The top reported proficiency rate is 94% in Social studies. The lowest is 54% in Math.
Original Research by School Decision on School of Technology and Arts I
School of Technology and Arts I is a public charter elementary school in La Crosse serving pre-kindergarten through fifth grade. It is part of the La Crosse School District, which is the public school system for this mid-sized Mississippi River city. The school’s focus is stated in its name: technology and arts, an unusual combination that signals a programmatic emphasis from an early age. For a family considering this school, the key question is what kind of academic foundation and peer environment a child would experience here.
The student body is small, with enrollment spanning pre-K through fifth grade in relatively even numbers across the grades. Racially, the school is predominantly white, with students who identify as two or more races making up a meaningful share and smaller numbers of Hispanic and Asian students. Just over a third of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, a rate that places it close to the district average and below the national average for high-poverty schools. Data on students with disabilities and English learners was not available in the source material, so a parent looking for information on special education or English language support would need to contact the school directly.
Academically, the school’s state test results paint a picture of solid performance with some variation by subject and grade. In English language arts, the school posted strong results across grades three through five, with proficiency rates that consistently exceeded the midpoint among its elementary peers in the county. Mathematics proficiency was more mixed: third and fifth graders performed at a level near or above the county median, while fourth graders showed a dip that a parent may want to ask the school about. In science, fourth graders, the only grade tested, performed roughly in line with math. The standout subject was social studies, where fourth graders posted a very high proficiency rate.
Taken together, the school’s overall proficiency index places it in the top quartile among the districts in La Crosse County. That is a meaningful distinction: it suggests that, on average, students at this school are performing at a level that exceeds most of the other elementary options in the region. The school participates in Wisconsin’s Forward exam, and participation rates were at full attendance for all tested grades, which means the results reflect nearly all enrolled students.
Because the school serves only elementary grades, there is no graduation rate to report, and no data on chronic absenteeism or discipline was available from the source material. The absence of these metrics is not unusual for an elementary school, but a parent may want to ask about attendance patterns and school climate as part of a visit.
The school is a charter school within the La Crosse district, meaning it operates with a degree of autonomy from the district’s standard curriculum and staffing policies, while still being a public school that families can attend tuition-free. Charters can vary widely in their approach, and the specific model at School of Technology and Arts I would be worth understanding in detail: whether the technology and arts focus means dedicated daily blocks, integrated project-based learning, or something else. The school’s website would be the first stop for that information.
La Crosse itself is a city of distinct character. It sits at the confluence of three rivers, with bluffs rising on all sides, giving it a sense of place that is neither flat prairie nor deep valley but something in between. It is a college town with three institutions of higher education, and a regional hub for healthcare, manufacturing, and transportation. The city’s population has been roughly stable in recent years, with slight decline, and the housing market reflects a mix of historic homes in older neighborhoods and newer development on the outskirts. The school is located on the south side of the city, an area that includes a mix of residential streets and commercial corridors.
For a parent evaluating this school, the academic data suggests a place that is performing well, particularly in literacy and social studies, and that offers a program with an intentional focus on technology and creative arts from an early age. The small size of the school and its charter status may mean a close-knit community with a specific educational identity. The main open questions are around the details of that identity in practice, the support services available, and whether the school’s strengths in literacy carry through into the middle school years that follow.
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