U.S. News & World Report recognizes three Rhinelander schools

Three Rhinelander schools have received high grades from U.S. News & World Report.

Northwoods Community Elementary School (NCES) is ranked No. 321 out of 1,002 (top 32%) and Central Elementary School is ranked No. 366 out of 1,002 (top 37%) in Wisconsin, according to U.S. News & World Report’s 2025 Best Elementary School rankings.

In addition, Rhinelander High School is ranked No. 194 out of 569 (top 35%) of Wisconsin high schools. 

The rankings include more than 79,000 public schools across the country, according to a press release announcing the honors. 

Schools are ranked at the state and district level, with Best Charter Schools ranked as a stand-alone category.

1,002 Wisconsin elementary schools were ranked on their performance of state-required tests and how well they prepared their students for high school, the release states.

 This marks the second year in a row NCES has been identified by US News & World Report. NCES was also ranked No.1 in the School District of Rhinelander. This is Central School’s first ranking and is No. 2 in the district. A total of 569 Wisconsin high schools were ranked on their performance of state-required tests and how well they prepare students for college, career or military service. 

The principals of the three schools celebrated the honor.

“At Northwoods Community Elementary School, our dedicated staff hold students to high expectations, develop rich relationships and always consider the whole child when developing units of instruction. Weekly, grade band and speciality teachers meet formally in professional learning teams to review data, growth and the principles of Universal Design for Learning in order to improve instruction as well as student outcomes,” said Gayle Daniel, principal at NCES.  

“I am so proud of our learners and our staff for this recognition,” added Paul Johnson, principal at Central. “The Central staff demonstrates academic focus and compassionate care for our learners on an ongoing basis. The relationships with learners, their families and many other stakeholders is an important part of this accomplishment.”  

“I am extremely proud of the hard work that all our students and staff have put in to be at this level of achievement!” noted Shane Dornfeld, principal at RHS. “Our staff continue to want to get better in their teaching practice and in turn our students are responding by having high expectations of themselves as learners. We want to use this recognition as a stepping stone to get even better and have all our students achieve at their highest level.” 

The methodology focuses on state assessments of students who were proficient or above proficient in mathematics and reading/language arts while accounting for student backgrounds, achievement in core subjects, and how well schools are educating their students, the release states. 

Student-teacher ratios are applied to break ties in the overall score. 

The 2025 Best Schools rankings are based on publicly available data from the U.S. Department of Education. For district-level rankings, at least two of the top performing schools must rank in the top 75% of the overall elementary or middle school rankings to qualify for district-level recognition, the release states. 

“Schools play a vital role in our communities. Parents want to ensure that the schools their child attends provide a high-quality learning environment,” says LaMont Jones, managing editor for education at U.S. News. “The 2025 Best Elementary and Middle Schools rankings not only offer accessible data but it also provides a valuable insight into how well elementary and middle schools are supporting and preparing students for high school.” Parents, educators and students can learn more about how the rankings are calculated on USNews.com.