Schools in Zip Code 48836

Zip code 48836, home to Fowlerville, Michigan, contains five schools within the Fowlerville Community Schools district, serving students from kindergarten through 12th grade with a total enrollment of roughly 2,410 students.

For parents, the standout option is Fowlerville High School, which posts a stellar 96.5% graduation rate and a dropout rate of just 1.9%, far better than state averages. It also leads the district in social studies proficiency and has improved its state ranking over the past three years. However, this success comes with a paradox: the school has a 40.3% chronic absenteeism rate, the highest in the district despite having the lowest poverty rate. At the other end of the spectrum, Fowlerville Online Learning Academy is a major outlier, with a 13% graduation rate, a 34.7% dropout rate, and spending per student ($7,290) that is less than half of what traditional schools receive. Among younger students, Natalie Kreeger Elementary School is the rising star, exceeding state averages in 8 of 10 tested areas, including a remarkable 56.5% proficiency in 3rd grade math—13.6 points above the state. Fowlerville Elementary School serves grades K-2 with the district's lowest student-teacher ratio of 16.3:1, while Fowlerville Junior High School bridges the gap for grades 6-8.

The most concerning trend is a dramatic math proficiency cliff: 3rd graders score 13.6 points above the state, but by 8th grade PSAT math falls 8.4 points below, and by 11th grade SAT math is 7.2 points below—a 37-point decline. This suggests elementary schools build strong foundations that erode in upper grades. Positively, the district shows cohesion, with school scores closely mirroring district averages, and 7th grade ELA proficiency doubled year-over-year. The district ranks in the 66th percentile of Michigan districts, earning a 3-star rating, but the online academy's poor outcomes with its most vulnerable students raise serious questions about resource allocation and program effectiveness.