Summary:
The city of Saugatuck, Michigan, is served by the Saugatuck Public Schools district, which includes just two schools—Saugatuck High School (grades 9-12, 267 students) and Saugatuck Middle School (grades 6-8, 186 students)—sharing a single campus and serving roughly 453 students in a small, mixed-income lakeshore community.
Saugatuck High School is the district’s academic powerhouse, ranked 52nd out of 800 Michigan high schools (94th percentile) with a 95.2% graduation rate—well above the state’s 84%. It posts massive advantages over state averages in nearly every subject, including 9th-grade PSAT ELA (89.8% vs. 60.2%), 11th-grade science (70% vs. 35.2%), and social studies (71.4% vs. 43.2%). However, its SAT math proficiency (34.3%) lags far behind its ELA score (75.7%), a 41-point gap that widens as students progress. Meanwhile, Saugatuck Middle School is a consistent performer, holding 4-5 star ratings for three straight years and ranking between 72nd and 96th out of ~890 Michigan middle schools. It excels in 8th-grade social studies (71% vs. 50.3% statewide) and PSAT ELA (79.7% vs. 64.8%), though its 8th-grade scores dropped sharply from the prior year—PSAT math fell from 66.7% to 49.3%—suggesting a weaker cohort moving through.
Two issues stand out for parents. First, the high school reports a puzzling 47.2% chronic absenteeism rate—far above the district’s 27.2% and state’s 27.9%—despite stellar academics, which may reflect data quirks or a culture of enrichment travel. Second, per-student spending is strikingly uneven: $19,016 at the high school versus $9,180 at the middle school, a 107% gap likely tied to specialized high school programs. The district’s rapid improvement—the high school jumped from 145th to 52nd in two years—and its top-5% statewide ranking make it an elite choice, but math instruction and absenteeism are areas to watch.
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