Holcombe Elementary, Holcombe WI

Original Research by School Decision on Holcombe Elementary

Holcombe Elementary serves students from pre-kindergarten through fifth grade in the small, unincorporated community of Holcombe, situated on the Chippewa River in Chippewa County. The school is part of the Lake Holcombe School District, which covers the broader town area and operates a single campus that includes the elementary grades alongside the district’s secondary program. Holcombe itself is a rural, low-density place defined by the Holcombe Flowage a recreational impoundment that draws seasonal residents and visitors to its shores. Most errands require a car, and there is no traditional downtown; the community’s focal points are the river, the town park, and the post office. Employment for residents leans heavily toward manufacturing and construction, with many people commuting to jobs elsewhere in the county. The area has seen a modest population decline over recent decades, with a slight recent rebound, and no major new housing developments or commercial projects were publicly reported. The district itself has not been the subject of any recently reported referendums, curriculum changes, or property-tax shifts that would be of immediate note to parents.

The school’s enrollment is small for a regular public school serving these grades. The student body is overwhelmingly white, with only a very small share of Hispanic students. A substantial portion of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, reflecting the area’s economic mix. Data on students with disabilities and English learners was not available in the provided sources.

Academically, the school’s proficiency rates on the Wisconsin Forward assessment are lower than those of most other districts in Chippewa County when measured across tested grades and subjects. In math, the share of students scoring proficient or above was just under half in third grade, and lower in fourth and fifth grades. In English language arts, the rates were notably lower, particularly in third grade, where only a modest share met the bar. Science and social studies results for fourth grade hovered around the low end of the band. Because the school’s total tested enrollment for each grade is very small, these rates can swing noticeably from year to year with just a few students’ results. With no multi-year trend data available, it is hard to tell whether this is a persistent pattern or a single-year snapshot. A parent may want to ask the district about how the school supports foundational literacy in the early grades, where the greatest gap appears.

Given the school’s size and rural setting, the peer environment is intimate. Students from the same small community move through elementary grades together, then continue on the same campus for middle and high school, which can provide continuity but also limits the variety of peer groups. The broader community offers outdoor recreation, a town park, and a quiet, car-dependent lifestyle rather than dense street life or commercial amenities.

For a family considering this area, housing in and around Holcombe is priced near the state average, with homes and cottages along the flowage being the dominant stock. The Lake Holcombe School District did not have publicly reported recent changes to programs or operations, so the academic picture described here is likely stable for the near term. The school fits families who value a small, familiar environment and are comfortable with a rural, recreation-oriented setting, but the proficiency data is something any prospective parent would want to examine closely and discuss with the school directly.

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Academic performance

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

Math

Grade 346%

School 46% · District 46%

▼ 10 pts below state median · ▼ 13 pts below county median

Grade 439%

School 39% · District 39%

▼ 16 pts below state median · ▼ 24 pts below county median

Grade 539%

School 39% · District 39%

▼ 12 pts below state median · ▼ 20 pts below county median

English language arts

Grade 315%

School 15% · District 15%

▼ 37 pts below state median · ▼ 39 pts below county median

Grade 431%

School 31% · District 31%

▼ 21 pts below state median · ▼ 16 pts below county median

Grade 533%

School 33% · District 33%

▼ 17 pts below state median · ▼ 13 pts below county median

Science

Grade 446%

School 46% · District 46%

▼ 5 pts below state median · ▼ 6 pts below county median

Social studies

Grade 439%

School 39% · District 39%

▼ 26 pts below state median · ▼ 32 pts below county median

This schoolLake Holcombe 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.

Proficiency by household income

English language arts

Grade 5Lower-income43%Higher-income27%16 pp gap

Grade 6Lower-income43%Higher-income33%10 pp gap

Grade 8Lower-income33%Higher-income56%22 pp gap

Mathematics

Grade 5Lower-income57%Higher-income27%30 pp gap

Grade 6Lower-income14%Higher-income0%14 pp gap

Grade 8Lower-income0%Higher-income22%22 pp gap