Plainwell Community Schools

Plainwell Community Schools is a mid-sized Michigan district serving roughly 2,620 students across six schools—three elementary schools (Gilkey, Starr, and Cooper), one middle school, and two high schools—in a mix of suburban and rural communities, earning an overall 3-star rating and ranking 265th out of 625 districts statewide.

For parents, the standout is Plainwell High School, which is clearly the district’s academic leader. It has earned 4-star ratings for three straight years, ranks in the 87th percentile statewide, and boasts a 94.2% graduation rate—far above the district’s 78.8% and the state’s 84.0%. Its science and SAT scores also significantly exceed state averages. In stark contrast, Renaissance High School is in crisis: only 17.6% of its students graduate, nearly half are chronically absent, and its student-teacher ratio of 34.4:1 is more than double that of Plainwell High School, despite serving the district’s highest-need population. At the elementary level, Gilkey Elementary leads in English Language Arts, with 3rd-grade proficiency at 52.9% versus the state’s 38.2%, but its 40.9% chronic absenteeism rate is alarmingly high. Starr Elementary struggles most academically, especially in math, where proficiency rates hover around half the state average, despite receiving the highest per-student funding ($16,349) and having the best student-teacher ratio (15:1). Cooper Elementary has the lowest poverty and absenteeism rates but only middling test scores, including a weak 13.5% proficiency in 5th-grade social studies.

Across the district, science is a consistent strength, with schools outperforming state averages at nearly every grade level, while social studies and middle school math are clear weaknesses—Plainwell Middle School sees only 23.5% of 6th graders proficient in math versus 31.9% statewide. Resource inequities are also concerning: Renaissance High School, serving the poorest students, gets the least funding and largest class sizes, while more affluent Plainwell High School receives more per student. These patterns suggest that while some schools excel, the district faces significant equity and instructional challenges that parents should explore when choosing a school.