Kalkaska Public Schools

Summary:

The Kalkaska Public Schools district in Michigan operates 4 schools, including 2 elementary schools, 1 middle school, and 1 high school. The district serves a mix of academic performance, with Kalkaska High School and Rapid City Elementary School standing out as relative strengths, while the district's other elementary and middle schools struggle with low proficiency rates and high chronic absenteeism.

Kalkaska High School is the district's top performer, ranking 250 out of 743 Michigan high schools and earning a 3-star rating from SchoolDigger. The school has a relatively high 4-year graduation rate of 82.8% and performs above the state average in 11th grade M-Step Science and Social Studies assessments. In contrast, Kalkaska Elementary School and Kalkaska Middle School struggle with low proficiency rates, particularly in Math and English Language Arts.

The district also faces significant challenges related to student demographics and resource allocation. Rapid City Elementary School, a relatively small school with only 85 students, stands out with a very high free/reduced lunch rate of 85.88%, indicating a high-need student population. Additionally, all schools in the district have alarmingly high chronic absenteeism rates, ranging from 29.5% to 29.5%, which likely contributes to the academic challenges faced by the district.

District Detail

315 S Coral St
Kalkaska, MI 49646-8345

(231) 258-9109

SchoolDigger Rank:
340^th of 613 Michigan districts

See the 2025 Michigan District rankings!

Grades served: PK, KG-12
Students: 1,333

Primary Schools: 2
Middle Schools: 1
High Schools: 1
Alternative Schools: 0

Choose columns to see: Summary School Students/Teachers Ranking Test Scores Finance All

School													Students/Teachers											Ranking (2025)				Ranking (2024)				PSAT English Language Arts (2025)	PSAT Mathematics (2025)	SAT Evidence-Based Reading and Writing (2025)	SAT Mathematics (2025)	M-Step English Language Arts (2025)					M-Step Math (2025)					M-Step Science (2025)			M-Step Social Studies (2025)			Per Pupil Expenditures (2024)
Name	Type	Grades	Address	City	Zip	County	District	Is Charter	Is Magnet	Is Virtual	Is Title I	Phone	Enrollment	Full-time Teachers	Student/ Teacher Ratio	Free/Discounted Lunch Recipients	White	Black	Hispanic	Asian	American Indian	Pacific Islander	Two or More Races	Average Standard Score (2025)	Statewide Rank (2025)	State Percentile (2025)	SchoolDigger Rating (2025)	Average Standard Score (2024)	Statewide Rank (2024)	State Percentile (2024)	Rank Change from Previous Year	PSAT English Language Arts 8th Grade	PSAT Mathematics 8th Grade	SAT Evidence-Based Reading and Writing 11th Grade	SAT Mathematics 11th Grade	M-Step English Language Arts 3rd Grade	M-Step English Language Arts 4th Grade	M-Step English Language Arts 5th Grade	M-Step English Language Arts 6th Grade	M-Step English Language Arts 7th Grade	M-Step Math 3rd Grade	M-Step Math 4th Grade	M-Step Math 5th Grade	M-Step Math 6th Grade	M-Step Math 7th Grade	M-Step Science 5th Grade	M-Step Science 8th Grade	M-Step Science 11th Grade	M-Step Social Studies 5th Grade	M-Step Social Studies 8th Grade	M-Step Social Studies 11th Grade	Per Pupil Expenditures Total	Sub-total from Federal Funds	Sub-total from State/Local Funds
Kalkaska High School	Public	9-12	109 N Birch St	Kalkaska	49646	Kalkaska County	Kalkaska Public Schools	No	No	No	No	(231) 258-9167	439	23	18.9	47.4%	399 (90.9%)	8 (1.8%)	19 (4.3%)	2 (0.5%)	1 (0.2%)	0 (0.0%)	10 (2.3%)	55.9	314^th of 739 public high schools	57.5%		61.6	250^th of 743 public high schools	66.4%	64			48.9	25.0													44.8			42.5	$13,501	$897	$12,604
Rapid City Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-5	5258 River Rd	Rapid City	49676	Kalkaska County	Kalkaska Public Schools	No	No	No	Yes	(231) 331-6121	70	6	11.6	77.1%	64 (91.4%)	1 (1.4%)	1 (1.4%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (1.4%)	0 (0.0%)	3 (4.3%)								(n/a)																					$20,524	$4,041	$16,483
Kalkaska Middle School	Public	6-8	1700 W Kalkaska Rd	Kalkaska	49646	Kalkaska County	Kalkaska Public Schools	No	No	No	No	(231) 258-4040	307	19	16.5	55.4%	294 (95.8%)	1 (0.3%)	9 (2.9%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	3 (1.0%)	38.5	533^rd of 890 public middle schools	40.1%		40	515^th of 897 public middle schools	42.6%	18	65.6	32.3						27.2	19.3				17.4	15.6		42.7			39.6		$15,111	$1,142	$13,969
Kalkaska Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-5	309 N Birch St	Kalkaska	49646	Kalkaska County	Kalkaska Public Schools	No	No	No	Yes	(231) 258-8629	517	34	15.2	62.3%	493 (95.4%)	3 (0.6%)	11 (2.1%)	2 (0.4%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	8 (1.5%)	33.9	954^th of 1488 public elementary schools	35.9%		42.3	813^th of 1486 public elementary schools	45.3%	141					25.8	38.8	31.0			48.4	23.3	20.8			35.2			18.3			$16,356	$2,531	$13,825

Districts nearby

District	Distance	# of Schools	Statewide Rank
Excelsior Township S/D #1	6.22 mi	1
Forest Area Community Schools	7.86 mi	4	516^th
Elk Rapids Schools	10.54 mi	5	47^th
Mill Creek Academy	10.54 mi	1
Woodland School	12.33 mi	1	102^nd

See the top MI Michigan districts

SchoolDigger data sources: National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Department of Education, the U.S. Census Bureau and the Michigan Department of Education.

IMPORTANT DISCLAIMERS: Not all boundaries are included. We make every effort to ensure that boundaries are up-to-date. But it's important to note that these are approximations and are for general informational purposes only. To verify legal descriptions of boundaries or school locations, contact your local tax assessor's office and/or school district.