Beacon Tree Elementary School is the Utica Community School District's largest elementary school, with 99,000 square feet.The school is broken up into two instructional wings -- one for kindergarten through third grade and the other for fourth through sixth grade. More than 750 students attend the school, which prides itself in the use of design and technology. The school was named after a Beacon Tree a few miles west of the school's current location. The tree served as a post along the Underground Railroad, a shelter for runaway slaves during their journey to freedom. A red cedar tree is planted at the entrace of the school to remind the students of the brave people who sought freedom.