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SCHOOL COMMUNITY·WAUNAKEE COMMUNITY SCHOOL DISTRICT·NCES 551581001198

Waunakee Prairie Elementary

700 N Madison St, Waunakee, WI 53597 · (608) 849-2200 · Dane County
GRADES KG–04ELEMENTARY21-SUBURBREGULAR SCHOOL531 STUDENTS
Enrollment
531
Elementary
DISTRICT 438 · STATE 323
Student : Teacher
12.2:1
44 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 15.4:1 · STATE 14.7:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
5%
28 students
DISTRICT 9% · 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

GradeStudentsShare
Kindergarten9217%
Grade 19919%
Grade 211922%
Grade 311221%
Grade 410921%

This year's kindergarten class (92) is 16% smaller than its 4th grade class (109).

Student demographics
31%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 33% · STATE 54% · US 70%
White
44083%
DISTRICT 81% · STATE 65% · US 43%
Hispanic
336%
DISTRICT 8% · STATE 15% · US 30%
Black
112%
DISTRICT 2% · STATE 9% · US 15%
Asian
194%
DISTRICT 4% · STATE 4% · US 6%
Two+
275%
DISTRICT 5% · STATE 6% · US 5%
Native American
10%
DISTRICT 0% · STATE 1% · US 1%
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
Male
28053%
Female
25147%

School pathway

Students here typically continue to
Waunakee Prairie Elementary→Waunakee Intermediate→Waunakee Middle→Waunakee High
Feeds from
Waunakee Community 4K SchoolPK–PK
Based on grade levels within Waunakee Community School District. Attendance zones can vary; confirm enrollment with the district.

Discussions

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Test scores

Forward Exam 2024-25 . % Meeting or Advanced
English Language Arts
65.6%
WI avg 53.1% . -6.8pp since 2023
Math
68.4%
WI avg 54.8% . -10.4pp since 2023

What this means: On the Forward Exam, Wisconsin's statewide test, about 66 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 68 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 10 points.

Forward Exam results by year

School yearEnglish Language ArtsMath
2024-2565.6%68.4%
2023-2472.4%78.8%
% 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 · methodology
Tier
AS EXPECTED
Performing as predicted given the school's student profile
Actual proficiency
71.7%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
74.4%
based on WI schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
-2.7pp
below demographic expectation

What this means: About 72% of students here test proficient in math and reading, compared with the roughly 74% 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 Waunakee Prairie Elementary

Waunakee Prairie Elementary's state test result (71.7% proficient) is higher than 0 of the 5 schools below with a result.

SchoolStudentsLow-incomeProficient
Waunakee Prairie Elementary this school5315.3%71.7%
Tonawanda Elementary
Elm Grove
5337.3%80.4%
Stormonth Elementary
Milwaukee
4736.3%83.2%
Donges Bay Elementary
Mequon
5397.1%75.6%
Parkview Elementary
Cedarburg
5048.1%88.0%
Lake Country School
Hartland
4477.6%84.1%
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 Waunakee Prairie Elementary ranks

Among elementary schools
MeasureThis schoolIn WisconsinIn Dane County
State test proficiency
ranked highest first
71.7%#155 of 982#17 of 74
Math proficiency
ranked highest first
68.4%#230 of 992
▼ 139
#22 of 74
▼ 13
Reading proficiency
ranked highest first
65.6%#224 of 992
▼ 108
#25 of 74
▼ 12
Enrollment
ranked largest first
531#112 of 1,157#9 of 93
Students per teacher
ranked fewest first
12.2:1#297 of 901#49 of 83
Diversity index
ranked most diverse first
30.5%#558 of 901#72 of 83
Free and reduced lunch
ranked highest share first
5.3%#1,044 of 1,064#87 of 91
Enrollment change since 2017-18
ranked steepest decline first
-9.8%#459 of 664#40 of 61
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 2024-25
Enrollment
531
+21 (+4%) vs 2020
-14% since 2000-01, when it was 614
Student : Teacher
12.2:1
was 11.1:1
Source: NCES Common Core of Data

Enrollment and staffing by year

School yearStudentsTeachers (FTE)Students per teacherFree and reduced lunch
2024-2553143.512.2:15% (28)
2023-2452443.512.0:16% (30)
2022-2353343.612.2:17% (39)
2020-215104611.1:18% (43)
2017-1858944.713.2:19% (53)
2015-166054413.8:110% (63)
2010-115524113.5:110% (54)
2000-016143915.7:13% (19)
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for Waunakee Prairie Elementary.

