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Shelby Elementary School

Public Grades K-5

1274^th

SchoolDigger Rank ?

of 1,488 Michigan Elementary Schools

Better than 14% of Michigan elementary schools

Summary

Thomas Read Elementary School is a public elementary school located in Shelby, Michigan, serving 297 students in grades K-3. The school is part of the Shelby Public Schools district, which is ranked 443 out of 613 districts in the state.

Thomas Read Elementary School consistently ranks in the bottom 15% of Michigan elementary schools, with significantly below-average academic performance on state assessments. The school's proficiency rates in English Language Arts and Math are 15-28%, compared to the state averages of 39-44%. Additionally, the school has high rates of chronic absenteeism, ranging from 21.9% to 47.4%, and a very high percentage (88.55%) of students who qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, indicating a high level of economic disadvantage among the student population. The school's spending per student has also been relatively low, ranging from $14,209 to $17,256 over the past few years, which is below the state average.

Interestingly, the nearby schools, such as New Era Elementary, Holton Elementary, and Patricia St Clair Elementary, have similar low academic performance and high rates of chronic absenteeism and economic disadvantage, suggesting that the challenges faced by Thomas Read Elementary School are not unique but rather reflective of the broader educational landscape in the region. However, the Whitehall Ealy Elementary School, which is also within a reasonable distance, stands out as a higher-performing school, with significantly better academic outcomes and a lower percentage of economically disadvantaged students.

433

Students ?

13.7

Student/teacher ratio ?

78.1%

Free/discounted lunch ?

1285 S Oceana Dr
Shelby, MI 49455

(231) 861-5541

District: Shelby Public Schools

Students who attend Shelby Elementary School usually attend:

Middle:	Shelby Middle School
High:	Shelby High School

Racial breakdown:

White:

51.0%

Hispanic:

43.0%

Two or more races:

4.4%

See top rated Michigan elementary schools

Compare Shelby Elementary School to nearby elementary schools!

At a glance

▼ Ranking trend: Declining — 22nd percentile in 2006 → 14th in 2025

Worth a look

!Test scores below the Michigan average (18% vs 39% meeting standards)

!In the lower quartile statewide (14th percentile)

!Ranking has slipped — down 8 percentile points since 2006

Students meeting standards (2024-2025) ?

This school18%

District avg18%

Michigan avg39%

1,274^th of 1,488

Michigan public elementary schools ?

Bottom 14%▬ steady since 2024

See the entire ranking list of Michigan Elementary Schools →

★★★★★

SchoolDigger rating ?

443^rd of 613Shelby Public Schools among Michigan districts

Statewide rank percentile over time (100 = the top-ranked school in the state; click a legend item to add a student group)

Show full rank history (all student groups)

All Students

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Michigan percentile	Rating
2025	14.3	1274 of 1488	14.4%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	13.8	1266 of 1486	14.8%	★☆☆☆☆
2010	19.0	1408 of 1552	9.3%	☆☆☆☆☆
2009	24.0	1384 of 1589	12.9%	★☆☆☆☆
2008	18.1	1429 of 1577	9.4%	☆☆☆☆☆
2007	31.8	1294 of 1565	17.3%	★☆☆☆☆
2006	38.4	1207 of 1545	21.9%	★☆☆☆☆

Female

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Michigan percentile	Rating
2025	11.5	1237 of 1338	7.5%	☆☆☆☆☆
2024	11.2	1226 of 1342	8.6%	☆☆☆☆☆

Hispanic

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Michigan percentile	Rating
2025	23.3	164 of 209	21.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	15.3	185 of 201	8.0%	☆☆☆☆☆

Low Socio Economic Status

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Michigan percentile	Rating
2025	16.8	1173 of 1346	12.9%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	16.5	1209 of 1381	12.5%	★☆☆☆☆

Male

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Michigan percentile	Rating
2025	12.6	1215 of 1366	11.1%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	11.2	1232 of 1347	8.5%	☆☆☆☆☆

