Central Oaks Academy, Wisconsin Rapids WI

Original Research by School Decision on Central Oaks Academy

Central Oaks Academy is a charter school in Wisconsin Rapids serving students from pre-kindergarten through eighth grade. It is part of the Wisconsin Rapids School District, but as a charter it operates with some autonomy from the district’s traditional school system. Publicly reported information describes it as a virtual academy, meaning instruction is delivered primarily online, though the school is classified as a regular public school by state data. With a small enrollment, the school offers an alternative to the brick-and-mortar schools in the city for families who prefer a remote learning environment for their elementary and middle school children.

Wisconsin Rapids itself is a small city along the Wisconsin River that has undergone significant economic change in recent years. Historically anchored by papermaking, the city lost hundreds of jobs when the Verso paper mill closed, and the local economy has since shifted toward healthcare, educational software, and food processing. The population has declined, and the housing market in the city’s ZIP code is moderately priced relative to state and national benchmarks. The school sits on Lincoln Street in the city, integrated into the residential and civic fabric rather than isolated on a separate campus.

State testing data for Central Oaks Academy covers grades four through eight in math, English language arts, science, and social studies (grade three results are suppressed due to very small student counts). Across the grades where results are reported, proficiency rates are substantially lower than the median among districts in Wood County. In math, the share of students scoring proficient or above ranges from very low in fourth grade and seventh grade to modest in fifth and sixth grades. Eighth-grade math proficiency is also low. English language arts results follow a similar pattern, with a notable bright spot in eighth grade where more than half of students met the proficiency bar, but fourth and seventh grade rates are very low. Science and social studies results for fourth and eighth grade also show a small share of students reaching proficiency.

Compared to other districts in Wood County, Central Oaks Academy’s overall proficiency across all tested subjects and grades falls within the bottom quartile. Because the school does not serve high school grades, there is no graduation rate to examine. Chronic absenteeism data was not available.

The student body is predominantly white, with a modest share of students from other racial and ethnic backgrounds. Just over two-fifths of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, a rate that reflects the working-class character of the community. The school’s small size means that many grade-level cohorts have fewer than a dozen students, which can make year-to-year comparisons less stable and can also mean that a single student’s performance has a large effect on a grade’s overall proficiency rate.

For a family considering this school, the central question is whether a virtual, home-based learning model suits their child’s needs and their own capacity to support remote instruction. The academic results are clearly weaker than those of the district’s other schools and of most schools in the county. A parent may want to discuss with the school how instruction is structured, what support is available for students who are struggling, and what the school’s goals are for improving student achievement. The school’s charter status means it may have different curricular approaches or schedules than traditional public schools in the area.

The Wisconsin Rapids School District, which oversees Central Oaks Academy, did not have any major recent changes reported in available public records, so the district context appears stable. Families who live in the district also have the option of attending the district’s traditional elementary and middle schools, which may offer higher academic outcomes and a more conventional classroom setting. The choice ultimately comes down to the fit between the virtual model and a family’s educational priorities.

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Academic performance

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

Math

Grade 40%

School 0% · District 53% · ▼ 52 pts below district

▼ 54 pts below state median · ▼ 57 pts below county median

Grade 543%

School 43% · District 47% · ▼ 4 pts below district

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

Grade 646%

School 46% · District 50% · ▼ 5 pts below district

▼ 8 pts below state median · ▼ 7 pts below county median

Grade 710%

School 10% · District 53% · ▼ 43 pts below district

▼ 44 pts below state median

Grade 829%

School 29% · District 48% · ▼ 19 pts below district

▼ 23 pts below state median

English language arts

Grade 40%

School 0% · District 46% · ▼ 46 pts below district

▼ 52 pts below state median · ▼ 50 pts below county median

Grade 543%

School 43% · District 48% · ▼ 5 pts below district

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

Grade 646%

School 46% · District 41% · ▲ 4 pts above district

▼ 8 pts below state median · ▼ 7 pts below county median

Grade 730%

School 30% · District 50% · ▼ 19 pts below district

▼ 22 pts below state median

Grade 857%

School 57% · District 45% · ▲ 12 pts above district

▲ 5 pts above state median

Science

Grade 425%

School 25% · District 56% · ▼ 31 pts below district

▼ 26 pts below state median · ▼ 28 pts below county median

Grade 843%

School 43% · District 33% · ▲ 10 pts above district

▼ 8 pts below state median

Social studies

Grade 425%

School 25% · District 63% · ▼ 38 pts below district

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

Grade 857%

School 57% · District 55% · ▲ 2 pts above district

▼ 7 pts below state median

This schoolWisconsin Rapids 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 6Lower-income29%Higher-income75%46 pp gap

Mathematics

Grade 6Lower-income29%Higher-income75%46 pp gap