Nottawa Community School

Nottawa Community School is a small, rural PK-8 school in Sturgis, MI, serving 189 students as a single-building district where the school and district are one and the same. It's a close-knit community with about half of its students qualifying for free or reduced lunch, and it maintains a favorable student-teacher ratio of about 15:1.

One of the most striking things about Nottawa is its remarkable success with students from low-income backgrounds. In recent years, these students have ranked as high as the 97th percentile statewide—far exceeding the school's overall performance. This is a genuine strength, especially since nearby schools like Congress School and Wall School serve higher poverty populations but don't show the same pattern of success with these students. The school also boasts exceptionally low chronic absenteeism at just 13.1%—less than half the state average of 27.9% and far better than nearby Ruth Hoppin School (29.9%) or Burr Oak Elementary School (27.2%). Students are clearly showing up, which makes the academic challenges more puzzling.

However, the school's overall statewide ranking has declined over the past decade, falling from the 57th percentile to the 21st percentile. There are notable bright spots—8th graders outperform state averages in science and social studies, and 7th-grade reading scores exceed state levels—but performance in early grades and math is inconsistent. The school also shows a significant gap between female students (who perform above average) and male students (who lag considerably). With only 189 students, test scores can swing dramatically from year to year based on individual class cohorts. Nottawa spends about $11,461 per student, notably less than nearby schools like Mendon Elementary School ($16,866) or Colon Elementary School ($16,379), yet achieves comparable results in several areas—suggesting efficient use of resources, though possibly also reflecting constraints that could explain some academic struggles.