Gaylord Intermediate School

Gaylord Intermediate School in Gaylord, MI, serves 632 students in grades 4-6 within the Gaylord Community Schools district, and it stands out for its strong 6th-grade academic results and a notable, sustained improvement in student attendance.

For parents, the most encouraging news is the school's consistent track record with its oldest students. For four straight years, 6th graders here have outperformed the state average in both English Language Arts and Math by significant margins—for example, hitting 51% proficiency in ELA versus the state's 38.6% in a recent year. This academic momentum carries forward: students who move on to Gaylord Middle School (grades 7-8) show even higher proficiency rates, jumping from 40.9% to 49.5% in ELA and from 38.9% to 43.9% in Math between 6th and 7th grade. That upward trajectory suggests the foundation built here is solid. The school also maintains a slightly better student-teacher ratio (17.8) than the middle school (19.5), which may support more individualized attention.

Attendance is another clear bright spot. The chronic absenteeism rate has dropped dramatically—from 34.5% in 2021-2022 to 19.3% in 2024-2025—and is now well below both the district and state averages. This improvement is especially noteworthy given that nearly 60% of students qualify for free or reduced lunch, a figure that has been rising. However, there is one area of concern: 5th graders consistently lag behind state averages in Math and Social Studies (e.g., 22.5% proficiency in Math versus the state's 32.2%). While 6th grade is a clear strength, this persistent 5th-grade gap is worth asking the school about. Overall, the school spends slightly less per student ($12,943) than the middle school, yet achieves better attendance and feeds into strong downstream results—a sign of effective resource use.