Northwoods Reporter

There were 2,231 students enrolled in Washburn County schools in the 2022-23 school year, 2.6% less than the previous year, according to the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction report.

Boys made up 50.2% of the county student body, while the other 49.5% were girls.

Data also showed that white students made up 89.2% of the student body, the biggest percentage in Washburn County schools, followed by 5.1% of multiracial students, 3.8% of Hispanic students and 1.4% of American Indian students.

Spooner Elementary School had the highest enrollment among Washburn County’s 17 schools in the 2022-23 school year, welcoming 375 students.

Nearly 830,000 students were enrolled in Wisconsin schools in the 2021-22 school year. This is a 0.85% decrease from the year before. In sharp contrast to declining public school figures, enrollment in charter schools rose 4.5% to more than 52,000.

In 2022, there was roughly one teacher for every 14 students in a Wisconsin classroom, compared to the national average of 1:16. AAA State of Play considered Wisconsin to have the 14th best teacher to student ratio in the U.S.

School name	Total Enrollment in 2021-22	Total Enrollment in 2022-23	% change
Birchwood Blue Hills Charter School	7	7	0%
Birchwood Elementary School	95	101	6.3%
Birchwood High School	66	61	-7.6%
Birchwood Middle School	52	47	-9.6%
Birchwood Public Montessori	42	32	-23.8%
Bobcat Virtual Academy	25	19	-24%
NorthStar Community Charter School	23	23	0%
Northwood Elementary School	137	145	5.8%
Northwood High/Middle School	156	144	-7.7%
Northwood Virtual Charter School	5	1	-80%
Shell Lake Elementary (3-6)	197	178	-9.6%
Shell Lake Junior/Senior High School	308	311	1%
Shell Lake Primary (K-2)	129	147	14%
Spooner Elementary School	335	375	11.9%
Spooner High School	375	363	-3.2%
Spooner Middle School	285	277	-2.8%