White

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Michigan percentile	Rating
2025	7.2	1175 of 1206	2.6%	☆☆☆☆☆
2024	10.9	1122 of 1204	6.8%	☆☆☆☆☆

How student groups rank statewide ? (each group's percentile vs the same group at other schools — higher is better; the +/- beside each compares the group with this school's overall percentile)

Hispanic (2025)22nd percentile+7 vs school

Low Socio Economic Status (2025)13th percentile~ school

Male (2025)11th percentile-3 vs school

Female (2025)8th percentile-7 vs school

White (2025)3rd percentile-12 vs school

By subject vs Michigan (2024-2025) ?

Science24%-17 vs state

English Language Arts20%-22 vs state

Math16%-22 vs state

Social Studies12%-17 vs state

★

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Schools Near Shelby Elementary School

Choose columns to see: Summary School Students/Teachers Ranking Test Scores Finance All

School													Students/Teachers											Ranking (2025)				Ranking (2024)				M-Step English Language Arts (2025)			M-Step Math (2025)			M-Step Science (2025)	M-Step Social Studies (2025)	Per Pupil Expenditures (2024)
Name	Type	Grades	Address	City	Zip	County	District	Is Charter	Is Magnet	Is Virtual	Is Title I	Phone	Enrollment	Full-time Teachers	Student/ Teacher Ratio	Free/Discounted Lunch Recipients	White	Black	Hispanic	Asian	American Indian	Pacific Islander	Two or More Races	Average Standard Score (2025)	Statewide Rank (2025)	State Percentile (2025)	SchoolDigger Rating (2025)	Average Standard Score (2024)	Statewide Rank (2024)	State Percentile (2024)	Rank Change from Previous Year	M-Step English Language Arts 3rd Grade	M-Step English Language Arts 4th Grade	M-Step English Language Arts 5th Grade	M-Step Math 3rd Grade	M-Step Math 4th Grade	M-Step Math 5th Grade	M-Step Science 5th Grade	M-Step Social Studies 5th Grade	Per Pupil Expenditures Total	Sub-total from Federal Funds	Sub-total from State/Local Funds
Shelby Elementary School	Public	K-5	1285 S Oceana Dr	Shelby	49455	Oceana County	Shelby Public Schools	No	No	No	Yes	(231) 861-5541	433	32	13.7	78.1%	221 (51.0%)	5 (1.2%)	186 (43.0%)	0 (0.0%)	2 (0.5%)	0 (0.0%)	19 (4.4%)	14.3	1274^th of 1488 public elementary schools	14.4%		13.8	1266^th of 1486 public elementary schools	14.8%	8	15.0	16.7	27.8	22.5	10.3	15.3	23.6	12.5	$00	$00	$00
Spitler Elementary School	Public	K-4	302 Johnson St W	Hart	49420	Oceana County	Hart Public School District	No	No	No	Yes	(231) 873-6340	389	35	11.2	80.5%	240 (61.7%)	0 (0.0%)	140 (36.0%)	2 (0.5%)	1 (0.3%)	0 (0.0%)	6 (1.5%)	29.3	1024^th of 1488 public elementary schools	31.2%		17.3	1217^th of 1486 public elementary schools	18.1%	193	25.3	39.5		26.4	27.6				$16,385	$3,328	$13,057
Walkerville Elementary	Public	PK, KG-2	170 E North St	Walkerville	49459	Oceana County	Walkerville Public Schools	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(231) 873-4850	50	6	7.7	80.0%	34 (68.0%)	1 (2.0%)	11 (22.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	4 (8.0%)								(n/a)									$15,208	$4,312	$10,895
Montague Area Childhood Center	Public	PK-K	9151 Dicey St	Montague	49437	Muskegon County	Montague Area Public Schools	No	No	No	Yes	(231) 894-9018	85	7	11.8	49.4%	73 (85.9%)	2 (2.4%)	7 (8.2%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	3 (3.5%)								(n/a)									$15,670	$1,937	$13,733
