Buchanan Elementary

Located at 1775 BUCHANAN AVE SW, in GRAND RAPIDS, Michigan, Buchanan Elementary is a mid-tier elementary school that enrolls 379 students (grades pre-K through 5), overseen by Grand Rapids Public Schools.

Within Grand Rapids Public Schools, which oversees 50 schools and 13,903 students, Buchanan Elementary is one campus in the system.

On the student-mix side, Buchanan Elementary records that nearly all students (84%) are Hispanic. Beyond that, the school reports 13% Black, 2% White. By comparison, Kent County as a whole is about 12% Hispanic, so the school skews visibly more Hispanic than its surroundings.

On the resource side, Staff filings list 23 full-time-equivalent teachers, which works out to roughly 16.6:1 students per teacher. Statewide, the average ratio sits near 15.8:1, putting Buchanan Elementary higher than the state norm the norm. Around 84% of the student body qualifies for free or reduced-price meals, a number frequently used as a low-income enrollment indicator. By comparison, Kent County runs at roughly 47%, so the school's eligibility rate is somewhat above the surrounding baseline.

Zooming out to the county, ACS estimates for Kent County put median household income runs about $82,631, roughly 41% of adults have completed at least a four-year degree, and roughly 6% of residents live below the federal poverty line. Buchanan Elementary is one of 239 public schools in Kent County (combined enrollment of about 97,253 students).

Burton Middle School is the nearest neighboring public school, about 0.5 miles from this campus. 8 of the 8 nearest public schools sit inside a five-mile radius.

Geographically, the school is in a downtown area.

Trend over the last 7 years. Over the past 7-year window, the student count edged down 12%: 431 students in 2018 compared to 379 in 2025. The Black share of enrollment grew from 8% to 13% over that span.

On allk12, members of the Buchanan Elementary community share and discuss science fair prep, picture-day reminders, and bus-route questions. Posting is open to anyone connected to the school.