Elementary Schools in Muskegon Public Schools of the City of

The four elementary schools serving grades PK/K-5 within the Muskegon Public Schools of the City of district—Bunker Elementary, Oakview Elementary School, Marquette Elementary School, and Glenside Elementary—serve a combined 1,441 students in an area facing significant economic hardship, with free/reduced lunch rates above 85% at every school.

For parents, the standout choice academically is Bunker Elementary, which posts the district's best state ranking (11th percentile) and is the only school showing improvement over time. Its 5th grade ELA proficiency (23.4%) and math proficiency (20.3%) are nearly double district averages, and it outperforms all peers in science and social studies. Glenside Elementary, the smallest school at 185 students, has the best attendance record with a 40.6% chronic absenteeism rate—11.5 points better than the district norm—though it lacks 4th grade test data, suggesting it may be newly established. Oakview Elementary School and Marquette Elementary School fall in the middle and bottom, respectively, on most academic measures.

A critical finding is the spending paradox at Marquette Elementary School, which receives the highest per-student funding ($22,735) and lowest student-teacher ratio (12.1:1) yet produces the lowest test scores in the district. Meanwhile, Oakview Elementary School, with the lowest spending ($17,499) and highest ratio (17.6:1), outperforms Marquette on most metrics. District-wide, chronic absenteeism (52.1%) is nearly double the state average, and proficiency gaps of 25-30 points below state averages persist across all subjects. While Bunker Elementary shows progress is possible, the data indicates that additional resources alone cannot overcome the barriers of poverty and attendance without comprehensive intervention.