Barrie Elementary, Fort Atkinson WI

Original Research by School Decision on Barrie Elementary

Barrie Elementary serves Fort Atkinson’s youngest students from pre-kindergarten through fifth grade, part of the Fort Atkinson School District in Jefferson County. This is a regular public school, not a charter or magnet, with a student population that is predominantly white and a moderate share of students from Hispanic backgrounds. About a third of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, a share that places the school in a middle ground on economic diversity for an elementary school in this region. The school is one of four elementary buildings in the district, each feeding into the same middle and high school, so the peer group children start with at Barrie carries through into the upper grades.

State testing results for the most recent year show a mixed picture, with some clear strengths and areas where a parent may want to look into this further with the school. In math, proficiency rates across grades three through five range from a little over sixty percent to about seventy percent. English language arts rates are more uneven; third and fourth graders show proficiency in the low to upper sixties, while fifth graders tested at just over half proficient. Science, tested only in fourth grade, came in at about seventy percent proficient, and social studies in the same grade was roughly eighty percent proficient. Participation rates across all tests were high, above ninety-five percent, so the results reflect nearly the full student body. The school’s overall proficiency index, which averages results across all tested subjects and grades, sits in the top quarter of elementary schools in Jefferson County. That means Barrie performs at a level that is among the higher elementary schools in the area, though not at the very top.

The school environment data we looked for was limited. Information on discipline, staffing ratios, chronic absenteeism, and student-teacher ratios was not available, so a parent considering Barrie will want to fill in those details through a school visit or conversation with the principal. Because Barrie is an elementary school that ends at fifth grade, there is no graduation rate to report.

Fort Atkinson itself is a small city of moderate size, situated along the Rock River with a historic downtown that includes preserved nineteenth- and early twentieth-century buildings. The city has a working, mixed-use character with major employers including a hospital system, a dairy producer, and manufacturing and business-services firms. Housing values in the area are near the statewide Wisconsin benchmark and slightly below the national figure, reflecting a market that is affordable relative to many parts of the country. The school building sits on a street in a residential neighborhood, one of several elementary sites spread across the city rather than concentrated downtown.

A notable recent event for the district is the narrow defeat in April 2024 of a facilities referendum that would have funded renovations, safety upgrades, and classroom expansions across the district’s schools. That means Barrie, along with the other district buildings, will operate without those planned improvements for now, and any future facility investments will require a new vote. This is a fact worth keeping in mind, particularly for a parent thinking about the condition of the physical plant and potential tax implications.

Overall, Barrie Elementary offers a solid academic foundation within a district that serves the whole city, with proficiency results that are among the stronger elementary schools in Jefferson County. The mix is relatively straightforward: a mostly white student body with some Hispanic representation, a moderate free-lunch share, and a compact grade span. The key gaps in the available data mean that a family should pursue direct questions about classroom support, staffing, and school climate to get the full picture.

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Academic performance

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

Math

Grade 362%

School 62% · District 68% · ▼ 6 pts below district

▲ 6 pts above state median · even with county median

Grade 470%

School 70% · District 73% · ▼ 3 pts below district

▲ 16 pts above state median · ▲ 16 pts above county median

Grade 562%

School 62% · District 65% · ▼ 3 pts below district

▲ 11 pts above state median · ▲ 1 pts above county median

English language arts

Grade 360%

School 60% · District 64% · ▼ 4 pts below district

▲ 7 pts above state median · even with county median

Grade 468%

School 68% · District 66% · ▲ 3 pts above district

▲ 16 pts above state median · ▲ 13 pts above county median

Grade 552%

School 52% · District 62% · ▼ 9 pts below district

▲ 1 pts above state median · ▼ 4 pts below county median

Science

Grade 470%

School 70% · District 61% · ▲ 9 pts above district

▲ 19 pts above state median · ▲ 15 pts above county median

Social studies

Grade 480%

School 80% · District 77% · ▲ 4 pts above district

▲ 15 pts above state median · ▲ 11 pts above county median

This schoolFort Atkinson 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-income36%Higher-income68%31 pp gap

Grade 4Lower-income57%Higher-income75%18 pp gap

Grade 5Lower-income10%Higher-income64%54 pp gap

Mathematics

Grade 3Lower-income46%Higher-income68%22 pp gap

Grade 4Lower-income38%Higher-income92%54 pp gap

Grade 5Lower-income20%Higher-income74%54 pp gap