Leland Public School

Leland Public School is a small, unified PK-12 district in the Leelanau Peninsula community of Leland, MI, serving 421 students in a single-building setting that offers a continuous educational pathway from Pre-K through 12th grade.

For parents, the standout feature here is academic consistency. Leland outperforms state averages across nearly every subject and grade level, with a particularly strong English Language Arts program. In 7th grade, for example, ELA proficiency reached 78.6% compared to just 49.2% at nearby Glen Lake Community School. Social Studies is another clear strength, with 8th-grade proficiency hitting an impressive 85.71% versus the state average of 50.3%. The school also boasts a 96.5% graduation rate and a perfect 0.0% dropout rate—both better than Glen Lake and far above state averages. What makes this even more notable is that Leland achieves these results while spending less per student ($20,652) than Glen Lake ($23,123) or Northport Public School ($40,602), suggesting efficient resource use.

One area worth watching is chronic absenteeism. While Leland's rate of 22.5% has improved dramatically from a high of 42.0% in 2021-2022 and is better than the state average, it remains higher than Glen Lake's 17.3%. This is an interesting paradox—a school with zero dropouts still sees about one in five students missing school consistently, which may reflect community factors like family travel or seasonal work rather than student disengagement. It's also important to note that Leland's "Alternative" school classification can be misleading. Unlike the alternative programs at North EdCreekside School and North EdBridgeway—which serve high-need populations and report 0% graduation rates—Leland is a traditional, high-performing community school within the Leland Public School District. Overall, this is a school that delivers strong, stable results and keeps nearly every student on track to graduate.