Cascades Elementary School

Cascades Elementary School is a K-5 school of middle-of-the-pack scale in JACKSON, Michigan, operated by Jackson Public Schools, caters to 398 students in grades K through 5.

Jackson Public Schools runs 12 schools in total, collectively educating 4,310 students. Cascades Elementary School is one of those campuses.

On the student-mix side, Cascades Elementary School logs that 41% of students identify as Black, with the remaining enrollment distributed across several groups; the rest is composed of 29% White, 20% multiracial, 7% Hispanic. The wider county runs roughly 7% Black, putting the school's mix noticeably more Black than the area baseline.

In terms of school funding signals, The school employs 28 full-time-equivalent teachers, for a student-teacher ratio near 14.0:1. That figure is tighter than the state norm's 15.8:1 average. About 91% of enrolled students meet the income threshold for free or reduced-price lunch, which schools and policymakers use as a rough income-mix signal. Set against Jackson County (around 53%), the school's rate is noticeably above typical.

Adjusting for the school's free-and-reduced-lunch share, Cascades Elementary School sits in the middle band of the BeatsExpectations distribution. Schools with this campus's student mix typically land near 26.0%; this one delivers 21.2%.

Zooming out to the county, the surrounding county (Jackson County) shows that the typical household earns roughly $66,073 per year, 23% of adults hold a bachelor's degree or higher, and the poverty rate sits near 8%. In all, Jackson County runs 68 public schools (combined enrollment of about 21,681 students), of which Cascades Elementary School is one.

Jackson ISD Local Based Special Education Programs is the nearest neighboring public school, about 0.1 miles from this campus. Counting just inside five miles, 8 other public schools cluster around Cascades Elementary School. Among the 4 schools in that immediate cluster with test data (this one included), Cascades Elementary School ranks 4th on composite proficiency, behind the local average of 40.7%.

Cascades Elementary School operates from a city-core location.

Looking at the recent track record. Looking back 7 years, enrollment at Cascades Elementary School has increased 57%, going from 254 students in 2018 to 398 in 2025. The Black share of enrollment shrank from 49% to 41% over that span.

In the discussion threads here, posts here usually surface around fundraisers, lost-and-found posts, and report-card season. Contributors range from current parents to recent graduates and teachers.