Best Elementary Schools in Adrian, MI

The city of Adrian, Michigan is home to 6 elementary schools serving students from preschool through 5th grade. These schools are part of the Adrian Public Schools district, as well as the Madison School District (Lenawee) and Tecumseh Public Schools. The data reveals that while some schools, like Sutton South Early Learning Center, are outperforming state averages, the district as a whole struggles with low academic achievement and high chronic absenteeism rates.

Sutton South Early Learning Center stands out as the highest performing school, with the best proficiency rates in 3rd grade English Language Arts (44.1%) and Math (41.9%) compared to the other Adrian elementary schools and the state average. It also has the lowest chronic absenteeism rate at 29.5% and the second lowest student-teacher ratio at 11:1. In contrast, the other Adrian elementary schools, such as Michener Elementary School and Lincoln Elementary School, generally underperform the state averages in 3rd-5th grade M-Step English Language Arts and Math proficiency.

The data also reveals that the Adrian elementary schools serve predominantly low-income communities, with free/reduced lunch rates ranging from 42.21% at Sutton South to over 90% at Michener Elementary. This high poverty level, combined with the uniformly high chronic absenteeism rate of 29.5% across all 6 schools, likely contributes to the academic challenges faced by the district. While the success of Sutton South Early Learning Center provides a potential model for improvement, the Adrian Public Schools district as a whole has significant work to do in order to provide equitable educational outcomes for its students.