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What do you wish you knew before starting at Countryside Elementary School?
Community prompt from u/allk12. Replies below.
Enrollment
426
Elementary
DISTRICT 431 · STATE 369
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·BYRON CENTER PUBLIC SCHOOLS·NCES 260756001549
Countryside Elementary School
8200 EASTERN AVE SE, BYRON CENTER, MI 49315 · (616) 878-6900 · Kent County
GRADES KG–04ELEMENTARY21-SUBURBREGULAR SCHOOL426 STUDENTS
A+
allk12 Grade
Scored higher than 99% of Michigan public elementary schools
- A+Test scores Share of students meeting the state standard in reading, math, and other tested subjects, 2023-24 and 2024-25.
- A+Beats expectations How far test scores land above or below what the share of low-income students predicts for a school in this state.
- ·Three-year trend Not available for this school, so the grade uses the other parts.
Grades compare a school only with schools in the same state, because every state gives its own test. How grades work · Top-graded Michigan public elementary schools
Student : Teacher
18.6:1
23 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 19.1:1 · STATE 15.8:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
22%
92 students
DISTRICT 23% · STATE 55%
Community
5
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 | 96 | 23% |
| Grade 1 | 83 | 19% |
| Grade 2 | 79 | 19% |
| Grade 3 | 86 | 20% |
| Grade 4 | 82 | 19% |
This year's kindergarten class (96) is 17% larger than its 4th grade class (82).
Student demographics
42%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 39% · 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
83.6%
MI avg 47.7%
Math
84.4%
MI avg 44.8%
What this means: On the M-STEP, Michigan's statewide test, about 84 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 84 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
OUTPERFORMING
Top 10% of MI schools after controlling for student poverty
Actual proficiency
84.0%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
56.7%
based on MI schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
+27.3pp
above demographic expectation
What this means: About 84% of students here test proficient in math and reading, well above the roughly 57% typical for Michigan schools with a similar share of low-income students. BeatsExpectations ranks schools against others at the same poverty level, not by raw scores, so a school can post high scores and still fall short of its prediction, or post lower scores and still beat it. This school clears its prediction by about 27 points, placing it in Michigan's top 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 Countryside Elementary School
Countryside Elementary School's state test result (84.0% proficient) is higher than 3 of the 4 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| Countryside Elementary School this school | 426 | 21.6% | 84.0% |
| Murphy Elementary School HASLETT | 386 | 20.5% | 59.9% |
| Marshall Elementary School BYRON CENTER | 463 | 23.3% | 86.3% |
| Farrand Elementary School PLYMOUTH | 402 | 19.2% | 55.4% |
| Wilkshire School HASLETT | 390 | 22.3% | N/A |
| Grandville Century Park Learning Center WYOMING | 411 | 25.3% | 57.9% |
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 Countryside Elementary School ranks
Among elementary schools| Measure | This school | In Michigan | In Kent County |
|---|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 84.0% | #4 of 1,085 | #3 of 79 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 84.4% | #9 of 1,072 | #3 of 79 |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 83.6% | #7 of 1,139 | #4 of 82 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 426 | #541 of 1,630 | #41 of 115 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 18.6:1 | #1,234 of 1,424 | #88 of 105 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 42.1% | #591 of 1,424 | #64 of 105 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 21.6% | #1,362 of 1,563 | #91 of 114 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked steepest decline first | -18.7% | #270 of 979 | #27 of 80 |
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
426
-165 (-28%) vs 2020
-13% since 2010-11, when it was 487
Student : Teacher
18.6:1
was 21.1:1
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 | 426 | 22.9 | 18.6:1 | 22% (92) |
| 2023-24 | 617 | 29.2 | 21.1:1 | 21% (129) |
| 2022-23 | 589 | 28.4 | 20.8:1 | 22% (130) |
| 2020-21 | 591 | 28 | 21.1:1 | 21% (122) |
| 2017-18 | 524 | 24.8 | 21.1:1 | 20% (105) |
| 2015-16 | 503 | 25 | 20.1:1 | 20% (100) |
| 2010-11 | 487 | 26 | 18.7:1 | 25% (121) |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for Countryside Elementary School.
Since 2017-18: students down 19% (524 to 426); teachers down 7% (24.8 to 22.9).
About Countryside Elementary School
Countryside Elementary School is an elementary school in BYRON CENTER, Michigan, according to federal school records. Students in kindergarten through 4 make up the school's enrollment of 426 students.
