AA Rather School

As a tight-knit K-5 school in IONIA, Michigan, AA Rather School educates 308 students from grades pre-K through 5, part of Ionia Public Schools.

Ionia Public Schools runs 8 schools in total, collectively educating 2,659 students. AA Rather School is one of those campuses.

In terms of who attends, AA Rather School shows that 85% of students identify as White, making the school strongly White-majority; the rest is composed of 10% Hispanic, 4% multiracial. Compared to Ionia County overall, the school's racial mix sits in roughly the same range.

On the resource side, On paper, AA Rather School has 15 full-time-equivalent teachers, translating to a class-load average of around 20.1:1. The state averages around 15.8:1, so this campus is higher than the state norm typical. About 51% of enrolled students meet the income threshold for free or reduced-price lunch, a commonly cited indicator of low-income enrollment.

With demographic context factored in, AA Rather School tracks the demographic baseline. The model predicts 43.7% given the school's FRL share; actual proficiency is 41.4%.

Across the wider county, community-level numbers for Ionia County indicate median household earnings sit near $75,611, about 19% of the adult population holds a bachelor's degree or above, and roughly 7% of residents live below the federal poverty line. In all, Ionia County runs 30 public schools (combined enrollment of about 10,506 students), of which AA Rather School is one.

Nearest neighbor: Douglas R Welch High School, around 0.2 miles off. Counting just inside five miles, 8 other public schools cluster around AA Rather School. On composite proficiency, AA Rather School comes 1st of 4 in the immediate cluster, higher than the nearby-schools average of 38.5%.

The campus sits in a small-town setting.

Five-year trend. AA Rather School's enrollment has contracted 8% since 2018, when it stood at 336 (now 308). The student-to-teacher ratio pulled in from 22.3:1 in 2018 to 20.1:1 today.

On this page, the page collects discussion, questions, and updates around school events, parent volunteer needs, and clubs. Parents, students, alumni, and staff are welcome to weigh in.