Summary:
Zip code 48910 in Lansing, Michigan is home to five elementary schools serving grades PK-8, with a total enrollment of 1,382 students across a mix of public district schools and charter academies.
For parents exploring school options in this area, Cavanaugh School stands out as the clear academic leader. Despite serving a student population where over 80% qualify for free/reduced lunch, Cavanaugh ranks in the 73rd percentile statewide and outperforms its Lansing Public School District peers by more than 2.5 times in both 3rd grade ELA and Math proficiency. In contrast, Lyons School and Forest View School struggle significantly, with Lyons posting just 18.4% proficiency in 3rd grade ELA and Forest View showing mediocre results despite spending over $22,000 per student. The two charter schools, Holly Park Academy and Cole Academy, fall in the middle range, with Cole Academy achieving better results than Holly Park despite spending roughly $5,000 less per student and maintaining a much higher student-teacher ratio of 25.8:1.
A critical concern across all five schools is chronic absenteeism, which ranges from 34.5% at Cole Academy to nearly 49% at Lyons and Forest View—all well above the 27.9% state average. Even Cavanaugh, despite its academic success, has a 42.2% chronic absenteeism rate, suggesting room for further improvement. Parents should also note that several schools show significant performance drops between 3rd and 4th grade, with Cole Academy's math proficiency falling from 44% to just 15%, and Holly Park's 5th grade math proficiency plummeting to under 10%. While Cavanaugh demonstrates that high achievement is possible despite economic challenges, the overall picture reveals that school-level factors like leadership and teaching quality matter more than district policies or spending levels, making individual school visits and conversations with principals essential for families making this important decision.
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