Best Public Schools in Zip Code 49938

Zip code 49938, serving the Ironwood, Michigan area, is home to just two schools within the Ironwood Area Schools of Gogebic County district, offering a combined range of grades from pre-kindergarten through 12th grade.

For parents, the most important takeaway is the stark contrast between the two schools. Luther L Wright K12 School is the district's clear academic leader, serving all grades PK-12 with a strong 93.1% graduation rate—well above the state average of 84.0%—and a low 3.4% dropout rate. It also boasts a favorable 12.9:1 student-teacher ratio and spends a substantial $13,539 per student. In contrast, Gogebic County Community Education, a small high school with just 45 students, is struggling significantly. Its graduation rate is only 52.6%, its dropout rate is a staggering 26.3%, and it operates with a much higher 26.4:1 student-teacher ratio and a fraction of the funding at just $3,671 per student. This massive disparity in resources and outcomes within the same district is a critical factor for any parent to consider.

Academically, Luther L Wright K12 School shows a mixed but promising picture. The school excels in several areas, particularly in 6th-grade ELA (58.6% proficient vs. 37.5% statewide) and 5th-grade Social Studies (39.6% vs. 27.5% statewide), and it has shown dramatic year-over-year improvements in early grades, such as a 24-point jump in 3rd-grade math proficiency. However, math remains a systemic weakness across nearly all grade levels, with proficiency rates often falling 10-20 points below state averages. While the school's chronic absenteeism rate of 26.8% is a concern, its overall performance, combined with its K-12 model and lower class sizes, suggests it is providing a more effective educational environment than its alternative counterpart. No test data is available for Gogebic County Community Education, making it difficult to assess its academic standing, but the graduation and dropout rates alone signal serious challenges that parents should investigate further.