Summary:
Zip code 49261 is home to just one elementary school, Ezra Eby Elementary School, which serves grades PK through 5 within the Napoleon Community Schools district, enrolling 564 students in a moderately sized, single-school setting.
For parents considering this area, Ezra Eby Elementary offers a mixed picture. The school’s clear strength is its 5th grade, where students significantly outperform state averages across the board—most notably in science, with 62.9% proficiency versus the state’s 40.0%, and in ELA at 58.4% versus 43.8% statewide. Social studies also shines at 37.1% compared to 27.5% for Michigan. However, performance in the lower grades is more concerning. Third and 4th grade ELA proficiency (34.0% and 33.3%) fall below state levels, and 4th grade math sits at just 30.0%. The most alarming trend is a dramatic 22.1-point drop in 4th grade ELA from the prior year, which may reflect a challenging cohort or a data anomaly worth investigating. Over three years, the school’s state ranking has slipped from the 66th to the 59th percentile, even as 5th grade scores improved, suggesting other schools are advancing faster.
On the positive side, chronic absenteeism at 20.4% is notably better than both the district (26.1%) and state (27.9%) averages, though still means one in five students misses significant school time. The school serves a moderate-income population, with 38.65% of students on free/reduced lunch. Per-student spending is relatively high at $17,343, yet academic results remain mixed, raising questions about resource effectiveness. For parents, this school offers a strong upper-elementary experience, particularly in science, but the declining lower-grade scores and overall ranking trend suggest that families with younger children may want to monitor progress closely and engage with teachers about targeted support.
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