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Best Public Schools in Zip Code 48879

At a glance

Schools

2,500

Students

Districts

Top rankedSt Johns Middle School120^th of 896 Michigan middle schools

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Smallest classes

Eureka School 13.7 students per teacher

SchoolDigger ratings

4★

3★

3 schools without a SchoolDigger rating (too few tested students)

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Summary:

Zip code 48879, serving the Saint Johns, Michigan area, is home to 8 schools—4 elementary schools, 1 middle school, 2 high schools, and 1 alternative school—that together enroll roughly 2,500 students, with the majority belonging to the highly-rated St. Johns Public Schools district.

For parents, the standout academic performer is St Johns Middle School, which consistently ranks in the 87th percentile statewide and posts exceptional scores in 8th-grade science (66% proficiency vs. 39.2% statewide) and social studies (72.6% vs. 50.3%). St Johns High School is also a strong choice, boasting a 96.8% graduation rate and solid SAT reading/writing scores, though its SAT math proficiency (26.6%) barely matches the state average—a notable relative weakness. Among elementary schools, Riley Elementary School shows a puzzling pattern: it achieves exceptional 3rd-grade ELA (67.9%) and 4th-grade math (84%) scores, but performance drops dramatically by 5th grade, falling below state averages. Meanwhile, Eureka School spends the most per student ($18,299) and has the lowest student-teacher ratio (13.7:1), yet only ranks in the 57th percentile, suggesting spending alone doesn't drive success.

Chronic absenteeism varies widely within the district: Gateway Elementary School struggles with a 27.4% rate (matching the problematic state average), while Eureka School excels at just 11.2%. STRIVE Academy serves a much higher-need population (65.79% free/reduced lunch) than St Johns High School (21.14%), with a lower 69.5% graduation rate. The Clinton County Education Center, part of the Clinton County Regional Educational Service Agency, reports an impossible 0% graduation and 0% dropout rate, likely reflecting its specialized alternative population. Overall, this is a solidly above-average district, but parents should investigate the 5th-grade drop at Riley Elementary School and attendance issues at Gateway Elementary School when making school choices.

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Ranking:

