Best Public Schools in Manchester, MI

The city of Manchester, Michigan, is served by the Manchester Community Schools district, which includes three public schools—Luther C Klager Elementary School (PK-2), Riverside Intermediate School (3-6), and Manchester JuniorSenior High School (7-12)—that together enroll 638 students and earn the district a 4-star rating, ranking 81st out of 625 districts in Michigan.

For parents, the standout is Manchester JuniorSenior High School, which ranks in the 90th percentile statewide and posts exceptional results: an 84.1% proficiency rate in 8th-grade Social Studies, an 81.8% rate in 8th-grade PSAT English Language Arts, a 91.8% graduation rate, and a 0.0% dropout rate—all far better than state averages. Riverside Intermediate School is a solid middle option, with strong 4th-grade Math (54.9% vs. 39.4% state) and 6th-grade ELA (53.3% vs. 37.5% state) scores, though it dips in 5th-grade Math and Social Studies. Luther C Klager Elementary School has no test data due to its PK-2 span, but it offers the district’s lowest student-teacher ratio (9.8:1) and highest per-student spending ($32,865), suggesting strong early-childhood support.

Key takeaways include a district-wide strength in Social Studies and Science, plus a dramatic year-over-year jump in high school SAT Math proficiency from 11.1% to 37.8%. However, chronic absenteeism is a hidden challenge: Manchester JuniorSenior High School has a 24.1% rate, well above the 16.9% at Riverside Intermediate School and 17.3% at Luther C Klager Elementary School, even though all three remain below the state average of 27.9%. The district’s heavy investment in early grades may explain later success, but the high school’s absenteeism—despite its top ranking—is worth monitoring.