The top reported proficiency rate is 59% in Math. The lowest is 36% in Science.
Original Research by School Decision on Central Elementary
Central Elementary serves students in prekindergarten through fifth grade in Rhinelander, Wisconsin, a city that functions as a commercial, industrial, medical, and recreational hub for the Northwoods region. The school is part of the Rhinelander School District and is a regular public school drawing from the community. The city itself has a historic downtown centered around the Oneida County Courthouse, and major local employers include a paper mill and a hospital. Civic anchors include the Pioneer Park Historical Complex, several museums, and a regional airport.
The student body is predominantly white, with a small number of students identifying as two or more races and very small shares of American Indian or Alaska Native, Black, Hispanic, Asian, and Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander students. A substantial share of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, indicating a community with a meaningful concentration of lower-income households. Grade-level enrollment shows the largest group in prekindergarten, with relatively even numbers across kindergarten through fifth grade, making the overall enrollment small for an elementary school serving seven grade levels.
State assessment data from the most recent school year provides a look at academic performance across grades three through five. In math, proficiency rates reached over six in ten in third grade and in fifth grade, while fourth grade was closer to half of students meeting the bar. In English language arts, the rates were lower, with third and fifth grades just under half proficient and fourth grade notably lower. Fourth-grade science proficiency mirrored the lower end of the ELA results, while fourth-grade social studies was stronger, with over half of students scoring proficient. Taken together, the school’s overall proficiency across tested subjects and grades places it below the midpoint among the few districts in Oneida County where data was available. A parent may want to look into this further with the school to understand what supports are in place, particularly for literacy across grade levels.
The school offers no high school grades, so there is no graduation rate to report, nor were there data available on chronic absenteeism, discipline, staffing, or course access. The absence of those metrics is not unusual for an elementary school, but a parent may wish to ask the school directly about class sizes and student support staffing. Information about special education enrollment and the share of English learners was also missing from the available data.
Housing in the area sits at a level that is below the state benchmark for Wisconsin, with home values rising at a rate similar to the state’s increase over the past year. Rents are priced such that they represent a modest share of income based on national median household income figures, and the estimated monthly mortgage payment exceeds the typical rent, consistent with many markets where buying is more expensive than renting. The broader economic context shows a national unemployment rate that was steady over the past year, with mortgage rates fluctuating in a moderate range.
The district brief did not surface any recent major changes or initiatives, so this appears to be a stable setting without significant recent disruptions or overhauls. For a family considering the area, Central Elementary is a small, neighborhood elementary school in a regional hub community where the economy is anchored by manufacturing, healthcare, tourism, and local government. The academic picture shows variability by subject and grade, with math performance generally stronger than reading, and the school’s overall proficiency index is on the lower end relative to other districts in the same county. The student body is not highly diverse, and a large share of families face economic challenges. A parent would likely want to engage directly with the school about literacy instruction and how the school addresses the needs of its student population.
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