North Lakeland Elementary, Manitowish Waters WI

Original Research by School Decision on North Lakeland Elementary

North Lakeland Elementary is the single school serving the North Lakeland School District, a small, rural district in Vilas County that covers pre-kindergarten through eighth grade. Because the school ends at grade 8, it has no high school and therefore no graduation rate to report. Families who live here and have high-school-age children attend a high school outside this district.

The school sits in Manitowish Waters, a small Northwoods resort town centered on a chain of ten connected lakes. The economy runs on seasonal tourism: the population swells dramatically in summer, and the downtown has a laid-back character with artist studios, gift shops, and restaurants. A significant share of local commercial property is owned by a family of prominent businesspeople and political donors, who have invested substantial sums in hotels, a restaurant, a spa, and other businesses. The overall texture is recreational and seasonal. Housing values in the area are notably above the state median, and higher than the national median as well, reflecting the desirability of lakefront and Northwoods properties, though the local economy is driven by hospitality and small businesses rather than large employers.

North Lakeland Elementary enrolls a small number of students across grades PK through 8. The student body is overwhelmingly White, with a small share of students who are Hispanic or identify with two or more races, and a very small share of American Indian or Alaska Native students. Roughly a third of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, a share that is lower than what is typical in many rural Wisconsin districts and points to a mix of family backgrounds. Data on students with disabilities and English learners was not available in the source materials.

On state assessments, the school’s proficiency rates across math, English language arts, science, and social studies placed it well above the midpoint among districts in Vilas County. In math, a strong majority of students scored proficient or advanced at every grade level from 3 through 8, with the highest rates in 7th grade. In English language arts, the pattern was similar: the large majority of students met the bar in grades 3 through 7, with a somewhat lower share in 8th grade. Science results, tested in grades 4 and 8, showed a strong majority proficient in grade 4 but a smaller majority in grade 8, a drop that a parent may want to look into further with the school. Social studies scores, tested in grades 4 and 8, were strong in both years. Across all tested subjects and grades, the school’s composite proficiency index placed it in the top quartile relative to the other districts in Vilas County.

The school has a district-level history that includes a Blue Ribbon award in 2023, though the district brief did not turn up recent property-tax shifts, referendums, or curriculum changes. The lack of such reported changes does not mean nothing is happening, only that nothing with lasting public impact surfaced in the search.

For a family considering the area, this is a small, rural elementary and middle school with consistently strong academic performance on state tests, set in a tourist-driven lake country community where housing is expensive relative to the state and national averages. The school’s small size means children will know their classmates and teachers well across many years. The academic pathway runs through grade 8, after which students must transition to a high school outside the North Lakeland district, so any family with older children or planning to stay through high school will need to investigate those options ahead of time. The community itself is quiet and seasonal, with more activity in summer than winter, and civic life centers on parks, a library, and the lake.

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Academic performance

How students perform on state tests, by grade, set against the district.

Math

Grade 377%

School 77% · District 77%

▲ 20 pts above state median

Grade 478%

School 78% · District 78%

▲ 24 pts above state median

Grade 571%

School 71% · District 71%

▲ 19 pts above state median

Grade 671%

School 71% · District 67% · ▲ 5 pts above district

▲ 18 pts above state median

Grade 781%

School 81% · District 81%

▲ 27 pts above state median

Grade 877%

School 77% · District 77%

▲ 26 pts above state median

English language arts

Grade 377%

School 77% · District 77%

▲ 24 pts above state median

Grade 483%

School 83% · District 83%

▲ 31 pts above state median

Grade 582%

School 82% · District 82%

▲ 32 pts above state median

Grade 671%

School 71% · District 67% · ▲ 5 pts above district

▲ 18 pts above state median

Grade 786%

School 86% · District 86%

▲ 34 pts above state median

Grade 869%

School 69% · District 69%

▲ 17 pts above state median

Science

Grade 483%

School 83% · District 83%

▲ 32 pts above state median

Grade 862%

School 62% · District 62%

▲ 10 pts above state median

Social studies

Grade 489%

School 89% · District 89%

▲ 24 pts above state median

Grade 877%

School 77% · District 77%

▲ 13 pts above state median

This schoolNorth Lakeland School District, same grade

Graduation rate (ACGR) reflects the federally published Adjusted Cohort Graduation Rate for the most recent year available. We refresh this data annually at the close of each academic year in June. The federal source publishes a banded rate (for example, "90-94%") instead of an exact number for cohorts small enough to risk identifying individual students. The state distribution chart, where shown, plots every school in the state with a published rate or band; schools whose rate is federally suppressed are excluded. Where the federal source publishes a band rather than an exact rate, the school is placed within its band using a stable, ID-derived offset, so its position is consistent across visits.

Proficiency by household income

English language arts

Grade 3Lower-income50%Higher-income91%41 pp gap

Grade 5Lower-income75%Higher-income89%14 pp gap

Grade 7Lower-income83%Higher-income87%3 pp gap

Grade 8Lower-income57%Higher-income83%26 pp gap

Mathematics

Grade 3Lower-income67%Higher-income82%15 pp gap

Grade 5Lower-income88%Higher-income56%32 pp gap

Grade 7Lower-income83%Higher-income80%3 pp gap

Grade 8Lower-income57%Higher-income100%43 pp gap