Countryside Elementary School is part of a district of 7 schools: Byron Center Public Schools, with 4,546 students.
The student body at Countryside Elementary School is 75% White. The rest of enrollment is 10% Hispanic, 7% multiracial, 6% Asian, and 2% Black. Among Kent County residents, the White share is about 73%. A diversity index of 42% means there is a 42% chance two randomly chosen students at Countryside Elementary School are from different groups.
Its staff includes 22.9 full-time-equivalent teachers, for about 18.6 students per teacher. Compared with the 15.8:1 average for elementary schools in Michigan, this school's ratio is higher. Roughly 22% of students at Countryside Elementary School can receive free or reduced-price lunch. Across public schools in Kent County, the average is 47%.
Countryside Elementary School holds an A+ allk12 Grade, placing it above 99% of Michigan public elementary schools.
Countryside Elementary School is a top-10% school in Michigan on BeatsExpectations, beating its predicted average proficiency rate across its state test results of 56.7% with an actual 84.0%.
In the wider Kent County area, median household income comes to about $82,631, 41% of adults hold a bachelor's degree or higher, and about 6% of residents live below the federal poverty line. Kent County counts 239 public schools with about 97,253 students.
Among nearby public schools, Cross Creek Charter Academy is closest at about 1.1 miles. In all, at least 8 other public schools sit within five miles of Countryside Elementary School. By average proficiency, Countryside Elementary School is 1st among 5 schools close by.
By NCES locale, the school is Suburb: Large, or in a suburban area outside a principal city, within an urbanized area with a population of 250,000 or more.
Between 2020-21 and 2024-25, Countryside Elementary School had a net loss of 165 students, or 28%. The ratio was 21.1:1 in 2020-21 and 18.6:1 in 2024-25.
This page is a place to ask questions and share updates about athletics, class schedules, and weather closures at Countryside Elementary School. Parents, students, alumni, and staff are welcome to post.
Kent County at a glance
View full county profilePopulation
663,150
Census ACS
Median income
$82,631
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
41%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
6%
Below federal line
Schools in county
239
97,253 students
Quick facts
Related schools
Other schools in Byron Center Public Schools
- Byron Center High SchoolHigh · 1,387 students
- Byron Center West Middle SchoolMiddle · 729 students
- Robert L Nickels Intermediate SchoolMiddle · 705 students
- Marshall Elementary SchoolElementary · 463 students
- Brown Elementary SchoolElementary · 438 students
- Heritage Elementary SchoolElementary · 398 students
Other schools in BYRON CENTER
- Byron Center High SchoolHigh · 1,387 students
- Cross Creek Charter AcademyElementary · 809 students
- Byron Center West Middle SchoolMiddle · 729 students
- Robert L Nickels Intermediate SchoolMiddle · 705 students
- Marshall Elementary SchoolElementary · 463 students
- Brown Elementary SchoolElementary · 438 students
Other Countryside Elementary schools
6 other US public schools in 7 states are named Countryside Elementary. Countryside Elementary School is the 4th largest of the 7.
- COUNTRYSIDE ELEMENTARYEDINA, MN · 665 students
- Countryside ElementarySterling, VA · 648 students
- Countryside Elementary SchoolSurprise, AZ · 590 students
- Countryside Elementary SchoolBarrington, IL · 375 students
- Countryside ElementaryOlathe, KS · 349 students
Nearby schools
- Cross Creek Charter Academy1.1 mi · 809
- Southwood Elementary2.0 mi · 302
- Explorer Elementary2.7 mi · 556
- East Kentwood High School2.7 mi · 2,068
- East Kentwood Freshman Campus2.9 mi · 742
- Crossroads Alternative High School2.9 mi · 216
Frequently asked questions
About Countryside Elementary SchoolHow many students attend Countryside Elementary School?
Countryside Elementary School enrolls approximately 426 students in grades KG-04.
What age range does Countryside Elementary School serve?
Countryside Elementary School serves students from grade KG through grade 04.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Countryside Elementary School?
The student-to-teacher ratio at Countryside Elementary School is approximately 18.6:1 (23 FTE teachers).
What is the student diversity at Countryside Elementary School?
Student demographics at Countryside Elementary School are roughly 75% White, 10% Hispanic, 2% Black, 6% Asian, 7% Two or more.
What district is Countryside Elementary School in?
Countryside Elementary School is part of Byron Center Public Schools.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.