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How has Brown School changed in the last five years, for better or worse?
Community prompt from u/allk12. Replies below.
Enrollment
410
Elementary
DISTRICT 432 · STATE 369
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·ST. JOSEPH PUBLIC SCHOOLS·NCES 263285006830
Brown School
2027 BROWN SCHOOL RD, SAINT JOSEPH, MI 49085 · (269) 926-3500 · Berrien County
GRADES PK–05ELEMENTARY23-SUBURBREGULAR SCHOOL410 STUDENTS
A-
allk12 Grade
Scored higher than 75% of Michigan public elementary schools
- A-Test scores Share of students meeting the state standard in reading, math, and other tested subjects, 2023-24 and 2024-25.
- BBeats expectations How far test scores land above or below what the share of low-income students predicts for a school in this state.
- ·Three-year trend Not available for this school, so the grade uses the other parts.
Grades compare a school only with schools in the same state, because every state gives its own test. How grades work · Top-graded Michigan public elementary schools
Student : Teacher
21.2:1
19 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 20.3:1 · STATE 15.8:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
23%
94 students
DISTRICT 21% · 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
| Grade | Students | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Kindergarten | 63 | 15% |
| Grade 1 | 63 | 15% |
| Grade 2 | 76 | 19% |
| Grade 3 | 54 | 13% |
| Grade 4 | 74 | 18% |
| Grade 5 | 80 | 20% |
This year's kindergarten class (63) is 21% smaller than its 5th grade class (80).
Student demographics
46%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 45% · STATE 56% · US 70%
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
School pathway
Students here typically continue to
Based on grade levels within St. Joseph Public Schools. Attendance zones can vary; confirm enrollment with the district.
Test scores
M-STEP 2024-25 . % Advanced + ProficientEnglish Language Arts
67.5%
MI avg 47.7%
Math
61.7%
MI avg 44.8%
What this means: On the M-STEP, Michigan's statewide test, about 68 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 62 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
AS EXPECTED
Performing as predicted given the school's student profile
Actual proficiency
59.2%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
56.1%
based on MI schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
+3.1pp
above demographic expectation
What this means: About 59% of students here test proficient in math and reading, compared with the roughly 56% 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 →
Schools most like Brown School
Brown School's state test result (59.2% proficient) is higher than 3 of the 5 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| Brown School this school | 410 | 22.9% | 59.2% |
| Cheyenne Elementary School MACOMB | 440 | 24.5% | 46.0% |
| Orchard View Elementary School GRAND RAPIDS | 439 | 22.1% | 63.5% |
| Countryside Elementary School BYRON CENTER | 426 | 21.6% | 84.0% |
| Clarke School SAINT JOSEPH | 462 | 20.1% | 57.7% |
| Farrand Elementary School PLYMOUTH | 402 | 19.2% | 55.4% |
Matched among Michigan elementary schools on enrollment, the share of students from low-income families (eligible for free or reduced-price lunch), and racial and ethnic makeup. Proficient is the average share of students meeting the state standard across all of the school's state tests in 2023-24 and 2024-25, the same combined score our test-score rankings use. Online schools and schools serving specialized populations are not matched.
Where Brown School ranks
Among elementary schools| Measure | This school | In Michigan | In Berrien County |
|---|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 59.2% | #227 of 1,085 | #3 of 18 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 61.7% | #196 of 1,072 | #3 of 17 |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 67.5% | #113 of 1,139 | #3 of 19 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 410 | #608 of 1,630 | #5 of 30 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 21.2:1 | #1,385 of 1,424 | #22 of 23 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 46.3% | #524 of 1,424 | #8 of 23 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 22.9% | #1,342 of 1,563 | #25 of 26 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked fastest growth first | +8.2% | #218 of 440 | #2 of 10 |
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. Arrows under a test-score rank show places moved since the prior test year, among schools tested both years.
