The top reported proficiency rate is 36% in Math. The lowest is 26% in English language arts.
Original Research by School Decision on Southside Early Learning Center
Southside Early Learning Center serves children from pre-kindergarten through kindergarten in Sparta, within the Sparta Area School District. Because it is an early childhood school, the vast majority of conventional K-12 performance measures do not apply here. There is no graduation rate, no high school course pathways, no college or career programming to evaluate, and no state testing data that is relevant for its grade band. The only available state assessment results are from the 2018-19 school year for third graders, which is not a grade the school serves; those results appear to be a legacy data artifact and do not reflect the current school's students or programming. A parent reading this should understand that the school cannot be assessed by the same metrics used for elementary, middle, or high schools.
The school enrolls a substantial number of children, making it a sizable early learning center for its community. The student body is predominantly white, with a notable Hispanic population and smaller shares of students who are Black, Asian, American Indian or Alaska Native, or identify as two or more races. Data on the share of students who qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, receive special education services, or are English learners was not available, which is a gap a parent may want to clarify directly with the school.
Sparta itself is a small city and the county seat of Monroe County, set in the driftless region's rolling hills along the La Crosse River. It brands itself as the Bicycling Capital of America due to its position at the junction of the Elroy-Sparta and La Crosse River bike trails. The city has a historic downtown anchored by the county courthouse and a mix of residential neighborhoods and locally headquartered manufacturers such as Century Foods International, Mathews Inc., and Sparta Brush Company. Fort McCoy, a U.S. Army installation, is a significant contributor to the local economy, and Mayo Clinic Health System operates a hospital and clinic in town. Sparta's population has been slowly declining in recent years, and no major new housing developments were identified in publicly available sources. Housing values in the area are below the state benchmark but in line with national figures.
The Sparta Area School District approved a non-recurring referendum in 2024 that allows it to exceed state revenue limits for several years, with funds designated for maintaining educational programming, retaining staff, and managing operational costs. This directly affects property taxes and the district's ability to sustain its offerings, which is relevant for any family considering the district long term.
Southside Early Learning Center is what its name and grade span suggest: a dedicated entry point for the district's youngest students. There is no meaningful academic performance data to report for its actual pre-kindergarten and kindergarten students, no track record of test scores from its own grade levels, and no comparative ranking available that would apply to an early childhood center. A family evaluating this school should focus on what matters for a young child's first school experience: the learning environment, staff qualifications, class sizes, and how the school prepares children for the transition to elementary grades. Those specifics are not in the available data, so a visit and conversation with the school would be essential.
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