Tainter Elementary

Tainter Elementary operates as a mid-tier elementary campus in Rice Lake, Wisconsin, run under Rice Lake Area School District. Current enrollment sits at 445 students spanning grades pre-K through 4. Compared to the state average of about 323 students per school, that is 38% larger than typical.

Rice Lake Area School District runs 6 schools in total, collectively educating 2,096 students. Tainter Elementary is one of those campuses.

Looking at the student body, Tainter Elementary reports that nearly all students (86%) are White. Other groups include 8% multiracial, 4% Hispanic.

Looking at the economic backdrop, On paper, Tainter Elementary has 41 full-time-equivalent teachers, translating to a class-load average of around 10.8:1. That figure is tighter than the state norm's 14.7:1 average. An estimated 56% of students are eligible for free or reduced-price lunch, which schools and policymakers use as a rough income-mix signal. Set against Barron County (around 41%), the school's rate is north of typical.

With demographic context factored in, Tainter Elementary sits in the middle band of the BeatsExpectations distribution. Schools with this campus's student mix typically land near 43.0%; this one delivers 50.3%.

Across the wider county, census data for Barron County shows median household income runs about $65,933, about 23% of the adult population holds a bachelor's degree or above, and the poverty rate sits near 7%. In all, Barron County runs 36 public schools (combined enrollment of about 7,199 students), of which Tainter Elementary is one.

The closest other public school is Rice Lake High, roughly 1.9 miles away. Counting just inside five miles, 5 other public schools cluster around Tainter Elementary. Ranking that nearby cluster on reported proficiency puts Tainter Elementary at 6th of 6; the average score across the group is 59.7%.

The campus sits in a town-center setting.

Looking at the recent track record. Tainter Elementary's enrollment has edged down 10% since 2018, when it stood at 495 (now 445). The student-to-teacher ratio fell from 11.9:1 in 2018 to 10.8:1 today.

In the discussion threads here, recent activity here tends to focus on school events, parent volunteer needs, and clubs. Members of the school community can share what they know.