Ballard Elementary School

Located at 1601 W CHICAGO RD, in NILES, Michigan, Ballard Elementary School is a mid-sized K-5 school that works with 516 students (grades pre-K through 5), operated by Niles Community Schools. Enrollment runs roughly 40% larger than the state mean of about 369.

Ballard Elementary School is one of 11 schools operated by Niles Community Schools, a district that educates 3,107 students overall.

Demographically, Ballard Elementary School logs that the largest single group is White, at 60% of enrollment. Other groups include 15% Hispanic, 12% Black, 11% multiracial. By comparison, Berrien County as a whole is about 74% White, so the school skews meaningfully less White than its surroundings.

On the resource side, Staff filings list 28 full-time-equivalent teachers, which works out to roughly 18.5:1 students per teacher. The state averages around 15.8:1, so this campus is higher than the state norm typical. An estimated 78% of students are eligible for free or reduced-price lunch, a number frequently used as a low-income enrollment indicator. That share is noticeably above Berrien County's rate of about 55%.

After controlling for student poverty, Ballard Elementary School tracks the demographic baseline. The model predicts 31.9% given the school's FRL share; actual proficiency is 36.4%.

Across the wider county, community-level numbers for Berrien County indicate median household income runs about $65,425, roughly 31% of adults have completed at least a four-year degree, and roughly 11% of residents live below the federal poverty line. In all, Berrien County runs 75 public schools (combined enrollment of about 21,027 students), of which Ballard Elementary School is one.

Nearest neighbor: Brandywine Innovation Academy, around 1.7 miles off. Counting just inside five miles, 8 other public schools cluster around Ballard Elementary School.

The campus sits in a metropolitan setting.

Trend over the last 7 years. Over the past 7-year window, the student count ticked down 12%: 589 students in 2018 compared to 516 in 2025. Over the same period, the White share fell from 65% to 60%. The student-to-teacher ratio tightened from 20.2:1 in 2018 to 18.5:1 today.

On this page, recent activity here tends to focus on classroom updates, athletics, and weather closures. Members of the school community can share what they know.