E Elementary M Middle H High A Alternative P Private

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

School													Students/Teachers											Ranking (2026)				Ranking (2025)				PSAT English Language Arts (2026)			PSAT Mathematics (2026)			SAT Evidence-Based Reading and Writing (2026)	SAT Mathematics (2026)	M-Step English Language Arts (2026)					M-Step Math (2026)					M-Step Science (2026)			M-Step Social Studies (2026)			Per Pupil Expenditures (2025)
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/reduced lunch (2024-25)	White	Black	Hispanic	Asian	American Indian	Pacific Islander	Two or More Races	Average Standard Score (2026)	Statewide Rank (2026)	State Percentile (2026)	SchoolDigger Rating (2026)	Average Standard Score (2025)	Statewide Rank (2025)	State Percentile (2025)	Rank Change from Previous Year	PSAT English Language Arts 8th Grade	PSAT English Language Arts 9th Grade	PSAT English Language Arts 10th Grade	PSAT Mathematics 8th Grade	PSAT Mathematics 9th Grade	PSAT Mathematics 10th Grade	SAT Evidence-Based Reading and Writing 11th Grade	SAT Mathematics 11th Grade	M-Step English Language Arts 3rd Grade	M-Step English Language Arts 4th Grade	M-Step English Language Arts 5th Grade	M-Step English Language Arts 6th Grade	M-Step English Language Arts 7th Grade	M-Step Math 3rd Grade	M-Step Math 4th Grade	M-Step Math 5th Grade	M-Step Math 6th Grade	M-Step Math 7th Grade	M-Step Science 5th Grade	M-Step Science 8th Grade	M-Step Science 11th Grade	M-Step Social Studies 5th Grade	M-Step Social Studies 8th Grade	M-Step Social Studies 11th Grade	Per Pupil Expenditures Total	Sub-total from Federal Funds	Sub-total from State/Local Funds
STRIVE Academy	Public, Virtual	9-12	1013 S Us Highway 27	Saint Johns	48879	Clinton County	St. Johns Public Schools	No	No	Yes	Yes	(989) 227-0170	38	0	380.0	65.8%	27 (71.1%)	1 (2.6%)	8 (21.1%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	2 (5.3%)								(n/a)																									$13,677	$436	$13,242
Eureka School	Public	PK, KG-5	7500 N Welling Rd	Saint Johns	48879	Clinton County	St. Johns Public Schools	No	No	No	No	(989) 227-4900	114	8	13.7	38.6%	96 (84.2%)	0 (0.0%)	17 (14.9%)	1 (0.9%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	53.8	645^th of 1492 public elementary schools	56.8%		56	630^th of 1488 public elementary schools	57.7%	15									40.0	50.0	31.3			44.0	41.7	40.0			33.3			33.3			$18,299	$974	$17,326
Gateway Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-5	915 N Lansing St	Saint Johns	48879	Clinton County	St. Johns Public Schools	No	No	No	Yes	(989) 227-4600	320	21	15.3	45.6%	259 (80.9%)	2 (0.6%)	43 (13.4%)	5 (1.6%)	1 (0.3%)	0 (0.0%)	10 (3.1%)								(n/a)																									$13,285	$856	$12,429
St Johns Middle School	Public	6-8	900 W Townsend Rd	Saint Johns	48879	Clinton County	St. Johns Public Schools	No	No	No	No	(989) 227-4300	584	33	17.6	31.8%	507 (86.8%)	3 (0.5%)	49 (8.4%)	4 (0.7%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	21 (3.6%)	83.2	120^th of 896 public middle schools	86.6%		82.7	114^th of 890 public middle schools	87.2%	6	78.7			43.1								42.5	58.4				44.7	46.4		66.0			72.6		$12,810	$441	$12,369
Oakview Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-5	1400 S Clinton Ave	Saint Johns	48879	Clinton County	St. Johns Public Schools	No	No	No	Yes	(989) 227-4500	313	21	15.2	37.1%	269 (85.9%)	1 (0.3%)	30 (9.6%)	2 (0.6%)	1 (0.3%)	1 (0.3%)	9 (2.9%)	76.2	320^th of 1492 public elementary schools	78.6%		80.4	271^st of 1488 public elementary schools	81.8%	49									39.4	60.7	67.0			41.3	52.7	49.1			65.1			44.3			$13,986	$906	$13,081
St Johns High School	Public	9-12	501 W Sickles St	Saint Johns	48879	Clinton County	St. Johns Public Schools	No	No	No	No	(989) 227-4105	790	43	18.2	21.1%	691 (87.5%)	11 (1.4%)	52 (6.6%)	6 (0.8%)	2 (0.3%)	0 (0.0%)	28 (3.5%)	70.3	182^nd of 800 public high schools	77.3%		76.9	139^th of 739 public high schools	81.2%	43		70.0	67.7		41.9	39.2	63.6	26.6													41.6			46.2	$15,161	$449	$14,712
Riley Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-5	5935 West Pratt Rd	Saint Johns	48879	Clinton County	St. Johns Public Schools	No	No	No	No	(989) 227-5100	299	17	18.1	22.4%	250 (83.6%)	2 (0.7%)	26 (8.7%)	2 (0.7%)	1 (0.3%)	0 (0.0%)	18 (6.0%)	68.4	431^st of 1492 public elementary schools	71.1%		71.4	396^th of 1488 public elementary schools	73.4%	35									67.9	74.0	35.6			76.8	84.0	28.8			40.7			25.4			$13,250	$447	$12,803
Clinton County Education Center	Public, Alternative	PK, KG-12	4179 S Us Highway 27	Saint Johns	48879	Clinton County	Clinton County Regional Educational Service Agency	No	No	No	No	(989) 224-6831	42	10	4.2	26.2%	37 (88.1%)	1 (2.4%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (2.4%)	0 (0.0%)	3 (7.1%)								(n/a)

Cities Near Zip Code 48879

City	Distance	# of Schools	Statewide Rank
Saint Johns	0.74 mi	8	96^th
Fowler	8.4 mi	2	32^nd
Elsie	9.93 mi	4	318^th
Dewitt	10.47 mi	6	30^th
Ovid	10.75 mi	2

See the top MI Michigan cities

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.