Enrollment
329
Elementary
DISTRICT 385 · STATE 323
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·DE FOREST AREA SCHOOL DISTRICT·NCES 550318000108
Yahara Elementary
234 N Lexington Pkwy, DeForest, WI 53532 · (608) 842-6400 · Dane County
GRADES KG–03ELEMENTARY21-SUBURBREGULAR SCHOOL329 STUDENTS
Student : Teacher
12.2:1
27 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 17.5:1 · STATE 14.7:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
16%
51 students
DISTRICT 18% · STATE 42%
Community
0
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Kindergarten | 75 | 23% |
| Grade 1 | 84 | 26% |
| Grade 2 | 85 | 26% |
| Grade 3 | 85 | 26% |
Student demographics
32%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 36% · 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 De Forest Area School District. Attendance zones can vary; confirm enrollment with the district.
Test scores
Forward Exam 2024-25 . % Meeting or AdvancedEnglish Language Arts
52.9%
WI avg 53.1% . -13.8pp since 2023
Math
58.8%
WI avg 54.8% . -7.9pp since 2023
What this means: On the Forward Exam, Wisconsin's statewide test, about 53 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 59 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 14 points since 2023, while math scores are down about 8 points.
Forward Exam results by year
| School year | English Language Arts | Math |
|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | 52.9% | 58.8% |
| 2023-24 | 66.7% | 66.7% |
% 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
61.3%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
68.1%
based on WI schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
-6.8pp
below demographic expectation
What this means: About 61% of students here test proficient in math and reading, compared with the roughly 68% 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 Yahara Elementary
Yahara Elementary's state test result (61.3% proficient) is higher than 0 of the 5 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| Yahara Elementary this school | 329 | 15.5% | 61.3% |
| South Elementary Hartland | 332 | 15.4% | 74.5% |
| Amy Belle Elementary Colgate | 356 | 16.3% | 71.6% |
| River Crest Elementary Hudson | 366 | 18.0% | 71.7% |
| Northview Elementary Howards Grove | 336 | 15.8% | 73.3% |
| Lakeshore Elementary Fond du Lac | 354 | 16.1% | 84.2% |
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 Yahara Elementary ranks
Among elementary schools| Measure | This school | In Wisconsin | In Dane County |
|---|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 61.3% | #379 of 982 | #37 of 74 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 58.8% | #411 of 992 ▼ 122 | #37 of 74 ▼ 7 |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 52.9% | #494 of 992 ▼ 272 | #46 of 74 ▼ 25 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 329 | #523 of 1,157 | #57 of 93 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 12.2:1 | #300 of 901 | #51 of 83 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 32.0% | #537 of 901 | #70 of 83 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 15.5% | #945 of 1,064 | #69 of 91 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked steepest decline first | -8.9% | #478 of 664 | #44 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 2024-25Enrollment
329
-70 (-18%) vs 2020
-24% since 2000-01, when it was 433
Student : Teacher
12.2:1
was 14.3:1
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 | 329 | 26.9 | 12.2:1 | 16% (51) |
| 2023-24 | 347 | 26.9 | 12.9:1 | 18% (64) |
| 2022-23 | 354 | 25 | 14.2:1 | 21% (75) |
| 2020-21 | 399 | 28 | 14.3:1 | 24% (97) |
| 2017-18 | 361 | 25.4 | 14.2:1 | 17% (62) |
| 2015-16 | 400 | 28 | 14.3:1 | 22% (86) |
| 2010-11 | 421 | 27 | 15.6:1 | 24% (99) |
| 2000-01 | 433 | 25 | 17.3:1 | 8% (33) |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for Yahara Elementary.
Since 2017-18: students down 9% (361 to 329); teachers up 6% (25.4 to 26.9).
About Yahara Elementary
Yahara Elementary is an elementary school in DeForest, Wisconsin, and it is part of De Forest Area School District. The school's 329 students are in kindergarten through 3.
Yahara Elementary is one school in De Forest Area School District, a system of 7 schools with 4,246 students.
White students are the large majority at Yahara Elementary, with 82% of enrollment. Enrollment also includes 9% Hispanic, 5% multiracial, and 3% Asian. The chance that two students picked at random at Yahara Elementary belong to different racial or ethnic groups, known as the diversity index, is 32%.
The school reports 26.9 full-time-equivalent teachers, which works out to about 12.2 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 16%. The gap from the 32% average for public schools in Dane County is 16 points.
Test results at Yahara Elementary are 6.8 points below what its free or reduced-price lunch share predicts (61.3% actual, 68.1% predicted).
Federal survey data for Dane County show that median household income is about $89,975, 55% of adults hold a bachelor's degree or higher, and about 5% of residents live below the federal poverty line. Yahara Elementary is among the 169 public schools in Dane County.
The school nearest to Yahara Elementary is De Forest Middle, at a distance of about 1.2 miles. Counting only straight-line distance, 6 other public schools are within five miles. Yahara Elementary places 7th of 8 on proficiency among the closest schools that report scores.
Yahara Elementary is in a suburban area outside a principal city, within an urbanized area with a population of 250,000 or more, a location NCES labels Suburb: Large.
From 2020-21 to 2024-25, Yahara Elementary went from 399 students to 329. The ratio of students to teachers went from 14.3:1 to 12.2:1 over the same years.
The discussion area below is open to posts about enrollment questions, class placement, and PTA news. Reviews and ratings from people who know the school are welcome.
Dane County at a glance
View full county profilePopulation
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
Related schools
Other schools in De Forest Area School District
- De Forest HighHigh · 1,137 students
- Harvest Intermediate SchoolMiddle · 966 students
- De Forest MiddleMiddle · 602 students
- Windsor ElementaryElementary · 526 students
- Eagle Point ElementaryElementary · 389 students
- Early Learning ProgramElementary · 297 students
Other schools in DeForest
- De Forest HighHigh · 1,137 students
- Harvest Intermediate SchoolMiddle · 966 students
- Eagle Point ElementaryElementary · 389 students
- Early Learning ProgramElementary · 297 students
Other Yahara Elementary schools
One other US public school is named Yahara Elementary. Yahara Elementary is the largest of the 2.
- Yahara ElementaryEdgerton, WI · 120 students
Nearby schools
- De Forest Middle1.2 mi · 602
- Early Learning Program1.2 mi · 297
- Eagle Point Elementary1.3 mi · 389
- De Forest High1.6 mi · 1,137
- Windsor Elementary2.5 mi · 526
- Harvest Intermediate School2.5 mi · 966
Frequently asked questions
About Yahara ElementaryHow many students attend Yahara Elementary?
Yahara Elementary enrolls approximately 329 students in grades KG-03.
What grades does Yahara Elementary serve?
Yahara Elementary serves grades KG-03.
How many students per teacher at Yahara Elementary?
Approximately 12.2:1 students per teacher at Yahara Elementary.
How diverse is Yahara Elementary?
Yahara Elementary reports a student body of 82% White, 9% Hispanic, 2% Black, 3% Asian, 5% Two or more.
Who oversees Yahara Elementary?
Yahara Elementary is overseen by De Forest Area School District in Dane County.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.