The bulletin board for America's public schools. Parents, teachers, students, and staff. One community per school.
Schools›Michigan›ALTO
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·LOWELL AREA SCHOOLS·NCES 262205005925

Alto Elementary School

6150 BANCROFT AVE SE, ALTO, MI 49302 · (616) 987-2600 · Kent County
GRADES PK–05ELEMENTARY41-RURALREGULAR SCHOOL417 STUDENTS
Enrollment
417
Elementary
DISTRICT 397 · STATE 369
Student : Teacher
16.6:1
25 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 16.8:1 · STATE 15.8:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
16%
65 students
DISTRICT 24% · STATE 55%
Community
4
0 members
Enrollment and student:teacher ratio compared against other elementary schools. Free/Reduced Lunch and demographics compared against all schools.

Enrollment by grade, 2024-25

GradeStudentsShare
Kindergarten7518%
Grade 16816%
Grade 27117%
Grade 37618%
Grade 46415%
Grade 56315%
Student demographics
17%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 20% · STATE 56% · US 70%
White
37891%
DISTRICT 89% · STATE 63% · US 43%
Hispanic
195%
DISTRICT 5% · STATE 9% · US 30%
Two+
195%
DISTRICT 4% · STATE 5% · US 5%
Native American
10%
DISTRICT 0% · STATE 1% · US 1%
Student head counts by race/ethnicity from federal NCES enrollment data. District, state, and US figures are each group's share of all public school students in that area (US excludes territories). Very small groups may be suppressed in the source, so categories do not always sum exactly to total enrollment.
Gender split
Male
22855%
Female
18945%

School pathway

Students here typically continue to
Alto Elementary School→Lowell Middle School
Based on grade levels within Lowell Area Schools. Attendance zones can vary; confirm enrollment with the district.

Discussions

HotNewTop
+ POST

Test scores

M-STEP 2024-25 . % Advanced + Proficient
English Language Arts
64.8%
MI avg 47.7%
Math
70.5%
MI avg 44.8%

What this means: On the M-STEP, Michigan's statewide test, about 65 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 71 of 100 do math at grade level. Across all Michigan schools, those numbers are about 48 and 45.

Source: M-STEP. All students, all grades. See all years and grades →

BeatsExpectations

Demographically-adjusted score · methodology
Tier
AS EXPECTED
Performing as predicted given the school's student profile
Actual proficiency
65.8%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
59.4%
based on MI schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
+6.4pp
above demographic expectation

What this means: About 66% of students here test proficient in math and reading, compared with the roughly 59% typical for Michigan schools with a similar share of low-income students. BeatsExpectations measures results against demographically similar schools rather than by raw scores, and this school falls within the typical range, neither among Michigan's top nor bottom 10%.

BeatsExpectations runs a per-state regression of proficiency on free/reduced-lunch share, then scores each school by residual. How this is calculated →

Where Alto Elementary School ranks

Among elementary schools
MeasureThis schoolIn MichiganIn Kent County
State test proficiency
ranked highest first
65.8%#114 of 1,085#28 of 79
Math proficiency
ranked highest first
70.5%#89 of 1,072#23 of 79
Reading proficiency
ranked highest first
64.8%#164 of 1,139#31 of 82
Enrollment
ranked largest first
417#579 of 1,630#42 of 115
Students per teacher
ranked fewest first
16.6:1#878 of 1,424#60 of 105
Diversity index
ranked most diverse first
17.4%#1,165 of 1,424#103 of 105
Enrollment change since 2017-18
ranked steepest decline first
-17.4%#323 of 979#29 of 80
Ranked against other public elementary schools. Online schools are left out of every list, and test-score lists leave out schools that serve specialized populations. Each rank links to the full list.

7-year change

SY 2017-18 vs SY 2024-25
Enrollment
417
-88 (-17%) vs 2017
Student : Teacher
16.6:1
was 20.6:1
% White
91%
was 91%
% Hispanic
5%
was 6%
% Black
0%
was 2%
% Asian
0%
was 1%
Source: NCES Common Core of Data

Enrollment and staffing by year

School yearStudentsTeachers (FTE)Students per teacherFree or reduced lunch
2024-2541725.116.6:116% (65)
2023-2440423.117.5:123% (94)
2022-2340724.316.8:125% (100)
2017-1850524.520.6:131% (155)
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for Alto Elementary School.

About Alto Elementary School

This page covers Alto Elementary School, a mid-sized elementary school in ALTO, Michigan. It is open to students in pre-K through 5 and enrolls 417 students.

Enrollment across the 7 schools in Lowell Area Schools totals 3,455 students.

The share of students at Alto Elementary School who are White is 91%. Smaller groups are 5% Hispanic and 5% multiracial. County-wide, 73% of Kent County residents are White. A diversity index of 17% means there is a 17% chance two randomly chosen students at Alto Elementary School are from different groups.

Alto Elementary School lists 25.1 full-time-equivalent teachers; that is about 16.6 students per teacher. The school's 16.6:1 compares with an average of 15.8:1 for elementary schools in Michigan. Free or reduced-price lunch covers 16% of the student body. The rate at public schools in Kent County averages 47%, higher than here.

Alto Elementary School's actual average proficiency rate across its state test results (65.8%) and its predicted rate (59.4%) put it outside the top and bottom 10% of Michigan schools.

In Kent County, where the school is located, the median household earns about $82,631 a year, roughly 41% of adults have a four-year degree or more, and about 6% of residents live below the federal poverty line. Counting Alto Elementary School, Kent County has 239 public schools.

About 4.1 miles separate Alto Elementary School from the closest public school, Kettle Lake Elementary School. Within ten miles are at least 8 other public schools. Compared with its nearest neighbors, Alto Elementary School ranks 4th of 6 on average proficiency.

Alto Elementary School is coded as Rural: Fringe in federal locale data.

Between 2017-18 and 2024-25, Alto Elementary School had a net loss of 88 students, or 17%. The ratio was 20.6:1 in 2017-18 and 16.6:1 in 2024-25.

People who know Alto Elementary School can post here about open houses, carpools, and field trips. Teachers and staff are welcome to share updates too.

Kent County at a glance

View full county profile
Population
663,150
Census ACS
Median income
$82,631
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
41%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
6%
Below federal line
Schools in county
239
97,253 students

Quick facts

School name
Alto Elementary School
District
Lowell Area Schools
Address
6150 BANCROFT AVE SE, ALTO, MI 49302
Phone
(616) 987-2600
County
Kent County
Level
Elementary
Grade range
PK–05
Total enrollment
417
Teachers (FTE)
25
Student–teacher ratio
16.6:1
Free/Reduced lunch
65 (16%)
Locale
41-Rural: Fringe
NCES ID
262205005925
Charter school
No
Virtual school
No

Related schools

Other schools in Lowell Area Schools
Other schools in ALTO
Nearby schools

Frequently asked questions

About Alto Elementary School
How large is Alto Elementary School?
Alto Elementary School enrolls approximately 417 students in grades PK-05.
Is Alto Elementary School an elementary, middle, or high school?
Alto Elementary School is an elementary school covering grades PK-05.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Alto Elementary School?
The student-to-teacher ratio at Alto Elementary School is approximately 16.6:1 (25 FTE teachers).
What is the racial breakdown of students at Alto Elementary School?
At Alto Elementary School, the student body is approximately 91% White, 5% Hispanic, 5% Two or more.
Is Alto Elementary School public or private?
Alto Elementary School is a public K-12 school, overseen by Lowell Area Schools.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.
＋ Post