Orchard Ridge Elementary

Orchard Ridge Elementary operates as a close-knit elementary-level community in Madison, Wisconsin, one of the schools within Madison Metropolitan School District. Current enrollment sits at 265 students spanning grades pre-K through 5.

Within Madison Metropolitan School District, which oversees 53 schools and 25,155 students, Orchard Ridge Elementary is one campus in the system.

Looking at the student body, Orchard Ridge Elementary records that the largest single group is White at 40%, but no single group is in the majority. Other groups include 26% Black, 19% Hispanic, 12% multiracial, 2% Asian. By comparison, Dane County as a whole is about 77% White, so the school skews meaningfully less White than its surroundings.

On the resource side, The school currently runs with 23 full-time-equivalent teachers, for a student-teacher ratio near 11.3:1. Statewide, the average ratio sits near 14.7:1, putting Orchard Ridge Elementary tighter than the state norm the norm. Around 52% of the student body qualifies for free or reduced-price meals, which schools and policymakers use as a rough income-mix signal. That share is noticeably above Dane County's rate of about 32%.

After controlling for student poverty, Orchard Ridge Elementary sits in the middle band of the BeatsExpectations distribution. Schools with this campus's student mix typically land near 45.7%; this one delivers 43.8%.

Zooming out to the county, ACS estimates for Dane County put median household income runs about $89,975, 55% of adults hold a bachelor's degree or higher, and the poverty rate sits near 5%. In all, Dane County runs 169 public schools (combined enrollment of about 78,525 students), of which Orchard Ridge Elementary is one.

Toki Middle is the nearest neighboring public school, about 0.0 miles from this campus. Within five miles, there are 8 other public schools. Ranking that nearby cluster on reported proficiency puts Orchard Ridge Elementary at 6th of 8; the average score across the group is 48.4%.

The school occupies an urban site.

Over the past 7-year window. Looking back 7 years, enrollment at Orchard Ridge Elementary has shrank 10%, going from 293 students in 2018 to 265 in 2025. Over the same period, the White share rose from 33% to 40%. Class-load math has loosened: from 9.5:1 in 2018 to 11.3:1 in 2025.

On this page, posts here usually surface around science fair prep, picture-day reminders, and bus-route questions. Posting is open to anyone connected to the school.