Maple Grove School

Maple Grove Elementary School located in Marathon County on County Highway L in the township of Hamburg, Wisconsin, has long been an iconic landmark of Hamburg and Marathon County.  With its bright red paint, the school bell steeple and wooded surroundings, it brings smiles and joyful memories from days gone by.  It is affectionately known to many as “The Little Red School”.  Maple Grove School’s history is one that is richly filled with tradition, dedication and education excellence for its students, their families and the community. 

A Public Charter School

Maple Grove is a public charter school. This means that we are a part of the Athens School District and are funded through the district. What makes us unique and different is that we have a Governance Board that helps make decisions and ensure that we are following the charter contract, required by The Department of Public Instruction. There is no waiting list and we are accepting of all children K-5 that might benefit from this type of school.

Drawing from Athens, Merrill, Marathon City, and Wausau

The Town of Hamburg is uniquely located between the communities of Athens, Merrill, Marathon City, and Wausau, and has ties to each.  Although Maple Grove School is part of the Athens School district, students from Wausau, Marathon City and Merrill “Open Enroll” into Maple Grove School.  Many students who are in the Athens School District already, choose to send their children to Maple Grove School instead of their community school in Athens.  All this is due to the unique learning opportunities provided at Maple Grove School.

Maple Grove School’s Vision

Maple Grove School will honor and sustain our proud history and traditions through educational excellence for community students, families, and residents.

CRISP Traits

Our school is based on the following traits:  Craftsmanship, Respect, Integrity, Stewardship, and Perseverance, also known as CRISP.  These traits are embedded in all we do, from the quality of work and feedback that is given, to the helper jobs that all are involved with.  We compost, have a garden, recycle, maintain trails on our campus, help one another, and take care of our school.

Exploratory Learning/Theme Based Learning

Exploratory learning inspires teachers and students to learn using new levels of focus and effort, and transform schools into places where students and adults become leaders of their own learning. We provide a model that challenges students, even those starting with low skill levels, with high-level tasks and active roles in the classroom.

Tapping Maple Trees and making maple syrup on the Maple Grove School grounds