4-year change
SY 2020-21 vs SY 2024-25Enrollment
410
+43 (+12%) vs 2020
+27% since 1990-91, when it was 322
Student : Teacher
21.2:1
was 17.5:1
Source: NCES Common Core of Data
Enrollment and staffing by year
| School year | Students | Teachers (FTE) | Students per teacher | Free and reduced lunch |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | 410 | 19.3 | 21.2:1 | 23% (94) |
| 2023-24 | 409 | 3.1 | 131.9:1 | 30% (123) |
| 2022-23 | 398 | 19.9 | 20.0:1 | 31% (124) |
| 2020-21 | 367 | 21 | 17.5:1 | 29% (106) |
| 2017-18 | 379 | 18.7 | 20.3:1 | 29% (111) |
| 2015-16 | 366 | 18 | 20.3:1 | 33% (119) |
| 2010-11 | 325 | 14 | 23.2:1 | 14% (45) |
| 2000-01 | 297 | 17 | 17.5:1 | 9% (28) |
| 1990-91 | 322 | N/A | N/A | N/A |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for Brown School.
Since 2017-18: students up 8% (379 to 410); teachers up 3% (18.7 to 19.3).
About Brown School
Brown School is a medium-sized elementary school in SAINT JOSEPH, Michigan. The grade span is pre-K through 5, and enrollment is 410 students.
Brown School is part of St. Joseph Public Schools, where 5 schools serve 2,918 students.
Roughly 72% of students at Brown School are White. Beyond that, enrollment is 8% Black, 7% Asian, 6% multiracial, and 6% Hispanic. That is close to the 74% White share among all Berrien County residents. Brown School's diversity index is 46%, against a US figure of 70%.
Dividing enrollment by its 19.3 full-time-equivalent teachers gives a ratio of about 21.2:1. That is 5.4 students per teacher above the 15.8:1 average for elementary schools in Michigan. Brown School reports 23% of students eligible for free or reduced-price meals. That is lower than the 55% average for public schools in Berrien County.
allk12 grades Brown School an A-. The grade compares the school only with Michigan public elementary schools, because each state gives its own test.
Based on student poverty, the model expects 56.1% at Brown School; the school's average proficiency rate on state tests is 59.2%.
Within Berrien County, the median household income is $65,425, the share of adults with a bachelor's degree or higher is 31%, and about 11% of people live in poverty. Besides Brown School, Berrien County has 74 other public schools.
St Joseph High School is the closest public school, about 1.6 miles away in a straight line. Other public schools within five miles number at least 8. Nearby schools with test data average 56.8% proficiency; Brown School posts 59.2%.
The school is in a suburban area outside a principal city, within an urbanized area with a population under 100,000, according to its NCES locale (Suburb: Small).
Over 4 years, Brown School's enrollment climbed 12%, to 410. The number of students per teacher rose from 17.5 to 21.2 over 4 years.
Discussion on this page can cover science fairs, picture day, and bus routes. Reviews and ratings from people who know the school are welcome.
Berrien County at a glance
View full county profilePopulation
153,288
Census ACS
Median income
$65,425
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
31%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
11%
Below federal line
Schools in county
75
21,027 students
Quick facts
Related schools
Other schools in St. Joseph Public Schools
- St Joseph High SchoolHigh · 933 students
- Upton Middle SchoolMiddle · 690 students
- Clarke SchoolElementary · 462 students
- Lincoln SchoolElementary · 423 students
Other schools in SAINT JOSEPH
- St Joseph High SchoolHigh · 933 students
- Upton Middle SchoolMiddle · 690 students
- Clarke SchoolElementary · 462 students
- Lincoln SchoolElementary · 423 students
- Lighthouse Education CenterCombined · 128 students
Other Brown schools
One other US public school is named Brown. Brown School is the 2nd largest of the 2.
- BrownNatick, MA · 494 students
Nearby schools
- St Joseph High School1.6 mi · 933
- Upton Middle School1.9 mi · 690
- Stewart Elementary School2.0 mi · 391
- Lincoln School2.2 mi · 423
- Lighthouse Education Center2.6 mi · 128
- Fair Plain Middle School2.9 mi · 240
Frequently asked questions
About Brown SchoolWhat is the total enrollment at Brown School?
Brown School enrolls approximately 410 students in grades PK-05.
What age range does Brown School serve?
Brown School serves students from grade PK through grade 05.
How many teachers does Brown School have?
Brown School employs 19 FTE teachers, for a student-to-teacher ratio of 21.2:1.
What is the student diversity at Brown School?
Student demographics at Brown School are roughly 72% White, 6% Hispanic, 8% Black, 7% Asian, 6% Two or more.
Is Brown School public or private?
Brown School is a public K-12 school, overseen by St. Joseph Public Schools.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.