Crestwood Middle School

Crestwood Middle School in Grand Rapids, MI, serves 700 students in grades 6-8 and is part of the Kentwood Public Schools district, where it stands out as a high-performing school despite serving a community where 73% of students qualify for free or reduced lunch.

Crestwood consistently outperforms its district and often meets or exceeds state averages across nearly all subjects and grade levels. For example, in 6th grade ELA, 41.5% of Crestwood students are proficient compared to 31.3% district-wide and 37.5% statewide. The school has maintained a 3-star rating for five consecutive years, climbing from the 36th percentile in 2018-2019 to its current 67th percentile ranking. This success is particularly notable when compared to sister schools in the same district: Valleywood Middle School ranks in the 30th percentile with ELA proficiency around 21%, and Pinewood Middle School ranks in the 41st percentile with ELA proficiency around 30%. Crestwood achieves these results while spending $18,139 per student—less than several lower-performing schools in the area, such as Godwin Heights Middle School ($24,105 per student) and Alger Middle School ($22,377 per student).

Crestwood shows particular strength in serving students from low socio-economic backgrounds, who rank in the 72nd percentile statewide (4 stars). The school has also reduced chronic absenteeism from 31.8% to 24.9% over two years—now below the state average of 27.9%. While the school trails affluent nearby schools like East Grand Rapids Middle School (97th percentile) and Central Middle School (100th percentile), those schools serve populations with only 8-12% poverty. The clearest area for improvement is English Language Learner students, who rank at the 15th percentile—a gap that represents an opportunity for Crestwood to apply its successful strategies more broadly.