Hillman Elementary School

Hillman Elementary School in Hillman, MI, is a small, rural school serving 203 students from Pre-K through 5th grade as part of the Hillman Community Schools district. The school community faces significant socioeconomic challenges, with nearly half of its students eligible for free or reduced lunch.

When looking at academic performance, Hillman Elementary consistently scores well below state averages in core subjects like English Language Arts and Math. For example, in the most recent school year, only 16.2% of 4th graders were proficient in ELA compared to the state average of 41.3%, and just 10.8% were proficient in Math versus the state's 39.4%. This gap is particularly striking when compared to Posen Elementary School, located just 17 miles away. Both schools serve similar rural communities with comparable rates of economic disadvantage, yet Posen's 3rd-grade ELA proficiency was 64.29% compared to Hillman's 23.8%. Even Wilson Elementary in the larger Alpena Public Schools district outperforms Hillman in most subjects. Notably, Hillman spends more per student ($16,812) than either Posen ($14,602) or Wilson ($13,934), yet achieves considerably lower outcomes—suggesting that financial resources alone aren't translating into academic success.

There are some positive signs worth noting. Chronic absenteeism has dropped significantly from 36.0% in 2021-2022 to 22.9% in 2024-2025, which is now better than both the district and state averages. Additionally, 5th-grade Science scores have occasionally met or exceeded state averages, showing that success is possible in certain areas. However, test scores fluctuate dramatically from year to year and grade to grade—5th-grade ELA jumped from 25% to 44.4% proficiency in one year, while 4th-grade Math plummeted from 38.9% to 10.8%. This inconsistency, combined with the persistent achievement gap compared to similar nearby schools like Posen, suggests that while the challenges are real, they are not insurmountable, and there is clear room for instructional improvement.