Summary:
Zip code 48436 is home to a single elementary school, Gaines Elementary School, which serves grades K-5 within the Swartz Creek Community Schools district.
For parents considering this area, Gaines Elementary School is a very small school with just 93 students, which translates to a favorable student-teacher ratio of 13.2 to 1 and a high per-student spending of $17,784. The school currently holds a 2-star rating and ranks 895th out of 1,492 Michigan elementary schools, placing it in the 40th percentile statewide. Academically, the picture is mixed. In the most recent school year, 3rd-grade math proficiency (43.8%) slightly exceeded the state average, while 3rd-grade ELA (37.5%) was just below it. However, 5th-grade performance is a concern, with ELA proficiency at 33.33% and science at just 20%, both significantly trailing state averages of 43.8% and 40%, respectively.
There are several encouraging trends for parents to note. The school showed dramatic year-over-year improvement in 3rd-grade math, jumping from 21.43% to 43.8% proficiency, and also made gains in 3rd-grade ELA and 5th-grade ELA. Chronic absenteeism is a bright spot, sitting at 23.4%, which is notably lower than the district and state averages of 27.9%. About 35.48% of students qualify for free or reduced lunch, indicating a moderate level of economic need. The main area of concern is the sharp decline in 5th-grade science proficiency, which fell from 33.33% to 20% in one year. This suggests a potential disconnect between the primary grades, which are performing near state averages, and the upper elementary grades, which lag behind, pointing to a possible need for stronger curriculum alignment as students advance.
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