County directory · Wisconsin · 2026–27
School districts in Dane County, WI
Dane County has 15 regular public school districts, enrolling 77,605 students in 2024–25. The largest is Madison Metropolitan School District (25,155 students, 32% of the county), followed by Sun Prairie Area School District and Middleton-Cross Plains Area School District. All 15 offer kindergarten. Wisconsin's kindergarten cutoff: turn 5 by September 1.
The 15 districts, largest first
| District and office | Grades | Schools | Students | Kindergarten | District office contact |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Madison Metropolitan School District 545 W Dayton St, Madison | Pre-K–12 | 54 | 25,155 | 1,753 | (608) 663-1879 |
| Sun Prairie Area School District 501 S Bird St, Sun Prairie | Pre-K–12 | 16 | 8,596 | 561 | (608) 834-6500 |
| Middleton-Cross Plains Area School District 7106 South Ave, Middleton | Pre-K–12 | 12 | 7,167 | 394 | (608) 829-9057 |
| McFarland School District 5101 Farwell St, McFarland | Pre-K–12 | 9 | 5,921 | 198 | (608) 838-3169 |
| Verona Area School District 700 N Main Street, Verona | Pre-K–12 | 11 | 5,796 | 370 | (608) 845-4300 |
| Waunakee Community School District 905 Bethel Cir, Waunakee | Pre-K–12 | 7 | 4,415 | 258 | (608) 849-2000 |
| De Forest Area School District 500 S Cleveland Ave, DeForest also serves Columbia County | Pre-K–12 | 7 | 4,246 | 291 | (608) 842-6500 |
| Oregon School District 123 E Grove St, Oregon also serves Green County and Rock County | Pre-K–12 | 8 | 4,186 | 297 | (608) 835-4000 |
| Monona Grove School District 5301 Monona Dr, Monona | Pre-K–12 | 7 | 3,672 | 216 | (608) 221-7660 |
| Stoughton Area School District 320 North St, Stoughton also serves Rock County | Pre-K–12 | 6 | 2,735 | 198 | (608) 877-5000 |
| Mount Horeb Area School District 1304 E Lincoln St, Mount Horeb also serves Iowa County | Pre-K–12 | 6 | 2,298 | 151 | (608) 437-2400 |
| Marshall School District 617 Madison St, Marshall | Pre-K–12 | 5 | 964 | 58 | (608) 655-3466 |
| Belleville School District 625 W Church St, Belleville also serves Green County | Pre-K–12 | 3 | 936 | 82 | (608) 835-6120 |
| Wisconsin Heights School District 10173 US Highway 14, Mazomanie also serves Iowa County | Pre-K–12 | 3 | 788 | 67 | (608) 767-2595 |
| Deerfield Community School District 300 Simonson Blvd, Deerfield | Pre-K–12 | 3 | 730 | 46 | (608) 764-5431 |
Dane County at a glance
Together the 15 districts run 157 schools from offices in 15 towns. The smallest by enrollment is Deerfield Community School District, with 730 students; the median Dane County district has 4,186. By grade span: 15 Pre-K–12.
Kindergarten in 2024–25, counting the 15 districts that report a K grade: 4,940 children. The biggest kindergarten was Madison Metropolitan School District's, with 1,753; Sun Prairie Area School District had 561, and the smallest, Deerfield Community School District, had 46.
Dane County holds 15 of Wisconsin's 420 regular districts (3.6%) and 9.8% of its 793,595 public school students, ranking 3rd of 72 counties by number of districts and 2nd by enrollment. By size, 5 enroll 5,000 or more, 6 enroll 1,000 to 4,999 and 4 have fewer than 1,000 students, and the average school here has about 494 students.
6 districts reach past the county line: De Forest Area School District (into Columbia County), Oregon School District (into Green County and Rock County), Stoughton Area School District (into Rock County), Mount Horeb Area School District (into Iowa County), Belleville School District (into Green County) and Wisconsin Heights School District (into Iowa County).
Which district am I in?
Each district draws its own attendance zones, so your home address decides it, and with 6 of Dane County's districts crossing county lines the county alone won't. There is no address lookup here; ask the district. Each one's own site:
Madison Metropolitan School District · Sun Prairie Area School District · Middleton-Cross Plains Area School District · McFarland School District · Verona Area School District · Waunakee Community School District · De Forest Area School District · Oregon School District · Monona Grove School District · Stoughton Area School District · Mount Horeb Area School District · Marshall School District · Belleville School District · Wisconsin Heights School District · Deerfield Community School District
What grade will my child be in?
More in Wisconsin
Every Wisconsin district by county · Wisconsin kindergarten cutoff
More Wisconsin county directories: Grant County (10) · Kenosha County (12) · Milwaukee County (18) · Racine County (12) · Walworth County (15) · Waukesha County (18)