Since 2017-18: students down 10% (589 to 531); teachers down 3% (44.7 to 43.5).

About Waunakee Prairie Elementary

Waunakee Prairie Elementary is a large elementary school serving families in Waunakee, Wisconsin. It offers kindergarten through 4 and has 531 students enrolled. By comparison, elementary schools in Wisconsin enroll about 323 students on average.

Enrollment across the 7 schools in Waunakee Community School District totals 4,415 students.

White students account for 83% of the school's enrollment. It is also 6% Hispanic, 5% multiracial, 4% Asian, and 2% Black. On a 0 to 100 scale, the school's diversity index is 31, compared with 70 nationally.

There are 43.5 full-time-equivalent teachers at Waunakee Prairie Elementary, giving a ratio of 12.2:1. The school's 12.2:1 compares with an average of 14.7:1 for elementary schools in Wisconsin. By family income, 5% of students are eligible for free or reduced-price lunch. That rate is below the 32% average among public schools in Dane County.

Schools in Wisconsin with a similar free or reduced-price lunch share are predicted to score about 74.4%. Waunakee Prairie Elementary scores 71.7%.

In Dane County, where the school is located, the median household earns about $89,975 a year, roughly 55% of adults have a four-year degree or more, and the share of residents below the poverty line is 5%. Public schools in Dane County number 169, with about 78,525 students.

Waunakee High sits about 1.1 miles from Waunakee Prairie Elementary. There are 6 other public schools within five miles. Waunakee Prairie Elementary places 5th of 7 on proficiency among the closest schools that report scores.

In the federal locale system, Waunakee Prairie Elementary is coded Suburb: Large, for schools in a suburban area outside a principal city, within an urbanized area with a population of 250,000 or more.

Enrollment figures show a increase of 21 students from 2020-21 to 2024-25. The ratio of students to teachers went from 11.1:1 to 12.2:1 over the same years.

Parents, students, and staff can share information on pickup and drop-off, after-school programs, and teacher feedback here. Members of the school community can share what they know.

Dane County at a glance

View full county profile
Population
572,674
Census ACS
Median income
$89,975
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
55%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
5%
Below federal line
Schools in county
169
78,525 students

Quick facts

School name
Waunakee Prairie Elementary
District
Waunakee Community School District
Address
700 N Madison St, Waunakee, WI 53597
Phone
(608) 849-2200
County
Dane County
Level
Elementary
Grade range
KG–04
Total enrollment
531
Teachers (FTE)
44
Student–teacher ratio
12.2:1
Free and reduced lunch
28 (5%)
Locale
21-Suburb: Large
NCES ID
551581001198
Charter school
No
Virtual school
No

Related schools

Other schools in Waunakee Community School District
Other schools in Waunakee
Nearby schools

Frequently asked questions

About Waunakee Prairie Elementary
How large is Waunakee Prairie Elementary?
Waunakee Prairie Elementary enrolls approximately 531 students in grades KG-04.
What grades does Waunakee Prairie Elementary serve?
Waunakee Prairie Elementary serves grades KG-04.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Waunakee Prairie Elementary?
The student-to-teacher ratio at Waunakee Prairie Elementary is approximately 12.2:1 (44 FTE teachers).
What is the student diversity at Waunakee Prairie Elementary?
Student demographics at Waunakee Prairie Elementary are roughly 83% White, 6% Hispanic, 2% Black, 4% Asian, 5% Two or more.
Who oversees Waunakee Prairie Elementary?
Waunakee Prairie Elementary is overseen by Waunakee Community School District in Dane County.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.
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