Forrest G Averill School

Forrest G Averill School is a small elementary school in Lansing, MI, serving 232 students in grades PK through 4 as part of the Lansing Public School District, where over 90% of students qualify for free or reduced lunch.

The most pressing challenge at Averill is chronic absenteeism. In the 2024-2025 school year, nearly 60% of students were chronically absent—more than double the state average of 27.9%. This persistent issue, which has hovered around 59% for several years, makes it very difficult for any school to deliver effective instruction. Academically, test scores are critically low. For example, only 8.89% of 3rd graders were proficient in English Language Arts on the M-Step, compared to 22.5% for the district and 38.2% statewide. There is one bright spot: 4th-grade ELA proficiency reached 26.5%, which actually exceeded the district average, though math proficiency remains very low at 11.8%. The school does maintain a favorable student-teacher ratio of 12.2, meaning smaller class sizes, and spends a substantial $19,696 per student—yet these investments have not translated into stronger results.

Looking at nearby schools reveals a striking contrast. Cavanaugh School, just 2.33 miles away, serves a similarly high-need population (80.82% free/reduced lunch) but ranks in the 73rd percentile statewide with 56.1% proficiency in 3rd-grade ELA and Math—more than six times higher than Averill's 3rd-grade ELA rate. This shows that high poverty does not have to dictate low performance. Meanwhile, Dwight Rich School of the Arts, located only 0.84 miles away, also struggles at the 3rd percentile, suggesting the immediate neighborhood faces significant systemic challenges. On a more positive note, African American students at Averill ranked in the 38th percentile statewide, earning a 2-star rating—a relative strength compared to the school's overall 10th-percentile ranking. For parents, the key takeaway is that attendance is the single most critical factor to address for any chance of academic improvement.