Original Research by School Decision on Hayward High
Hayward High serves a student body of a size that feels manageable for a comprehensive public high school, drawing from the city of Hayward and the surrounding Sawyer County area. The school’s demographic profile is one of its most distinctive characteristics: more than one in five students identifies as American Indian or Alaska Native, a direct reflection of the nearby Lac Courte Oreilles Band of Ojibwe and a presence that is far higher than what is typical for most Wisconsin high schools. The largest group of students is white, and there are smaller shares of students who are Hispanic, identify with two or more races, or are Asian or Black. Just over half of the student body qualifies for free or reduced-price lunch, a figure that signals a middle-to-moderate income base for the community.
It is important to note up front that state testing data for Hayward High was not available in the materials reviewed. That gap often reflects the nature of a school’s grade band, but in this case, as a regular high school serving grades nine through twelve, testing is typically expected. A family looking at Hayward High may want to ask the school or district directly about recent state assessment results and how the school’s performance compares to other high schools in the region. The same gap applies to other common high school metrics: no graduation rate, no chronic absenteeism data, and no discipline figures were available in the sourced data, so a full picture of student outcomes and school climate requires a conversation with the school administration.
What is clear is that Hayward High and its parent district, the Hayward Community School District, have made sizable, concrete investments in the school’s facilities and programs. In 2022, voters in the district approved a major facilities referendum that paid for extensive renovations at the high school, including new science labs, a renovated auditorium, and expanded Career and Technical Education spaces. Those CTE spaces opened in fall 2024 and are part of a broader push by the district to add new pathways in welding and healthcare certifications, allowing students to earn industry credentials before they graduate. For a family whose student is interested in hands-on, career-oriented coursework, particularly in the trades or healthcare, this represents a real and recent expansion of opportunity.
The district also secured an operating referendum in 2024 to exceed state revenue limits for four years, a sign that the community is willing to support ongoing operational costs for staffing and programs. Separately, the district has adopted new reading curriculum materials for early elementary grades to comply with a state literacy law, though that shift applies to younger students, not to Hayward High itself.
Hayward itself is a small city that functions as the county seat and a tourism hub for outdoor recreation. Major annual events like the American Birkebeiner ski marathon and the Lumberjack World Championships draw large crowds, and the local economy is built around resorts, outfitters, and hospitality. ATVs are permitted on some city roads, and the area has extensive trail systems for snowmobiling, mountain biking, and skiing. The city is compact, so the high school is close to the downtown commercial core. Housing values in the zip code covering Hayward are modestly above the state median, and the area has seen slow, steady population growth over the past decade.
For a parent or resident, Hayward High presents a mix of clarity and open questions. The school benefits from recent, voter-approved facility upgrades and a district that is actively expanding career and technical programming. The student body is notably diverse in a way that reflects the region’s Native American community. But the absence of state assessment results and graduation rate data means that a family cannot yet judge academic performance from the public record. That alone is reason to contact the school directly and ask for recent year-end data, particularly around proficiency in core subjects and how many students graduate on time.
See more original research from School Decision →