Hawthorn Hills Elementary, Wausau WI

Original Research by School Decision on Hawthorn Hills Elementary

Hawthorn Hills Elementary is a regular public school in Wausau, Wisconsin, serving children from pre-kindergarten through fifth grade. It seats a relatively small student population, and the community it draws from reflects the broader city's economic and demographic composition. A large majority of students at the school qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, an indicator of the economic circumstances many families in the attendance zone face. Racially and ethnically, the student body is diverse: about half the children are white, with sizable shares of Asian students (many of whom, given Wausau’s well-documented Hmong American community, are likely Hmong), students who identify with two or more races, Hispanic students, and a smaller number of Black students.

On state assessments, Hawthorn Hills Elementary presents a mixed academic picture. In third grade, math proficiency is at a moderate level, while English language arts proficiency is lower. By fourth grade, both math and ELA show a boost, with ELA reaching a solid rate and science and social studies also posting respectable numbers. However, fifth grade marks a steep drop: math proficiency falls sharply, and ELA proficiency also declines considerably from the fourth-grade level. This pattern of a fifth-grade slump is something a parent may want to discuss with the school to understand how the curriculum or student support changes in that grade. Overall, when measured across all tested subjects and grades, the school’s combined proficiency index places it in the bottom quarter when compared to the district-wide averages of Marathon County’s school districts. In other words, Hawthorn Hills’ performance as a whole is notably lower than what is typical for districts across the county.

The school operates within the Wausau School District, which in recent years has undergone a significant restructuring. Publicly reported plans from the district proposed closing about half of its elementary schools and shifting grade configurations. The current district website lists nine elementary schools, down from an earlier count of more than a dozen, suggesting consolidation has taken place. Hawthorn Hills itself remains open, but families considering the school should be aware that feeder patterns and school assignments may have changed, and the district’s elementary landscape is still settling after that shakeup.

The broader setting of Wausau provides context for a family thinking about this school. Wausau is the county seat of Marathon County, a regional hub for manufacturing, insurance, healthcare, and tourism, with a strong paper industry and a notable presence in American ginseng cultivation and red granite quarrying. The city has a redeveloped downtown anchored by a public square, a performing arts theater, and a whitewater park along the Wisconsin River. The city’s housing market is more affordable than the national median, though specific neighborhood conditions vary within the attendance zone for Hawthorn Hills.

No data was available on chronic absenteeism, special education enrollment, or English learner services at this school. Those are gaps a parent would want to fill by contacting the school directly. The absence of a graduation rate is not a concern here, as the school only serves through fifth grade. Overall, Hawthorn Hills Elementary serves a diverse, low-income student population in a district that has recently reorganized its elementary schools, and its test results show particular weakness in fifth grade and a position well below the county district average on combined proficiency. Families who place weight on those metrics will want to investigate further; families who place weight on the school’s diversity and the broader community amenities of Wausau may find the fit comfortable, as long as they go in aware of the academic profile.

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Academic performance

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

Math

Grade 359%

School 59% · District 50% · ▲ 9 pts above district

▲ 3 pts above state median · even with county median

Grade 452%

School 52% · District 51% · ▲ 1 pts above district

▼ 2 pts below state median · ▼ 2 pts below county median

Grade 518%

School 18% · District 51% · ▼ 33 pts below district

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

English language arts

Grade 338%

School 38% · District 51% · ▼ 13 pts below district

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

Grade 460%

School 60% · District 51% · ▲ 9 pts above district

▲ 8 pts above state median · ▲ 8 pts above county median

Grade 521%

School 21% · District 50% · ▼ 29 pts below district

▼ 29 pts below state median · ▼ 33 pts below county median

Science

Grade 448%

School 48% · District 53% · ▼ 5 pts below district

▼ 3 pts below state median · ▼ 4 pts below county median

Social studies

Grade 468%

School 68% · District 64% · ▲ 4 pts above district

▲ 3 pts above state median · ▲ 1 pts above county median

This schoolWausau 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-income39%Higher-income38%1 pp gap

Grade 5Lower-income14%Higher-income50%36 pp gap

Mathematics

Grade 3Lower-income62%Higher-income50%11 pp gap

Grade 5Lower-income14%Higher-income33%20 pp gap