Summary:
Zip code 49321, serving the Comstock Park area of Michigan, is home to three elementary schools—Stoney Creek Elementary, Pine Island Elementary, and Alpine Elementary School—which together educate roughly 1,134 students across kindergarten through fifth grade, with all three serving predominantly economically disadvantaged populations.
Within Comstock Park Public Schools, Stoney Creek (K-2) and Pine Island (3-5) operate as a paired model, and Pine Island emerges as the academic standout. Its 4th grade ELA proficiency jumped from 37.4% to 50.7% in one year, now exceeding the state average, and it boasts the lowest chronic absenteeism rate in the area at 17.9%—well below the state's 27.9%. Stoney Creek, while lacking test data due to its grade span, spends a remarkable $28,242 per student compared to Pine Island's $18,105, suggesting a heavy investment in early education. Meanwhile, Alpine Elementary School, part of Kenowa Hills Public Schools, faces the greatest hurdles: it has the highest free/reduced lunch rate (67.2%), the highest chronic absenteeism (28.1%), and consistently trails district and state averages, particularly in 5th grade where only 29.6% are proficient in ELA versus the state's 43.8%.
Despite Alpine's favorable 11.4:1 student-teacher ratio—the best of the three—its academic struggles persist, likely compounded by attendance issues. A universal weakness across all schools is social studies, with Pine Island's 5th grade proficiency at just 13.9% and Alpine's at 18.5%, both far below the state's 27.5%. For parents, Pine Island demonstrates that strong outcomes are achievable even in challenging demographics, while Alpine may warrant closer scrutiny regarding interventions and support. The district-level comparison favors Comstock Park (ranked 245th) over Kenowa Hills (ranked 290th), but the lack of test data from Stoney Creek leaves a gap in assessing the full K-5 trajectory within the area's largest district.
Thank you for your feedback!