Original Research by School Decision on Baraboo High
Baraboo High serves as the sole comprehensive high school in the Baraboo School District, educating students in grades nine through twelve in the city of Baraboo, the county seat of Sauk County. The school is a regular public school with an enrollment that places it in the mid-sized range for a high school in this corner of Wisconsin. The student body is predominantly White, with a notable Hispanic population and a smaller but distinct American Indian presence, reflecting the active cultural and community role of the Ho-Chunk Nation in the area. More than forty percent of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, indicating that a substantial share of families face economic challenges.
What a parent considering Baraboo High will immediately notice is the absence of the two most common public metrics for a high school. State assessment results are not available, and no four-year graduation rate is reported. For a school that serves the full high school grade band, these gaps are unusual. A family should ask the school directly for recent test scores, graduation rates, and any state accountability ratings to get a clear picture of academic outcomes. The data we reviewed simply does not contain that information.
The school sits within a district that is in the middle of a leadership transition. An interim superintendent was named permanent superintendent starting July 2025, following the resignation of the previous leader. The district also made a substantial capital investment in facilities in the 2021-2022 fiscal year, with construction spending that suggests a serious commitment to improving the physical learning environment. What those projects specifically entailed is not detailed in the available records.
Baraboo itself is a small city with a well-defined character. It is known as the winter headquarters of the Ringling Brothers Circus and still leans into that identity with the Circus World Museum and an annual parade. The downtown is built around the Sauk County Courthouse square, with historic commercial buildings, the Al. Ringling Theatre, and a public library. Outside that core, the city spreads into residential neighborhoods and auto-oriented corridors. Tourism and outdoor recreation are major parts of the local economy, thanks to Devil’s Lake State Park and Mirror Lake State Park, both within a short drive. Housing values in Baraboo are moderately below both the Wisconsin state median and the national median, which may make the area more accessible for buyers than larger metro areas. Rental costs follow a similar pattern. The city has limited public transit, with a dial-a-ride service and an intercity bus stop.
For a family weighing this school, the big unknown is academic performance. Without test and graduation data, it is impossible to say whether students here are achieving at a high level relative to peers in Sauk County or across the state. The school is large enough to offer a broad range of course sections and extracurriculars, but the available data does not confirm what those offerings are. What is clear is that Baraboo High occupies a well-established community with a distinct identity, a district that has recently renewed its leadership and invested in its buildings, and a student population that is economically and racially more diverse than the surrounding region might suggest. Any parent considering this school will want to visit, ask for the latest accountability reports, and talk to current families about the day-to-day academic experience before forming a judgment.
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