Summary:
Zip code 48111 is served by a single high school, Belleville High School, part of the Van Buren Public Schools district, which houses 1,669 students in grades 7 through 12 in a mid-sized, economically diverse community where about 40% of students qualify for free or reduced lunch.
For parents, the most important takeaway is that Belleville High School is a large, comprehensive institution that struggles significantly in core academics, particularly math and science. Across all grade levels and test types, math proficiency sits between 16.7% and 20.7%, meaning roughly four out of five students are not meeting state standards. Science proficiency for 11th graders took a dramatic 11.7-point plunge to just 21.2% in the most recent year, a 36% relative decline from the prior year when the school was near the state average. Reading and writing scores are comparatively stronger but still trail the state by 9 to 14 points on every assessment. The school also faces a chronic absenteeism crisis, with 41.9% of students missing significant school days—well above the district’s 35.8% and the state’s 27.9%—which likely fuels the academic gaps.
On a more positive note, the school’s dropout rate of 5.6% is better than the state’s 7.1%, and its graduation rate of 82.6% is only slightly below the state’s 84.0%. However, the school’s state ranking has been volatile, bouncing from the 34th percentile to the 48th and back down to the 33rd over three years, despite maintaining a consistent 2-star rating. Notably, the school spends a generous $17,845 per student, yet maintains a high student-to-teacher ratio of 22.4:1, raising questions about whether funds are being directed toward reducing class sizes or providing targeted interventions. Since Belleville is the only secondary school in the district, its performance directly reflects the district’s overall effectiveness, making it the clear focal point for any family considering this area.
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