The top reported proficiency rate is 63% in Social studies. The lowest is 24% in Math.
Original Research by School Decision on Northern Waters Environmental School
Northern Waters Environmental School is a public charter school serving grades six through twelve in Hayward, Wisconsin, operating within the Hayward Community School District. It is a small school, and its enrollment figures are noticeably low for a secondary school, reflecting an intimate learning environment. The student body is majority white, with smaller shares of students who are American Indian or Alaska Native, Hispanic, or of two or more races. A substantial share of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch.
The school’s academic mission centers on environmental education, and its size and charter status mean that families who enroll are making an active choice to pursue a program built around that theme. The academic performance picture is mixed and is best understood in the context of the school’s very small cohort sizes, which means that a single student’s score can swing the overall result dramatically. On Wisconsin’s Forward assessments, proficiency rates in math were on the lower end for the grades that had reportable results, while English language arts proficiency varied by grade; one grade showed a solid majority of students meeting the bar, while another sat at a lower level. Science and social studies results for the tested grade were higher, with about half or more of students proficient. Because total tested numbers in each grade are so small, these percentages should be read as indicative but not statistically stable. The school’s overall proficiency index, which averages across all tested subjects and grades, placed it on the lower end relative to other school districts in Sawyer County. No data on graduation rate was available in the records examined, which may reflect the small size of the senior class, although the school does serve grade twelve.
Academic and program offerings beyond assessment data were not detailed in the information provided. The district brief notes that the Hayward Community School District, which operates Northern Waters, has recently invested in new Career and Technical Education spaces at the high school, expanded welding and healthcare certification pathways, and adopted new early literacy curriculum aligned with state law. As a charter school within the district, Northern Waters may have its own program emphases, but the available data did not specify whether students at this school have access to those same CTE offerings or whether the school follows the district’s curriculum.
The community context matters for families considering this school. Hayward is a small city and county seat with an economy rooted in outdoor recreation and tourism, hosting major events such as the American Birkebeiner ski race and the Lumberjack World Championships. The Lac Courte Oreilles Band of Ojibwe has a significant presence nearby, and the area draws families who value lake country and trail systems. Housing values in the area sit close to the national benchmark, and the town has seen modest steady growth. The school’s location on Greenwood Lane puts it within the compact footprint of the city, close to the downtown core and to the Namekagon River. For a family looking for a small, theme-based middle and high school where the student-to-teacher ratio is inherently low and where the academic program is built around environmental science, Northern Waters presents a distinctive option. The test results suggest that math achievement, in particular, is an area that a parent may want to explore further with the school to understand how the program addresses it and what supports are in place. The school has no publicly reported discipline or attendance data available in the sources reviewed, and civil rights data such as special education or English learner counts were also missing, so families should expect to ask about those areas directly.
For a resident or parent in the Hayward area, Northern Waters is not a comprehensive district high school but a specialized charter that serves a small, self-selected group of students. Its size means a close-knit atmosphere and the potential for strong teacher-student relationships, but it also means that academic outcomes can vary year to year. The district’s recent facility investments and operating referendum show broader community support for the school system, but Northern Waters itself remains a distinct entity within that system. Any family evaluating it should visit, talk to current students and staff, and confirm how the environmental focus is integrated into the core academic subjects, especially in the upper grades.
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