Summary:
The city of West Olive, Michigan is home to two schools: Sheldon Woods Elementary School, a relatively large public elementary school, and Lighthouse Academy Ottawa Juvenile Detention Center, a small alternative public charter school serving grades 3-12. While the schools have contrasting profiles, they both face challenges related to academic performance and socioeconomic factors.
Sheldon Woods Elementary School has a diverse student population, with 36% Hispanic and 2% Asian students, and is showing signs of improvement in its statewide ranking. However, the school struggles with a high chronic absenteeism rate of 31.4% and generally lower proficiency rates in M-Step/ELA and M-Step/Math compared to district and state averages, with the exception of 5th-grade ELA. In contrast, Lighthouse Academy Ottawa Juvenile Detention Center faces significant challenges, with an extremely low four-year graduation rate of 18.1% and a high dropout rate of 72.7%, indicating the need for targeted interventions and support for this vulnerable student population.
Both schools serve a high proportion of economically disadvantaged students, as evidenced by their high free/reduced lunch rates, which may contribute to the academic and attendance challenges observed. While Sheldon Woods Elementary School spends more per student than Lighthouse Academy Ottawa Juvenile Detention Center, this resource allocation does not directly correlate with academic outcomes, highlighting the need for a more nuanced understanding of how resources are utilized to support student success in the West Ottawa Public School District and the Lighthouse Academy system.
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