The top reported proficiency rate is 47% in Math. The lowest is 26% in Social studies.
Original Research by School Decision on Ithaca Elementary
Ithaca Elementary is the sole elementary school in the Ithaca School District, a small rural district headquartered south of Richland Center along State Highway 58. The school serves children from prekindergarten through fifth grade and is a regular public school—not a charter or magnet. The district it belongs to is one of only two in Richland County, and the elementary school’s student body is small.
The enrollment is predominantly white, with a very small Hispanic population and a handful of students of two or more races. The school reports that a substantial share of its students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, which places the school in a higher-poverty context for the area. Data on students with disabilities and English learners was not available from the state, so a parent may want to ask the school directly about how those populations are served.
State assessment results are available for third, fourth, and fifth graders in math and English language arts, and for fourth graders in science and social studies. Performance varies considerably by grade and subject. In third grade, a little more than half of students scored proficient or above in math, and just under half did so in reading. Fifth graders showed a similar pattern, with about half proficient in math and a slightly higher share in reading. Fourth grade was a notably weaker year: only a modest share of students met the bar in math, and a small share did so in reading. Fourth-grade science and social studies results were also low. When the school’s results are stacked against the two other districts in Richland County, Ithaca Elementary’s overall proficiency index falls into the bottom quartile. Because the school does not serve grades beyond fifth, there is no graduation rate or college-readiness data to examine.
The school building itself sits outside the city limits, on a rural stretch of Highway 58. The surrounding community is Richland Center, the county seat, a small city in the Driftless Region roughly midway between Madison and La Crosse. The town has a traditional downtown with a historic district, a Frank Lloyd Wright warehouse, a county courthouse, and a network of bike and walking trails. The local economy is anchored by manufacturing—metal machining, food products, packaging—and dairy processing, with four dairy plants in the city. Agriculture provides a substantial share of jobs in the county. The population has been stable, with no signs of rapid growth. Housing values in the zip code are below the state median, which may be relevant for families considering a move.
The Ithaca School District itself has not publicly reported any major recent changes, such as boundary adjustments, program overhauls, or leadership turnover, so a parent would need to reach out to the district office for current initiatives or upcoming plans.
Who might this school fit? Families seeking a small rural elementary with a tight-knit feel and a faculty-to-student ratio that comes with a small enrollment will find that here. The above-average shares of students qualifying for meal assistance indicate that the school serves a community with economic need, and the academic results suggest that while some grades are holding near the middle of the pack, fourth grade is a point of struggle that a parent would want to discuss with the principal. Because the school is the only elementary in its district, most children in the area attend here, and the peer group will be largely homogeneous in background. A family looking at this school should also consider that the middle and high school options are in the same district; those older buildings are not evaluated here, but the district’s small size means any strengths or weaknesses at the elementary level may carry forward.
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