Munising Public Schools

Munising Public Schools is a small, rural district in Michigan's Upper Peninsula serving about 549 students across two schools: Munising High and Middle School (grades 6-12) and William G Mather Elementary School (grades PK-5), with roughly 45-51% of students qualifying for free/reduced lunch.

The secondary school is the more volatile of the two, showing dramatic year-to-year swings. After a tough 2024-2025 season, Munising High and Middle School rebounded strongly in 2025-2026, jumping 143 spots in the state rankings to a 3-star rating. Its standout strengths include an 89.5% graduation rate (5.5 points above the state), a remarkably low 2.0% dropout rate, and exceptional science scores—11th graders hit 52.4% proficiency versus 35.2% statewide. However, math remains a persistent weakness at every grade level, with proficiency running 12-15 points below state averages in middle school. The school also shows a puzzling "middle school dip" where 7th grade ELA collapses to 23.5% proficiency before 8th graders rebound to 73.7% on the PSAT. Meanwhile, William G Mather Elementary School offers steadier, if more modest, performance—maintaining 2-star ratings with 4th grade ELA consistently above state averages and 5th grade science (48.7%) beating the state by nearly 9 points. Its math scores, though, trail state levels, and it spends notably more per pupil ($18,030) than the secondary school ($15,150) without a clear ranking advantage.

For parents, the big picture is a district with strong engagement—chronic absenteeism (20.5%) is 7.4 points better than the state, and students clearly show up and stay. Science and social studies are genuine bright spots across both buildings, with 8th grade social studies (59.0%) and 11th grade science (52.4%) far exceeding state norms. The math gap is the district's most urgent challenge, but given the small cohort sizes (roughly 40-50 students per grade), a single year's improvement can be dramatic—as seen in the 34-point jump in 8th grade social studies. The district invests heavily in its students with favorable 15:1 student-teacher ratios, and the recent secondary rebound suggests momentum that families may want to watch closely.