u/allk12. Replies below.
Enrollment
463
Elementary
DISTRICT 344 · STATE 323
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·ONALASKA SCHOOL DISTRICT·NCES 551101001446
Northern Hills Elementary
910 East Ave N, Onalaska, WI 54650 · (608) 783-4542 · La Crosse County
GRADES PK–05ELEMENTARY13-CITYTITLE IREGULAR SCHOOL463 STUDENTS
Student : Teacher
13.4:1
34 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 16.1:1 · STATE 14.7:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
47%
218 students
DISTRICT 31% · 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 |
|---|---|---|
| Pre-K | 40 | 9% |
| Kindergarten | 73 | 16% |
| Grade 1 | 67 | 14% |
| Grade 2 | 68 | 15% |
| Grade 3 | 66 | 14% |
| Grade 4 | 64 | 14% |
| Grade 5 | 85 | 18% |
This year's kindergarten class (73) is 14% smaller than its 5th grade class (85).
Student demographics
58%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 50% · 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 Onalaska School District. Attendance zones can vary; confirm enrollment with the district.
Test scores
Forward Exam 2024-25 . % Meeting or AdvancedEnglish Language Arts
46.9%
WI avg 53.1% . -1.8pp since 2023
Math
54.5%
WI avg 54.8% . +4.3pp since 2023
What this means: On the Forward Exam, Wisconsin's statewide test, about 47 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 55 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 2 points since 2023, while math scores are up about 4 points.
Forward Exam results by year
| School year | English Language Arts | Math |
|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | 46.9% | 54.5% |
| 2023-24 | 48.7% | 50.2% |
% 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
50.8%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
48.8%
based on WI schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
+2.0pp
above demographic expectation
What this means: About 51% of students here test proficient in math and reading, compared with the roughly 49% 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 Northern Hills Elementary
Northern Hills Elementary's state test result (50.8% proficient) is higher than 1 of the 5 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| Northern Hills Elementary this school | 463 | 47.1% | 50.8% |
| Lincoln-Erdman Elementary Sheboygan | 394 | 45.9% | 66.5% |
| Rothschild Elementary Rothschild | 408 | 40.9% | 54.7% |
| Riverview Elementary Wausau | 445 | 44.3% | 47.1% |
| Mountain Bay Elementary Weston | 451 | 37.5% | 66.3% |
| Sherman Elementary Eau Claire | 502 | 36.3% | 59.0% |
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 Northern Hills Elementary ranks
Among elementary schools| Measure | This school | In Wisconsin | In La Crosse County |
|---|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 50.8% | #612 of 982 | #14 of 20 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 54.5% | #508 of 992 ▲ 115 | #12 of 20 ▲ 1 |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 46.9% | #620 of 992 ▼ 1 | #13 of 20 ▲ 1 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 463 | #204 of 1,157 | #4 of 21 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 13.4:1 | #489 of 901 | #14 of 17 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 57.7% | #232 of 901 | #5 of 17 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 47.1% | #459 of 1,064 | #8 of 20 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked steepest decline first | -11.6% | #409 of 664 | #12 of 16 |
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
463
-17 (-4%) vs 2020
+17% since 1990-91, when it was 395
Student : Teacher
13.4:1
was 12.0:1
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 | 463 | 34.4 | 13.4:1 | 47% (218) |
| 2023-24 | 477 | 35.5 | 13.4:1 | 48% (230) |
| 2022-23 | 489 | 38.2 | 12.8:1 | 49% (238) |
| 2020-21 | 480 | 40 | 12.0:1 | 40% (190) |
| 2017-18 | 524 | 41.8 | 12.6:1 | 37% (195) |
| 2015-16 | 589 | 39 | 15.1:1 | 39% (229) |
| 2010-11 | 386 | 29 | 13.3:1 | 38% (145) |
| 2000-01 | 277 | 20 | 13.8:1 | 15% (41) |
| 1990-91 | 395 | 25 | 15.8:1 | N/A |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for Northern Hills Elementary.
Since 2017-18: students down 12% (524 to 463); teachers down 18% (41.8 to 34.4).
