Sugar Maple Nature School, Saukville WI

Original Research by School Decision on Sugar Maple Nature School

Sugar Maple Nature School is a public charter school serving kindergarten through fifth grade in the Northern Ozaukee School District, located in Saukville, Wisconsin. It was opened in the fall of 2023 at the Riveredge Nature Center in Newburg, offering a nature-based, outdoor learning curriculum. This makes it a distinct educational choice within the district, one built around environmental immersion rather than a traditional classroom setting.

The school’s enrollment is small, as is typical for a specialized charter school in its early years. The student body draws from the surrounding area and is predominantly white, with a small share of Hispanic students and a very small number of students who identify as two or more races. Data on the share of students who qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, as well as students with disabilities or English learners, was not available.

On state assessments, performance is a mixed picture that benefits from context. In math, proficiency rates were at a level where a solid majority of students met the bar in third, fourth, fifth, and sixth grades, but this placed the school slightly below the midpoint when compared to other districts in Ozaukee County. In English language arts, the results were notably stronger, with a large majority of fourth, fifth, and sixth graders meeting proficiency, and sixth grade showing near-universal achievement. Science and social studies results were based on a very small group of fourth graders and showed very high proficiency, meaning the handful of students tested performed well. Across the board, the numbers come from a small testing group, so year-to-year swings could be wide.

The school does not serve high school grades, so there is no graduation rate to report.

The surrounding community of Saukville is a mix of residential suburb and industrial center. The village has a small downtown, a historic walking tour, and community events like a summer concert series and a farmers market. Major employers include a steel mill and other manufacturers located in an industrial park near the interstate. Housing values in the area are moderately priced relative to the state and national benchmarks, and rents are typical for the region.

A parent should understand a few key things about this school. The nature-based curriculum is the defining feature, and it will appeal to families who want their child’s learning to be rooted in outdoor exploration and environmental science. The school is new, having just opened in 2023, so its track record is short and its academic pattern is still emerging. The district passed a recurring operational referendum in 2024, which provides stable funding through the late 2020s but also increases local property taxes for the duration. The combination of a small student body, a novel charter program, and a growing community means that the experience for a child here could be significantly different from a conventional elementary school in the district. Families who value a hands-on, outdoor approach and are comfortable with the limited performance history would likely find Sugar Maple Nature School a strong fit. Those looking for a long track record or a more traditional academic setting may want to explore other options.

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Academic performance

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

Math

Grade 364%

School 64% · District 57% · ▲ 7 pts above district

▲ 8 pts above state median · ▼ 17 pts below county median

Grade 463%

School 63% · District 57% · ▲ 5 pts above district

▲ 8 pts above state median · ▼ 10 pts below county median

Grade 558%

School 58% · District 49% · ▲ 10 pts above district

▲ 7 pts above state median · ▼ 18 pts below county median

Grade 670%

School 70% · District 78% · ▼ 8 pts below district

▲ 16 pts above state median

English language arts

Grade 357%

School 57% · District 62% · ▼ 4 pts below district

▲ 4 pts above state median · ▼ 22 pts below county median

Grade 475%

School 75% · District 74% · ▲ 2 pts above district

▲ 23 pts above state median · even with county median

Grade 575%

School 75% · District 56% · ▲ 19 pts above district

▲ 24 pts above state median · ▼ 3 pts below county median

Grade 690%

School 90% · District 74% · ▲ 16 pts above district

▲ 37 pts above state median

Science

Grade 4100%

School 100% · District 77% · ▲ 24 pts above district

▲ 49 pts above state median · ▲ 31 pts above county median

Social studies

Grade 488%

School 88% · District 84% · ▲ 4 pts above district

▲ 23 pts above state median · ▲ 2 pts above county median

This schoolNorthern Ozaukee 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.