Original Research by School Decision on Little Stars Pre-school
Little Stars Pre-School is a regular public school in Colby, Wisconsin, serving only pre-kindergarten students. It is part of the Colby School District and operates out of a facility on West Dolf Street. Because the school serves only four-year-olds, there are no state assessment results, no graduation rate, and no chronic absenteeism data to report — those metrics apply to tested grades and high school completion, which this school does not cover. A parent looking for test-score comparisons for this school will not find them, as pre-K programs are not part of state accountability testing.
The school is small, with an enrollment that fits a single early childhood program. A substantial share of students come from low-income households, as reflected in the free-or-reduced-price lunch rate. The student body is largely white, with a noteworthy share identifying as Hispanic. This gives the school a more diverse composition than many small rural Wisconsin pre-K programs, mirroring the broader community’s demographic mix. Information on students with disabilities and English learners was not available in the data.
Colby itself is a small rural city of modest size, straddling Clark and Marathon counties in central Wisconsin. Its identity is tied to dairy farming and cheese production — Colby cheese was invented here. The Hispanic population makes up a meaningful portion of the town, adding to the community’s character. The built environment is compact, with a downtown core and low-density residential streets. There is no public transit; residents rely on cars. The Colby School District operates preschool through high school within the city, and recent years have seen new and renovated school facilities: an elementary school built in the early 2000s, a new middle school, and a remodeled high school. These buildings serve as community gathering spaces. Marshfield Clinic provides healthcare in town. The local economy historically centered on cheese manufacturing, though that specific industry has declined; agriculture and the school district remain significant employers. The city has experienced modest population growth.
For a family considering Little Stars Pre-School, the key factors are what a pre-K program can offer: early childhood education in a setting that is small, economically diverse, and reflective of a rural community with a notable Hispanic presence. Because the school is a pre-K program run by the public school district, it likely feeds directly into the district’s elementary school, providing continuity. The absence of test scores and other K-12 measures is expected given the grade band; it is not a signal of weakness. A parent who wants to understand the academic trajectory after pre-K would need to look at the district’s elementary school results, which are not covered here. The district itself reported no recent major changes, so the school’s context appears stable.
Housing in the area is relatively affordable compared to national and state benchmarks, though home values have risen. The community sits within a metropolitan statistical area centered on Wausau. For a family weighing early childhood options in central Wisconsin, Little Stars Pre-School presents as a straightforward public pre-K program in a small town where school facilities have seen recent investment and where the district provides a full K-12 pathway.
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