Best Public Schools in Delton, MI

The Delton Kellogg Schools district in Delton, Michigan, serves about 1,101 students across four schools spanning grades PK-12, including an elementary school, a middle school, and two high schools, in a predominantly low-income area where free/reduced lunch rates range from 46% to 70%.

For parents, the standout choice is clearly DeltonKellogg High School, which leads the district with a 97.3% graduation rate—far above the state's 84%—and a 3-star rating, outperforming state averages in 11th-grade science and 10th-grade PSAT English. In contrast, DK Academy, the alternative high school, struggles significantly with a 69.7% graduation rate and an alarming 85.7% chronic absenteeism rate, while receiving less than half the per-student funding ($6,363) of other district schools. At the middle school level, DeltonKellogg Middle School is a relative bright spot, ranking in the 58th percentile with exceptional 8th-grade PSAT ELA scores (75.4% vs. 64.8% state), though math proficiency remains weak. Delton Kellogg Elementary School is a growing concern, having plummeted from the 47th to the 17th percentile in just two years, with dramatic year-over-year score drops across subjects.

The most pressing district-wide issue is math: every grade level trails state averages by significant margins, from 15.9% proficiency in 3rd grade (vs. 42.9% state) to just 13.2% on SAT math (vs. 26.5% state). Chronic absenteeism also affects all schools, though traditional schools beat state averages. The stark contrast between the two high schools—one graduating 97.3% and the other 69.7%—suggests DK Academy may be concentrating at-risk students without adequate resources, raising equity concerns about how the district allocates its $15,492-per-student middle school spending versus the alternative school's meager budget.