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What's something Cascades Elementary School does better than most schools?
Community prompt from u/allk12. Replies below.
Enrollment
398
Elementary
DISTRICT 295 · STATE 369
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·JACKSON PUBLIC SCHOOLS·NCES 261962005625
Cascades Elementary School
1200 S WISNER ST, JACKSON, MI 49203 · (517) 841-3900 · Jackson County
GRADES KG–05ELEMENTARY13-CITYTITLE IREGULAR SCHOOL398 STUDENTS
Student : Teacher
14.0:1
28 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 15.3:1 · STATE 15.8:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
91%
362 students
DISTRICT 82% · STATE 55%
Community
1
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 | 86 | 22% |
| Grade 1 | 63 | 16% |
| Grade 2 | 65 | 16% |
| Grade 3 | 78 | 20% |
| Grade 4 | 54 | 14% |
| Grade 5 | 52 | 13% |
This year's kindergarten class (86) is 65% larger than its 5th grade class (52).
Student demographics
70%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 70% · 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
Test scores
M-STEP 2024-25 . % Advanced + ProficientEnglish Language Arts
21.9%
MI avg 47.7%
Math
20.5%
MI avg 44.8%
What this means: On the M-STEP, Michigan's statewide test, about 22 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 21 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
21.2%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
26.0%
based on MI schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
-4.8pp
below demographic expectation
What this means: About 21% of students here test proficient in math and reading, compared with the roughly 26% 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 Cascades Elementary School
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cascades Elementary School this school | 398 | 91.0% | 21.2% |
| Hunt Elementary School JACKSON | 366 | 95.4% | N/A |
| Paramount Charter Academy KALAMAZOO | 373 | 95.2% | N/A |
| Attwood School LANSING | 426 | 91.5% | N/A |
| Bunker Elementary MUSKEGON | 451 | 93.1% | 21.4% |
| Madison Elementary School MADISON HEIGHTS | 411 | 83.2% | N/A |
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 Cascades Elementary School ranks
Among elementary schools| Measure | This school | In Michigan | In Jackson County |
|---|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 21.2% | #1,060 of 1,085 | #14 of 15 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 20.5% | #1,042 of 1,072 | #16 of 16 |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 21.9% | #1,093 of 1,139 | #14 of 15 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 398 | #663 of 1,630 | #12 of 24 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 14.0:1 | #280 of 1,424 | #3 of 22 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 70.0% | #73 of 1,424 | #4 of 22 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 91.0% | #171 of 1,563 | #4 of 24 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked fastest growth first | +56.7% | #18 of 440 | #1 of 9 |
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
398
-33 (-8%) vs 2020
+4% since 1990-91, when it was 384
Student : Teacher
14.0:1
was 16.6:1
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 | 398 | 28.4 | 14.0:1 | 91% (362) |
| 2023-24 | 398 | 33.4 | 11.9:1 | 90% (358) |
| 2022-23 | 447 | 26 | 17.2:1 | 91% (408) |
| 2020-21 | 431 | 26 | 16.6:1 | 92% (397) |
| 2017-18 | 254 | 17.1 | 14.8:1 | 91% (231) |
| 2015-16 | 271 | 18 | 15.1:1 | 72% (194) |
| 2010-11 | 231 | 16 | 14.4:1 | 82% (189) |
| 2000-01 | 303 | 14 | 21.6:1 | 53% (161) |
| 1990-91 | 384 | N/A | N/A | N/A |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for Cascades Elementary School.
Since 2017-18: students up 57% (254 to 398); teachers up 66% (17.1 to 28.4).
About Cascades Elementary School
Among the schools in JACKSON, Michigan, is Cascades Elementary School, a mid-sized elementary school. The school has 398 students in 2024-25 across kindergarten through 5.
Jackson Public Schools is the local district for Cascades Elementary School. It runs 12 schools with 4,310 students.
Black students account for 41% of enrollment at Cascades Elementary School, more than any other group. The remaining students are 29% White, 20% multiracial, and 7% Hispanic. Among people living in Jackson County, the Black share is about 7%. The diversity index for Cascades Elementary School is 70%. For US public schools as a whole it is 70%.
There are 28.4 full-time-equivalent teachers at Cascades Elementary School, giving a ratio of 14.0:1. The school's 14.0:1 compares with an average of 15.8:1 for elementary schools in Michigan. By family income, 91% of students are eligible for free or reduced-price lunch. The 53% average for public schools in Jackson County is 38 points lower.
When test results are adjusted for free or reduced-price lunch eligibility, Cascades Elementary School is 4.8 points below its prediction. Actual: 21.2%. Predicted: 26.0%.
The school's county is Jackson County. According to Census Bureau estimates, the median household earns about $66,073 a year, roughly 23% of adults have a four-year degree or more, and the share of residents below the poverty line is 8%. Cascades Elementary School shares Jackson County with 67 other public schools.
Cascades Elementary School is about 0.1 miles from Jackson ISD Local Based Special Education Programs, its nearest public school. There are at least 8 other public schools within five miles. Nearby schools average 40.7% on proficiency, and Cascades Elementary School is below that at 21.2%.
On the NCES locale scale, the school is City: Small.
An 8% drop took enrollment from 431 in 2020-21 to 398 in 2024-25. Staffing shifted too: the ratio moved from 16.6:1 to 14.0:1.
This page is set up for the Cascades Elementary School community to discuss homework, tutoring, and testing dates. Members of the school community can share what they know.
Jackson County at a glance
View full county profilePopulation
160,060
Census ACS
Median income
$66,073
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
23%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
8%
Below federal line
Schools in county
68
21,681 students
Quick facts
Related schools
Other schools in Jackson Public Schools
- Jackson High SchoolHigh · 989 students
- Middle School at ParksideMiddle · 750 students
- South Central Michigan VirtualCombined · 402 students
- Northeast Elementary SchoolElementary · 396 students
- Hunt Elementary SchoolElementary · 366 students
- Sharp Park AcademyElementary · 337 students
Other schools in JACKSON
- Jackson High SchoolHigh · 989 students
- Northwest High SchoolHigh · 958 students
- Northwest Early Elementary SchoolElementary · 848 students
- Northwest Kidder Middle SchoolMiddle · 786 students
- Northwest Elementary SchoolElementary · 758 students
- Middle School at ParksideMiddle · 750 students
Nearby schools
- Jackson ISD Local Based Special Education Programs0.1 mi · 240
- Jackson Pathways1.1 mi · 77
- Jackson High School1.1 mi · 989
- Fourth Street Learning Center1.2 mi · 27
- Middle School at Parkside1.2 mi · 750
- JPS Montessori Center1.6 mi · 146
Frequently asked questions
About Cascades Elementary SchoolHow many students attend Cascades Elementary School?
Cascades Elementary School enrolls approximately 398 students in grades KG-05.
Is Cascades Elementary School an elementary, middle, or high school?
Cascades Elementary School is an elementary school covering grades KG-05.
How many teachers does Cascades Elementary School have?
Cascades Elementary School employs 28 FTE teachers, for a student-to-teacher ratio of 14.0:1.
What is the student diversity at Cascades Elementary School?
Student demographics at Cascades Elementary School are roughly 29% White, 7% Hispanic, 41% Black, 2% Asian, 20% Two or more.
Who oversees Cascades Elementary School?
Cascades Elementary School is overseen by Jackson Public Schools in Jackson County.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.