Central Elementary School

Central Elementary School is a small elementary campus in HASTINGS, Michigan, run under Hastings Area School District. The school instructs 239 students in grades K through 5. Compared to the state average of about 369 students per school, that is 35% leaner than typical.

Across the 6 schools in Hastings Area School District (2,481 students total), Central Elementary School accounts for its share of the district's footprint.

On the student-mix side, Central Elementary School reports that the student body is overwhelmingly White (88%). The remainder consists of 6% multiracial, 5% Hispanic.

Looking at school resources, Staff filings list 19 full-time-equivalent teachers, which works out to roughly 12.4:1 students per teacher. That figure is tighter than the state norm's 15.8:1 average. Around 67% of the student body qualifies for free or reduced-price meals, a commonly cited indicator of low-income enrollment. Set against Barry County (around 43%), the school's rate is north of typical.

On a residual basis (actual vs predicted given the student mix), Central Elementary School sits in the middle band of the BeatsExpectations distribution. Schools with this campus's student mix typically land near 36.8%; this one delivers 46.5%.

In the surrounding community, ACS estimates for Barry County put median household earnings sit near $77,500, about 25% of the adult population holds a bachelor's degree or above, and census figures put the poverty rate at about 6%. In all, Barry County runs 22 public schools (combined enrollment of about 8,041 students), of which Central Elementary School is one.

Nearest neighbor: Hastings Middle School, around 0.1 miles off. Within five miles, there are 7 other public schools. On composite proficiency, Central Elementary School comes 3rd of 5 in the immediate cluster, above the nearby-schools average of 46.4%.

The campus sits in a town-center setting.

Looking at the recent track record. Central Elementary School's enrollment has ticked down 17% since 2018, when it stood at 287 (now 239). The student-to-teacher ratio pulled in from 18.6:1 in 2018 to 12.4:1 today.

In the discussion threads here, recent activity here tends to focus on sports schedules, lunch menu changes, and school spirit week. Anyone with firsthand experience at this school can post or comment.