- Marathon County school districts have increased diversity of student populations.
- Overall, Marathon County school districts meet or exceed Wisconsin state educational standards (Forward Exam, ACT).
- Marathon County residents age 25-44 received Bachelor's degrees at a higher rate than previous generations.
- All school districts in Marathon County exceed the state average for high school graduation rate.
- Access to higher education in Central Wisconsin is better than it's ever been.
- Marathon County has resources in the community to support quality child care opportunities. Good Start Grants provided financial assistance to eligible families providing 111 children access to quality, affordable child care. This program is supported by local funding from community organizations and foundations.
- Almost half of the child care programs in Marathon County are rated 3 Star or higher in Youngstar (Wisconsin’s quality rating and improvement system) indicating those programs are meeting and/or exceeding quality standards.
- Increase connections between high school and college graduates to local employers.
- There is industry demand for jobs requiring higher education degrees, but in Marathon County there is shortage of qualified higher education professionals.
- Outside investment is needed to support our early childhood teachers and our children. Exploring how businesses and school districts can support quality child care for their employees is important.
- Marathon County has experienced a significant decrease in child care programs and their capacity. Our community needs to have accessible, affordable, quality child care programs for families to live in Marathon County. We need to explore how our community can support quality child care.
