Discovery Elementary

Discovery Elementary operates as a substantial elementary school in GRAND RAPIDS, Michigan, part of Kentwood Public Schools. Current enrollment sits at 674 students spanning grades K through 5. Enrollment runs roughly 83% above the state mean of about 369.

Within Kentwood Public Schools, which oversees 16 schools and 9,536 students, Discovery Elementary is one campus in the system.

On the student-mix side, Discovery Elementary records that the largest single group is Black at 34%, but no single group is in the majority. Beyond that, the school reports 25% White, 16% Hispanic, 16% Asian, 9% multiracial. That is noticeably more Black than the county at large, where the share is closer to 10%.

Looking at school resources, Discovery Elementary reports 37 full-time-equivalent teachers, putting the student-to-teacher ratio at about 18.4:1. That figure is higher than the state norm's 15.8:1 average. Around 72% of the student body qualifies for free or reduced-price meals, which schools and policymakers use as a rough income-mix signal. By comparison, Kent County runs at roughly 47%, so the school's eligibility rate is higher than the surrounding baseline.

On a demographically-adjusted basis, Discovery Elementary tracks the demographic baseline. The model predicts 34.4% given the school's FRL share; actual proficiency is 38.6%.

In the area at large, Kent County reports that median household earnings sit near $82,631, roughly 41% of adults have completed at least a four-year degree, and the poverty rate sits near 6%. Across Kent County's 239 public schools (combined enrollment of about 97,253 students), Discovery Elementary is one campus in the mix.

The closest other public school is Pinewood Middle School, roughly 0.5 miles away. 8 of the 8 nearest public schools sit inside a five-mile radius. Among the 7 schools in that immediate cluster with test data (this one included), Discovery Elementary ranks 4th on composite proficiency, below the local average of 40.6%.

The school occupies an inner-city site.

Trend over the last 7 years. Discovery Elementary's enrollment has edged up 19% since 2018, when it stood at 566 (now 674). White enrollment moved from 41% to 25% across the same window. The student-to-teacher ratio fell from 19.9:1 in 2018 to 18.4:1 today.

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