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Teachers: what resource would make the biggest difference at Dodson Elementary School this year?
Community prompt from u/allk12. Replies below.
Enrollment
470
Elementary
DISTRICT 426 · STATE 369
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·PLYMOUTH-CANTON COMMUNITY SCHOOLS·NCES 262856001431
Dodson Elementary School
205 N BECK RD, CANTON, MI 48187 · (734) 981-8003 · Wayne County
GRADES PK–05ELEMENTARY21-SUBURBREGULAR SCHOOL470 STUDENTS
Student : Teacher
14.6:1
32 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 15.7:1 · STATE 15.8:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
20%
96 students
DISTRICT 24% · 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 | 90 | 19% |
| Grade 1 | 66 | 14% |
| Grade 2 | 78 | 17% |
| Grade 3 | 85 | 18% |
| Grade 4 | 71 | 15% |
| Grade 5 | 80 | 17% |
This year's kindergarten class (90) is 13% larger than its 5th grade class (80).
Student demographics
57%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 56% · 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
62.0%
MI avg 47.7%
Math
63.3%
MI avg 44.8%
What this means: On the M-STEP, Michigan's statewide test, about 62 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 63 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
58.2%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
57.2%
based on MI schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
+1.0pp
above demographic expectation
What this means: About 58% of students here test proficient in math and reading, compared with the roughly 57% 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 Dodson Elementary School
Dodson Elementary School's state test result (58.2% proficient) is higher than 2 of the 5 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dodson Elementary School this school | 470 | 20.4% | 58.2% |
| Bentley Elementary School CANTON | 479 | 20.5% | 48.5% |
| Brooklands Elementary School ROCHESTER HILLS | 442 | 20.8% | 57.5% |
| Bennett Woods Elementary School OKEMOS | 476 | 14.7% | 60.4% |
| Meadow Brook Elementary School GRAND RAPIDS | 431 | 26.5% | 67.8% |
| Burns Park Elementary School ANN ARBOR | 477 | 19.5% | 68.2% |
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 Dodson Elementary School ranks
Among elementary schools| Measure | This school | In Michigan | In Wayne County |
|---|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 58.2% | #244 of 1,085 | #34 of 165 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 63.3% | #176 of 1,072 | #21 of 165 |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 62.0% | #219 of 1,139 | #29 of 176 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 470 | #367 of 1,630 | #92 of 301 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 14.6:1 | #393 of 1,424 | #60 of 281 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 56.6% | #350 of 1,424 | #58 of 281 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 20.4% | #1,380 of 1,563 | #270 of 294 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked steepest decline first | -10.5% | #574 of 979 | #93 of 177 |
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
470
-21 (-4%) vs 2020
+4% since 2010-11, when it was 450
Student : Teacher
14.6:1
was 16.4:1
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 | 470 | 32.2 | 14.6:1 | 20% (96) |
| 2023-24 | 485 | 34 | 14.3:1 | 21% (100) |
| 2022-23 | 471 | 32.5 | 14.5:1 | 18% (87) |
| 2020-21 | 491 | 30 | 16.4:1 | 14% (69) |
| 2017-18 | 525 | 29.2 | 18.0:1 | 11% (59) |
| 2015-16 | 495 | 27 | 18.3:1 | 7% (35) |
| 2010-11 | 450 | 26 | 17.3:1 | 4% (20) |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for Dodson Elementary School.
Since 2017-18: students down 10% (525 to 470); teachers up 10% (29.2 to 32.2).
About Dodson Elementary School
CANTON, Michigan, is home to Dodson Elementary School, a mid-sized elementary school. In all, 470 students attend the school in pre-K through 5. That puts enrollment 27% larger than the 369-student average for elementary schools in Michigan.
The 25 schools of Plymouth-Canton Community Schools, including Dodson Elementary School, enroll 15,978 students.
About 63% of the student body at Dodson Elementary School is White. Other students are 16% Asian, 10% Black, 7% multiracial, and 3% Hispanic. By comparison, Wayne County residents are about 49% White. A diversity index of 57% means there is a 57% chance two randomly chosen students at Dodson Elementary School are from different groups.
The school's 32.2 full-time-equivalent teachers translate to a student-to-teacher ratio of 14.6:1. The average for elementary schools in Michigan is 15.8:1, so this school has fewer students per teacher. At Dodson Elementary School, 20% of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch in 2024-25. For comparison, public schools in Wayne County average 66%.
BeatsExpectations compares each school's average proficiency rate across its state test results with a prediction based on free or reduced-price lunch eligibility. For Dodson Elementary School, the prediction is 57.2% and the result is 58.2%.
The school is in Wayne County, where the median household earns about $60,539 a year, a bachelor's degree or higher is held by about 28% of adults, and the share of residents below the poverty line is 16%. Dodson Elementary School shares Wayne County with 572 other public schools.
Straight-line distance to the nearest public school, Canton Preparatory High School, is about 0.6 miles. Other public schools within five miles: at least 8. The average proficiency across nearby scored schools is 52.5%; Dodson Elementary School's is 58.2%, ranking 3rd of 9.
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.
Federal enrollment counts decreased from 491 (2020-21) to 470 (2024-25). Over the same period, the student-to-teacher ratio dropped to 14.6:1, from 16.4:1.
The Dodson Elementary School discussion page is a place for open houses, carpools, and field trips. You can also rate the school on this page.
Wayne County at a glance
View full county profilePopulation
1,772,259
Census ACS
Median income
$60,539
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
28%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
16%
Below federal line
Schools in county
573
259,786 students
Quick facts
Related schools
Other schools in Plymouth-Canton Community Schools
- Canton High SchoolHigh · 1,899 students
- Salem High SchoolHigh · 1,871 students
- Plymouth High SchoolHigh · 1,816 students
- Pioneer Middle SchoolMiddle · 827 students
- Liberty Middle SchoolMiddle · 817 students
- Discovery Middle SchoolMiddle · 731 students
Other schools in CANTON
- Canton High SchoolHigh · 1,899 students
- Salem High SchoolHigh · 1,871 students
- Plymouth High SchoolHigh · 1,816 students
- South Canton Scholars Charter AcademyElementary · 822 students
- Liberty Middle SchoolMiddle · 817 students
- Canton Charter AcademyElementary · 774 students
Other Dodson Elementary schools
2 other US public schools in 3 states are named Dodson Elementary. Dodson Elementary School is the 2nd largest of the 3.
- Dodson Elementary SchoolWilkes Barre, PA · 522 students
- Dodson ElementaryHermitage, TN · 464 students
Nearby schools
- Canton Preparatory High School0.6 mi · 612
- Liberty Middle School0.7 mi · 817
- Workman Elementary School0.8 mi · 637
- Canton Charter Academy1.2 mi · 774
- Hoben Elementary School1.5 mi · 443
- Bentley Elementary School1.6 mi · 479
Frequently asked questions
About Dodson Elementary SchoolHow large is Dodson Elementary School?
Dodson Elementary School enrolls approximately 470 students in grades PK-05.
What age range does Dodson Elementary School serve?
Dodson Elementary School serves students from grade PK through grade 05.
How many students per teacher at Dodson Elementary School?
Approximately 14.6:1 students per teacher at Dodson Elementary School.
What is the student diversity at Dodson Elementary School?
Student demographics at Dodson Elementary School are roughly 63% White, 3% Hispanic, 10% Black, 16% Asian, 7% Two or more.
What district is Dodson Elementary School in?
Dodson Elementary School is part of Plymouth-Canton Community Schools.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.