Enrollment
147
Elementary
DISTRICT 140 · STATE 369
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·BEAR LAKE SCHOOLS·NCES 260432004120
Bear Lake Elementary School
7748 CODY ST, BEAR LAKE, MI 49614 · (231) 864-3133 · Manistee County
GRADES PK–06ELEMENTARY43-RURALTITLE IREGULAR SCHOOL147 STUDENTS
Student : Teacher
14.8:1
10 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 18.3:1 · STATE 15.8:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
61%
90 students
DISTRICT 61% · STATE 55%
Community
0
0 members
Enrollment and student:teacher ratio compared against other elementary schools. Free/Reduced Lunch and demographics compared against all schools.
Enrollment by grade
Student demographics
Student head counts by race/ethnicity from federal NCES enrollment data. Very small groups may be suppressed in the source, so categories do not always sum exactly to total enrollment.
Gender split
School pathway
Students here typically continue to
Bear Lake Elementary School→Bear Lake High School
Based on grade levels within Bear Lake Schools. Attendance zones can vary; confirm enrollment with the district.
Test scores
M-STEP 2024-25 . % Advanced + ProficientEnglish Language Arts
55.3%
MI avg 47.7%
Math
79.0%
MI avg 44.8%
What this means: On the M-STEP, Michigan's statewide test, about 55 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 79 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 · methodologyTier
OUTPERFORMING
Top 10% of MI schools after controlling for student poverty
Actual proficiency
64.8%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
39.2%
based on MI schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
+25.6pp
above demographic expectation
What this means: About 65% of students here test proficient in math and reading, well above the roughly 39% typical for Michigan schools with a similar share of low-income students. BeatsExpectations ranks schools against others at the same poverty level, not by raw scores, so a school can post high scores and still fall short of its prediction, or post lower scores and still beat it. This school clears its prediction by about 26 points, placing it in Michigan's top 10%.
BeatsExpectations runs a per-state regression of proficiency on free/reduced-lunch share, then scores each school by residual. How this is calculated →
7-year change
SY 2017-18 vs SY 2024-25Enrollment
147
+17 (+13%) vs 2017
Student : Teacher
14.8:1
was 18.3:1
% White
86%
was 88%
% Hispanic
12%
was 9%
% Black
0%
was 0%
% Asian
0%
was 0%
Source: NCES Common Core of Data
About Bear Lake Elementary School
Bear Lake Elementary School is a K-5 school of micro-enrollment scale in BEAR LAKE, Michigan, one of the schools within Bear Lake Schools, works with 147 students in grades pre-K through 6. Enrollment runs roughly 60% smaller than the state mean of about 369.
Bear Lake Schools runs 2 schools in total, collectively educating 280 students. Bear Lake Elementary School is one of those campuses.
In terms of who attends, Bear Lake Elementary School shows that the student body is overwhelmingly White (86%). Other groups include 12% Hispanic. That mix tracks the wider county fairly closely.
Looking at school resources, On paper, Bear Lake Elementary School has 10 full-time-equivalent teachers, translating to a class-load average of around 14.8:1. Statewide, the average ratio sits near 15.8:1, putting Bear Lake Elementary School tighter than the state norm the norm. Roughly 61% of students at Bear Lake Elementary School qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, a commonly cited indicator of low-income enrollment.
With demographic context factored in, Bear Lake Elementary School is in the OUTPERFORMING tier of the BeatsExpectations model, which fits a per-state line through proficiency and FRL share. Schools with this campus's poverty mix typically land near 39.2%; this one delivers 64.8%, a residual of +25.6 points.
Across the wider county, Manistee County reports that median household income runs about $63,516, 25% of adults hold a bachelor's degree or higher, and census figures put the poverty rate at about 8%. In all, Manistee County runs 14 public schools (combined enrollment of about 6,511 students), of which Bear Lake Elementary School is one.
Bear Lake High School is the nearest neighboring public school, about 0.0 miles from this campus. Counting just inside five miles, 2 other public schools cluster around Bear Lake Elementary School.
The campus sits in an outlying setting.
Trend over the last 7 years. Looking back 7 years, enrollment at Bear Lake Elementary School has ticked up 13%, going from 130 students in 2018 to 147 in 2025. Class-load math has narrowed: from 18.3:1 in 2018 to 14.8:1 in 2025.
Inside the community feed, the feed for Bear Lake Elementary School typically covers school events, parent volunteer needs, and clubs. The community welcomes input from current and former families.
Manistee County at a glance
View full county profilePopulation
25,350
Census ACS
Median income
$63,516
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
25%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
8%
Below federal line
Schools in county
14
6,511 students
Quick facts
Related schools
Nearby schools
- Bear Lake High School0.0 mi · 133
- Onekama Consolidated Schools4.7 mi · 294
- Brethren High School10.1 mi · 140
- Brethren Middle School10.1 mi · 85
- KND Elementary10.1 mi · 289
- Betsie Valley School11.4 mi · 131
Frequently asked questions
About Bear Lake Elementary SchoolWhat is the total enrollment at Bear Lake Elementary School?
Bear Lake Elementary School enrolls approximately 147 students in grades PK-06.
Is Bear Lake Elementary School an elementary, middle, or high school?
Bear Lake Elementary School is an elementary school covering grades PK-06.
How many teachers does Bear Lake Elementary School have?
Bear Lake Elementary School employs 10 FTE teachers, for a student-to-teacher ratio of 14.8:1.
How diverse is Bear Lake Elementary School?
Bear Lake Elementary School reports a student body of 86% White, 12% Hispanic, 1% Two or more.
Who oversees Bear Lake Elementary School?
Bear Lake Elementary School is overseen by Bear Lake Schools in Manistee County.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.