Oehrli Elementary School	Public	1-5	4859 Knudsen St	Montague	49437	Muskegon County	Montague Area Public Schools	No	No	No	Yes	(231) 894-9018	436	30	14.6	45.4%	380 (87.2%)	0 (0.0%)	44 (10.1%)	2 (0.5%)	1 (0.2%)	0 (0.0%)	9 (2.1%)	40.9	851^st of 1488 public elementary schools	42.8%		63.4	508^th of 1486 public elementary schools	65.8%	343	38.2	32.5	29.7	33.7	42.2	29.7	41.8	25.3	$14,277	$1,298	$12,978
Whitehall Ealy Elementary School	Public	3-5	425 E Sophia St	Whitehall	49461	Muskegon County	Whitehall District Schools	No	No	No	Yes	(231) 893-1040	431	28	15.4	46.9%	355 (82.4%)	7 (1.6%)	35 (8.1%)	2 (0.5%)	4 (0.9%)	0 (0.0%)	28 (6.5%)	68.5	433^rd of 1488 public elementary schools	70.9%		63	512^th of 1486 public elementary schools	65.5%	79	64.7	51.6	53.6	63.3	51.0	40.6	40.6	27.0	$14,226	$2,456	$11,770
Shoreline Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-2	205 E Market St	Whitehall	49461	Muskegon County	Whitehall District Schools	No	No	No	Yes	(231) 893-1050	432	29	15.0	47.5%	361 (83.6%)	4 (0.9%)	29 (6.7%)	3 (0.7%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.2%)	34 (7.9%)								(n/a)									$14,715	$3,080	$11,635
Patricia St Clair Elementary School	Public	K-5	96 S Division St	Hesperia	49421	Newaygo County	Hesperia Community Schools	No	No	No	Yes	(231) 854-6615	354	19	19.0	70.6%	311 (87.9%)	3 (0.8%)	23 (6.5%)	0 (0.0%)	2 (0.6%)	0 (0.0%)	15 (4.2%)	22.6	1117^th of 1488 public elementary schools	24.9%		13.9	1263^rd of 1486 public elementary schools	15.0%	146	15.8	27.5	27.7	21.1	18.8	8.5	42.6	25.5	$18,070	$2,740	$15,330
Holton Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-5	6245 Syers Rd	Holton	49425	Muskegon County	Holton Public Schools	No	No	No	Yes	(231) 821-1825	338	25	13.5	72.5%	305 (90.2%)	4 (1.2%)	11 (3.3%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	18 (5.3%)	25.5	1071^st of 1488 public elementary schools	28.0%		38.5	876^th of 1486 public elementary schools	41.0%	195	35.7	29.9	24.6	42.9	22.4	10.7	15.8	19.3	$17,007	$3,088	$13,918

Frequently Asked Questions about Shelby Elementary School

Is Shelby Elementary School a good school?

Shelby Elementary School ranks in the bottom 14.4% of Michigan elementary schools.

How many students attend Shelby Elementary School?

In the 2024-25 school year, 433 students attended Shelby Elementary School.

What is the racial makeup of Shelby Elementary School?

Students at Shelby Elementary School are 51% White, 43% Hispanic, 4% Two or more races, 1% African American.

What district is Shelby Elementary School in?

Shelby Public Schools

What schools do graduates of Shelby Elementary School attend?

Students who attend Shelby Elementary School usually go on to attend:

Middle : Shelby Middle School
High : Shelby High School

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SchoolDigger data sources: National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Department of Education, the U.S. Census Bureau and the Michigan Department of Education.

IMPORTANT DISCLAIMERS: Not all boundaries are included. We make every effort to ensure that boundaries are up-to-date. But it's important to note that these are approximations and are for general informational purposes only. To verify legal descriptions of boundaries or school locations, contact your local tax assessor's office and/or school district.