About Northern Hills Elementary
Northern Hills Elementary is a medium-sized elementary school in Onalaska, Wisconsin, one of the schools in Onalaska School District. Classes run from pre-K through 5, and the school has 463 students. The average for elementary schools in Wisconsin is about 323 students, so this school is 43% bigger than average.
District-wide, Onalaska School District has 6 schools and 2,920 students.
White students account for 60% of enrollment at Northern Hills Elementary. Enrollment also includes 21% Asian, 9% multiracial, 6% Hispanic, and 3% Black. The school's White share is 28 points below the 88% share among La Crosse County residents. By the diversity index, Northern Hills Elementary comes in at 58%.
The school reports 34.4 full-time-equivalent teachers, which works out to about 13.4 students per teacher. The 14.7:1 average for elementary schools in Wisconsin is higher than this school's figure. The free or reduced-price lunch share, often used to gauge student poverty, is 47%. Among public schools in La Crosse County, the average eligibility rate is 35%.
Northern Hills Elementary posts an average proficiency rate on state tests of 50.8%, compared with a predicted 48.8%. It is not in the top or bottom 10% of Wisconsin schools on BeatsExpectations.
County data help place the school in context: in La Crosse County, median household income is about $73,013, roughly 37% of adults have a four-year degree or more, and about 5% of residents live below the federal poverty line. The public schools of La Crosse County number 38 and enroll about 14,903.
The shortest distance from Northern Hills Elementary to another public school is about 0.3 miles, to Onalaska Middle. The five-mile area around Northern Hills Elementary holds at least 8 other public schools. Nearby schools with test data average 52.9% proficiency; Northern Hills Elementary posts 50.8%.
The school's setting, by NCES definition, is City: Small: inside a principal city with a population under 100,000.
Northern Hills Elementary had 480 students in 2020-21 and 463 in 2024-25, a 4% decrease. The ratio was 12.0:1 in 2020-21 and 13.4:1 in 2024-25.
To ask about sports tryouts, band and choir, and theater, start a discussion on this page. Anyone with firsthand experience at this school can post or comment.
La Crosse County at a glance
View full county profilePopulation
120,488
Census ACS
Median income
$73,013
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
37%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
5%
Below federal line
Schools in county
38
14,903 students
Quick facts
Related schools
Other schools in Onalaska School District
- Onalaska HighHigh · 925 students
- Onalaska MiddleMiddle · 620 students
- Eagle Bluff ElementaryElementary · 471 students
- Pertzsch ElementaryElementary · 373 students
- Onalaska Prekindergarten Partner SchoolElementary · 68 students
Other schools in Onalaska
- Onalaska HighHigh · 925 students
- Onalaska MiddleMiddle · 620 students
- Eagle Bluff ElementaryElementary · 471 students
- Pertzsch ElementaryElementary · 373 students
- Onalaska Prekindergarten Partner SchoolElementary · 68 students
Other Northern Hills Elementary schools
3 other US public schools in 4 states are named Northern Hills Elementary. Northern Hills Elementary is the 3rd largest of the 4.
- Northern Hills Elementary SchoolEdmond, OK · 708 students
- Northern Hills Elementary SchoolSAN ANTONIO, TX · 501 students
- Northern Hills ElementaryTopeka, KS · 408 students
Nearby schools
- Onalaska Middle0.3 mi · 620
- Pertzsch Elementary0.9 mi · 373
- Onalaska High1.4 mi · 925
- Onalaska Prekindergarten Partner School1.9 mi · 68
- Eagle Bluff Elementary1.9 mi · 471
- Sand Lake Elementary2.3 mi · 363
Frequently asked questions
About Northern Hills ElementaryWhat is the total enrollment at Northern Hills Elementary?
Northern Hills Elementary enrolls approximately 463 students in grades PK-05.
Is Northern Hills Elementary an elementary, middle, or high school?
Northern Hills Elementary is an elementary school covering grades PK-05.
How many students per teacher at Northern Hills Elementary?
Approximately 13.4:1 students per teacher at Northern Hills Elementary.
What is the student diversity at Northern Hills Elementary?
Student demographics at Northern Hills Elementary are roughly 60% White, 6% Hispanic, 3% Black, 21% Asian, 9% Two or more.
Is Northern Hills Elementary public or private?
Northern Hills Elementary is a public K-12 school, overseen by Onalaska School District.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.