Cooley Elementary School

Cooley Elementary School operates as a moderately sized K-5 school in WATERFORD, Michigan, operated by Waterford School District. Current enrollment sits at 377 students spanning grades K through 5.

Cooley Elementary School is one of 17 schools operated by Waterford School District, a district that educates 6,641 students overall.

Looking at the student body, Cooley Elementary School records that White students make up the majority at 72%. The remainder comes out to 13% Hispanic, 8% Black, 3% Asian, 3% multiracial. That composition is broadly in line with Oakland County as a whole.

In terms of school funding signals, Cooley Elementary School shows 21 full-time-equivalent teachers, putting the student-to-teacher ratio at about 17.6:1. That figure is higher than the state norm's 15.8:1 average. An estimated 50% of students are eligible for free or reduced-price lunch, which schools and policymakers use as a rough income-mix signal. Set against Oakland County (around 32%), the school's rate is meaningfully above typical.

Adjusting for the school's free-and-reduced-lunch share, Cooley Elementary School tracks the demographic baseline. The model predicts 44.0% given the school's FRL share; actual proficiency is 45.5%.

In the surrounding community, Oakland County reports that median household earnings sit near $97,760, about 51% of the adult population holds a bachelor's degree or above, and the poverty rate sits near 5%. Cooley Elementary School is one of 345 public schools in Oakland County (combined enrollment of about 169,926 students).

The closest other public school is Pierce Middle School, roughly 1.0 miles away. Within five miles, there are 8 other public schools. Ranking that nearby cluster on reported proficiency puts Cooley Elementary School at 1st of 4; the average score across the group is 35.6%.

The school occupies an outer-ring site.

Looking at the recent track record. Cooley Elementary School's enrollment has fell 23% since 2018, when it stood at 490 (now 377). Over the same period, the White share edged down from 77% to 72%. The student-to-teacher ratio fell from 20.1:1 in 2018 to 17.6:1 today.

On this page, members of the Cooley Elementary School community share and discuss science fair prep, picture-day reminders, and bus-route questions. Anyone with firsthand experience at this school can post or comment.