Hemlock Creek Elementary, De Pere WI

Original Research by School Decision on Hemlock Creek Elementary

Hemlock Creek Elementary serves students from pre-kindergarten through fourth grade and sits within the West De Pere School District in De Pere, Wisconsin. De Pere is a mid-sized city in the Green Bay metropolitan area, split by the Fox River, with a historic downtown, a private liberal arts college, and a mix of older homes near the river and newer subdivisions farther out. The city is served by two school districts, and Hemlock Creek is one of several elementary schools on the west side of town. The school is a regular public school, not a charter or magnet.

Academically, Hemlock Creek posts strong results on Wisconsin’s Forward assessments. In third grade, math proficiency is well above the state midpoint, and English language arts follows a similar pattern. Fourth graders also perform at a high level in both subjects, and the school’s science and social studies scores for that grade are solid as well. The overall proficiency picture across tested grades and subjects places Hemlock Creek in the top tier relative to other schools within Brown County. This is a clear strength. The school does not serve grades that take high school assessments, and it has no graduation rate for that reason. A parent looking at the elementary years will find a school where most students are meeting or exceeding grade-level expectations.

The student body is predominantly white, with smaller shares of Asian, two-or-more-races, Hispanic, and American Indian or Alaska Native students. About a modest share of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, which is relatively low compared to many public schools. Enrollment is large for an elementary building serving pre-K through fourth grade, and the school has full sections at each grade level. The school’s location in the West De Pere district means it draws from the west side of the city and the surrounding suburban and rural areas within the district’s boundaries.

Housing in the area is priced above the state benchmark, and rents are also above typical levels for Wisconsin. The affordability picture reflects the broader Green Bay metro market, where the cost of buying a home has risen in recent years. The city’s population has been stable to growing slightly, and ongoing residential development, including newer subdivisions, suggests continued demand for housing in the area. The Fox River cleanup completed a few years ago removed a long-standing environmental concern, which may factor into how families view the community.

The district brief turned up little in the way of recent major changes or new initiatives that would shift a family’s understanding of what Hemlock Creek offers. That absence is not a red flag; it simply means that publicly available information did not point to a recent reorganization, leadership turnover, or program overhaul. The school appears to be operating in a steady state.

For a family weighing elementary options in the De Pere area, Hemlock Creek offers a consistent academic track record and a large, well-established school within a district that feeds into West De Pere High School. The peer environment is one where poverty is less concentrated than in many districts, and the testing data shows a student body that is largely performing well. The setting is suburban, with the amenities of De Pere’s downtown and riverfront within a short distance. A parent looking for a school with strong baseline proficiency and a stable community context will find this a straightforward fit.

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Academic performance

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

Math

Grade 380%

School 80% · District 79%

▲ 23 pts above state median · ▲ 24 pts above county median

Grade 478%

School 78% · District 74% · ▲ 4 pts above district

▲ 24 pts above state median · ▲ 20 pts above county median

English language arts

Grade 375%

School 75% · District 74% · ▲ 1 pts above district

▲ 22 pts above state median · ▲ 27 pts above county median

Grade 472%

School 72% · District 70% · ▲ 2 pts above district

▲ 20 pts above state median · ▲ 17 pts above county median

Science

Grade 468%

School 68% · District 68%

▲ 16 pts above state median · ▲ 18 pts above county median

Social studies

Grade 478%

School 78% · District 77% · ▲ 1 pts above district

▲ 13 pts above state median · ▲ 10 pts above county median

This schoolWest De Pere 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-income77%20 pp gap

Grade 4Lower-income32%Higher-income79%48 pp gap

Grade 5Lower-income18%Higher-income55%36 pp gap

Mathematics

Grade 3Lower-income58%Higher-income83%25 pp gap

Grade 4Lower-income41%Higher-income84%43 pp gap

Grade 5Lower-income9%Higher-income46%37 pp gap