Summary:
Zip code 49619 is served by a single high school, Brethren High School, a small rural institution in the Kaleva Norman Dickson School District that enrolls 140 students across grades 9-12.
For parents, the most important takeaway is that Brethren High School is a school of contrasts. It currently holds a 2-star rating and ranks in the 44th percentile statewide, a sharp drop from its 3-star, 60th-percentile performance the prior year. The school’s graduation rate (84.8%) slightly beats the state average, but its dropout rate (9.0%) is notably higher than Michigan’s 7.1%. The biggest red flag is chronic absenteeism: 47.4% of students are chronically absent, far exceeding the state’s 27.9% rate. Academically, the school shows a clear split—it outperforms state averages in 11th-grade Science and Social Studies, but lags significantly in English Language Arts and especially math, where only about 20-29% of 9th and 10th graders are proficient. With 60.7% of students eligible for free or reduced lunch, the school serves a predominantly low-income population, and its per-student spending of $16,652 is relatively high, likely reflecting the costs of supporting a small, high-need student body.
One interesting pattern is that student performance appears to improve as students advance through grades, suggesting that those who stay enrolled may be gaining skills, or that lower-performing students are disproportionately leaving or becoming disengaged. The school’s ranking volatility over three years (52nd to 60th to 44th percentile) is likely amplified by its small cohort, where a few students can swing percentages dramatically. While the school’s high absenteeism and low math scores are concerning, its above-average science and social studies results, combined with a graduation rate that exceeds the state, suggest that Brethren High School offers a mixed but potentially improving experience for students who attend regularly.
Thank you for your feedback!