Northwoods Reporter

There were 2,170 students enrolled in Washburn County schools in the 2023-24 school year, 2.7% less than the previous year, according to the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction report.

Boys made up 50.5% of the county student body, while the other 48.8% were girls.

Data also showed that white students made up 89.5% of the student body, the biggest percentage in Washburn County schools, followed by 4.7% of multiracial students, 3.9% of Hispanic students and 1.3% of American Indian students.

Spooner High School had the highest enrollment among Washburn County’s 17 schools in the 2023-24 school year, welcoming 374 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 2022-23	Total Enrollment in 2023-24	% change
Birchwood Elementary School	101	87	-13.9%
Birchwood High School	61	66	8.2%
Birchwood Middle School	47	38	-19.1%
Birchwood Public Montessori	32	24	-25%
Bobcat Virtual Academy	19	11	-42.1%
NorthStar Community Charter School	23	30	30.4%
Northwood Elementary School	145	158	9%
Northwood High/Middle School	144	137	-4.9%
Northwood Virtual Charter School	1	3	200%
Shell Lake Elementary (3-6)	178	173	-2.8%
Shell Lake Junior/Senior High School	311	317	1.9%
Shell Lake Primary (K-2)	147	128	-12.9%
Spooner Elementary School	375	366	-2.4%
Spooner High School	363	374	3%
Spooner Middle School	277	258	-6.9%