Summary:
Manistique Area Schools is a small district in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula serving about 701 students across three schools: Emerald Elementary School (PK-5), Manistique Middle and High School (6-12), and Jack Reque Alternative High School (9-12). The district ranks in the 37th percentile statewide, with a 2-star rating, and notably combines middle and high school grades in one facility.
The clear academic leader is Manistique Middle and High School, which has maintained a 3-star rating for three consecutive years. It boasts a 95% graduation rate (11 points above the state), a dropout rate below 3.3%, and chronic absenteeism at just 16.3% versus the state’s 27.9%. However, performance is uneven by grade: 6th graders exceed state averages in both ELA (48.6% vs. 37.5%) and math (37.1% vs. 31.9%), but 7th graders plummet to 20.4% in ELA and 20% in math—a dramatic “middle school cliff.” SAT math proficiency is also very low at 14.8%, despite strong reading scores. In contrast, Emerald Elementary School is the district’s underperformer, dropping to a 1-star rating (28th percentile). All core subjects fall below state averages, with 4th grade math at just 13.7% proficiency (25.7 points below state). The school also shows extreme year-over-year swings, such as 4th grade ELA falling from 47.4% to 19.6%.
Several insights stand out for parents. First, the district’s attendance is a strength—both main schools beat the state on chronic absenteeism—so engagement isn’t the core issue. Second, Emerald Elementary spends $2,469 more per student than the middle/high school yet produces worse results, raising questions about resource use. Third, Jack Reque Alternative High School serves a small, high-need population (22 students) but has a 33.3% dropout rate and a 55.5% graduation rate, despite a favorable 11:1 student-teacher ratio. Finally, the middle/high school showed strong year-over-year gains in 6th grade (ELA up 21.8 points), suggesting recent interventions may be working—but the 7th grade drop and elementary volatility warrant immediate investigation.
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