Peshtigo Elementary, Peshtigo WI

Original Research by School Decision on Peshtigo Elementary

Peshtigo Elementary serves students from pre-kindergarten through sixth grade in the Peshtigo School District, a regular public school in a small northeastern Wisconsin city. The school sits in a community where the local economy has long been tied to forest products — lumber, paper, and manufacturing — and where the Peshtigo River and the history of the 1871 fire shape the town’s identity. The district’s three facilities include this elementary school and a combined middle and high school, all serving a modest student population across the system.

Academically, Peshtigo Elementary posts results that are among the stronger ones in Marinette County. On the state’s Forward assessments, math proficiency rates across grades three through six range from just over half of students to about seven in ten, with the highest performance in fourth grade. English language arts proficiency rates cluster between half and roughly six in ten across those same grades, with fifth grade showing the strongest reading and writing scores. Science testing, administered in fourth grade, shows just under half of students reaching proficiency. Social studies, also fourth grade, shows about three-quarters proficient, a clear area of strength. When looking at overall proficiency across all tested subjects and grades, the school’s combined measure places it in the top quartile relative to the eight school districts in Marinette County, above the county median. This is a solid academic profile for a rural elementary school, particularly given that the student body includes a substantial share of children from lower-income households, as measured by free or reduced-price meal eligibility.

The student population is predominantly white, with small shares of Hispanic students and students identifying as two or more races, and very few from other racial backgrounds. The school enrolls a moderate number of students for its grade span, and the state testing data shows full participation rates, a positive indicator of consistent administration. No information is available on the share of students with disabilities or English learners, so parents may want to ask the school directly about those supports.

The city of Peshtigo itself is compact and affordable. Housing values sit well below the Wisconsin and national medians, consistent with a working-class community. The town has a historic downtown corridor along Oconto Avenue and is accessible from Green Bay by highway. The city is in an early planning phase for developing workforce housing, and population figures show modest stability or slight decline in recent years. The school district has not publicly reported any recent major changes, bond referendums, or program expansions that would shift the overall picture.

For a family considering this school, the key takeaway is a building-grades elementary with academic results that hold up well against county peers, in a small-town setting with a practical, blue-collar character. The school does not serve beyond sixth grade, so transition to the middle and high school will come from the same district. The absence of data on special education and English learner enrollment is a gap worth following up on, but the testing record and community context suggest a school that meets its students where they are without fanfare.

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Academic performance

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

Math

Grade 359%

School 59% · District 59%

▲ 2 pts above state median

Grade 470%

School 70% · District 70%

▲ 16 pts above state median

Grade 562%

School 62% · District 62%

▲ 11 pts above state median

Grade 655%

School 55% · District 55%

▲ 2 pts above state median

English language arts

Grade 351%

School 51% · District 51%

▼ 1 pts below state median

Grade 451%

School 51% · District 51%

▼ 1 pts below state median

Grade 562%

School 62% · District 62%

▲ 12 pts above state median

Grade 650%

School 50% · District 50%

▼ 3 pts below state median

Science

Grade 448%

School 48% · District 48%

▼ 4 pts below state median

Social studies

Grade 475%

School 75% · District 75%

▲ 10 pts above state median

This schoolPeshtigo 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 3Lower-income58%Higher-income46%12 pp gap

Grade 4Lower-income32%Higher-income70%37 pp gap

Grade 5Lower-income47%Higher-income77%30 pp gap

Grade 6Lower-income42%Higher-income54%12 pp gap

Mathematics

Grade 3Lower-income65%Higher-income54%11 pp gap

Grade 4Lower-income59%Higher-income82%23 pp gap

Grade 5Lower-income40%Higher-income85%45 pp gap

Grade 6Lower-income50%Higher-income57%7 pp gap