Summary:
Zip code 48446 in Lapeer, Michigan, is served by four elementary schools—one charter school and three traditional public schools—that together educate approximately 1,719 students across grades Pre-K through 8th grade.
For parents exploring options in this area, Chatfield School stands out as the top academic performer by a wide margin. This K-8 charter school, part of the Chatfield School district, holds a 5-star rating and ranks in the 86th percentile statewide. Its students consistently exceed state averages by 10 to 40 percentage points in ELA, math, and science across all grade levels, with 8th grade social studies proficiency reaching 77.4% compared to the state's 50.3%. Notably, Chatfield achieves these results while spending the least per student ($12,235) and maintaining the highest student-teacher ratio (19.5:1) among the four schools. Among the Lapeer Community Schools, CK Schickler Elementary School shows the strongest recent performance, ranking in the 66th percentile for 2025-2026, though its 4th grade math proficiency drops sharply to 31.1% from a 60.9% rate in 3rd grade. Elva Lynch Elementary School performs near state averages, while Turrill Elementary School trails the others, with most scores falling below state benchmarks.
Attendance is a clear strength across all four schools, with chronic absenteeism rates ranging from 12.9% at Turrill to 21.4% at CK Schickler—all well below the district average of 31.1%. Socioeconomic factors differ notably: only 24.22% of Chatfield students qualify for free/reduced lunch, compared to roughly half of students at the public schools. Parents should also note the year-over-year ranking volatility among the public schools, which may reflect small cohort sizes, and consider that Chatfield is the only option in this zip code offering middle school grades beyond 4th grade.
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