Sun Prairie, Columbus, Marshall, Cottage Grove, DeForest or Windsor Schools

Marshall also has 4k if you were interested in that program. FYI 4k in SP and Marshall are only 1/2 day programs that are either am or pm. BTW We absolutely love SP. Check out what class sizes are going to be and what the integration policies are for classrooms.See what you are comfortable with. Find out about where the bus routes are and decide if you want him to bus or not. You could also call schools you are interested in and ask for a tour and also what their disaplinary policy is.

If you want to see test scores you can check out www.greatschools.net. You can either look by district or school and pull up the most recent test scores for a school. It also shows demographics and parent ratings if there are any.

Hi T., My son is only 2, but we have lived in SP for 6 years now so I have talked to many different people about the school districts around here.

Sun Prairie schools are generally very good - living here I have neighbors who work at the schools, and neighbors whose children have gone K-12 through SP. The negative things I have heard generally are about the high school. And the new high school opens next year, which is going to be huge. The elemenary schools all have a great reputation - with a few that are regarded "better" than others (based on neighborhoods). Another thing great thing SP is adding this fall is 4K, which your son would be eligible for soon.

Cottage Grove schools also have a great reputation. The school district is combined with Monona, so the elementary schools are near home. Middle school and high school are combined, so living in Cottage Grove the HS kids have to go to Monona each day via bus.

I have heard good things about Deforest/Windsor schools - but nothing specific. And I don't know anything about Marshall or Columbia.

Hope that is somewhat helpful. Feel free to contact me via message if you need/want more info. Good luck in your move!

I think Deforest and Windsor are pretty great, but only because I went there. I have friends with kids in elementary in Deforest who are very happy with it. Marshall has wonderful schools from everything I have heard.

T.,

We have 3 children in the DeForest school district and can honestly tell you that I love what the district offers all the way around! My oldest is going into his Senior year and my youngest is still in Elementary school so needless to say....we have experienced all schools.

Every town will have it's 'issues' as that is a fact of life. My suggestion would be to set up an appointment with the school district and get a tour of the school and have a list of what is most important to you. Even though we have not needed the services, DeFo has an awesome special needs program and that care and compasion trickles through the district...

Just my thoughts. Feel free to contact me if you would like.

Have you considered Deerfield? We live in Deerfield and the schools here are great. We have lived here for 5 years now and we have a 2 year old son. We chose Deerfield for their great schools even before having Ryan. They started a 4k last year and I've heard it's going great. Plus they have a preschool downtown and I know that quite a few of the kids that go to my son's daycare go there part time.

But regarding the other districts- In my opinion Sun Prairie is starting to get a little too big, but with that said they have a lot of things to do there and so close to Madison. They're in the process of building a brand new high school. Cottage Grove wouldn't be bad, the only thing I don't like is the fact they get bussed to Monona for the high school (even though that's a long ways out for you with a 3 yr old). I've heard that DeForest has really good schools and DeForest is a nice small town. I don't know much about Columbus even though a friend of mine lives there with her kids, so must not be bad schools. And I'm not sure about Marshall.

Hope this helps a little. Where are you moving from?

Good Luck with your search,
A.