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What do students at Eastside Connections School actually talk about outside of class?
Community prompt from u/allk12. Replies below.
Enrollment
403
Elementary
DISTRICT 365 · STATE 369
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·NILES COMMUNITY SCHOOLS·NCES 262556008289
Eastside Connections School
1 TYLER ST, NILES, MI 49120 · (269) 682-2585 · Berrien County
GRADES KG–08ELEMENTARY13-CITYTITLE IREGULAR SCHOOL403 STUDENTS
A
allk12 Grade
Scored higher than 85% 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.
- ABeats 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
22 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 15.2:1 · STATE 15.8:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
51%
206 students
DISTRICT 62% · 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 | 37 | 9% |
| Grade 1 | 41 | 10% |
| Grade 2 | 39 | 10% |
| Grade 3 | 50 | 12% |
| Grade 4 | 54 | 13% |
| Grade 5 | 53 | 13% |
| Grade 6 | 36 | 9% |
| Grade 7 | 52 | 13% |
| Grade 8 | 41 | 10% |
This year's kindergarten class (37) is 10% smaller than its 8th grade class (41).
Student demographics
55%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 53% · 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
52.2%
MI avg 47.7%
Math
57.5%
MI avg 44.8%
What this means: On the M-STEP, Michigan's statewide test, about 52 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 58 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
57.5%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
43.6%
based on MI schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
+13.8pp
above demographic expectation
What this means: About 57% of students here test proficient in math and reading, well above the roughly 44% 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 14 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 Eastside Connections School
Eastside Connections School's state test result (57.5% proficient) is higher than 4 of the 4 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| Eastside Connections School this school | 403 | 51.1% | 57.5% |
| Memorial Elementary 12 Campus GARDEN CITY | 419 | 53.9% | N/A |
| Fox Elementary School MACOMB | 471 | 51.4% | 26.6% |
| Erving Elementary School WOODHAVEN | 379 | 51.2% | 42.8% |
| Greenwood Elementary School SAINT CLAIR SHORES | 430 | 51.6% | 44.3% |
| Douglas Elementary 34 Campus GARDEN CITY | 412 | 52.4% | 34.2% |
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 Eastside Connections School ranks
Among elementary schools| Measure | This school | In Michigan | In Berrien County |
|---|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 57.5% | #260 of 1,085 | #6 of 18 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 57.5% | #274 of 1,072 | #8 of 17 |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 52.2% | #427 of 1,139 | #9 of 19 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 403 | #640 of 1,630 | #6 of 30 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 18.6:1 | #1,228 of 1,424 | #20 of 23 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 55.2% | #376 of 1,424 | #7 of 23 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 51.1% | #873 of 1,563 | #18 of 26 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked steepest decline first | -0.7% | #955 of 979 | #13 of 14 |
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
403
-16 (-4%) vs 2020
Student : Teacher
18.6:1
was 22.1:1
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 | 403 | 21.7 | 18.6:1 | 51% (206) |
| 2023-24 | 430 | 21.1 | 20.4:1 | 49% (211) |
| 2022-23 | 432 | 22.2 | 19.5:1 | 45% (195) |
| 2020-21 | 419 | 19 | 22.1:1 | 42% (175) |
| 2017-18 | 406 | 22 | 18.4:1 | 40% (163) |
| 2015-16 | 398 | 17 | 23.4:1 | 41% (164) |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for Eastside Connections School.
Since 2017-18: students down 1% (406 to 403); teachers down 1% (22 to 21.7).
About Eastside Connections School
Eastside Connections School is a medium-sized elementary school serving families in NILES, Michigan. The latest federal count shows 403 students in kindergarten through 8.
Niles Community Schools runs 11 schools with a combined 3,107 students. Eastside Connections School is one of them.
Roughly 64% of students at Eastside Connections School are White. Other groups make up 14% Black, 10% Hispanic, and 10% multiracial. County-wide, 74% of Berrien County residents are White. The school's diversity index is 55%, meaning two students picked at random have a 55% chance of belonging to different racial or ethnic groups.
At Eastside Connections School, 21.7 full-time-equivalent teachers work with students, a ratio of about 18.6:1. That is higher than the 15.8:1 average for elementary schools in Michigan. Roughly 51% of the student body qualifies for free or reduced-price lunch.
allk12 grades Eastside Connections School an A. The grade compares the school only with Michigan public elementary schools, because each state gives its own test.
Compared with Michigan schools that have similar shares of low-income students, Eastside Connections School does better than predicted by 13.8 points. Its average proficiency rate on state tests is 57.5%; the prediction is 43.6%.
According to the American Community Survey, in Berrien County, the median household income is $65,425, roughly 31% of adults have a four-year degree or more, and the share of residents below the poverty line is 11%. There are 75 public schools in Berrien County, enrolling about 21,027 students in all.
Niles Senior High School is the public school closest to Eastside Connections School, about 0.3 miles away. The count of other public schools within five miles is at least 8.
The National Center for Education Statistics classifies the school's location as City: Small, meaning it is inside a principal city with a population under 100,000.
Compared with 2020-21, the school had 16 fewer students in 2024-25. The school's ratio fell from 22.1:1 to 18.6:1 between 2020-21 and 2024-25.
Topics for discussion here include science fairs, picture day, and bus routes. Anyone with firsthand experience at this school can post or comment.
Berrien County at a glance
View full county profilePopulation
153,288
Census ACS
Median income
$65,425
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
31%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
11%
Below federal line
Schools in county
75
21,027 students
Quick facts
Related schools
Other schools in Niles Community Schools
- Niles Senior High SchoolHigh · 828 students
- HowardEllis Elementary SchoolElementary · 529 students
- Ballard Elementary SchoolElementary · 516 students
- Ring Lardner Middle SchoolMiddle · 510 students
- Niles Cedar LaneHigh · 134 students
- WAY NilesHigh · 95 students
Other schools in NILES
- Niles Senior High SchoolHigh · 828 students
- HowardEllis Elementary SchoolElementary · 529 students
- Ballard Elementary SchoolElementary · 516 students
- Ring Lardner Middle SchoolMiddle · 510 students
- Brandywine Elementary SchoolElementary · 379 students
- Brandywine Senior High SchoolHigh · 366 students
Nearby schools
- Niles Senior High School0.3 mi · 828
- Ring Lardner Middle School0.5 mi · 510
- Niles Comm Schools Adult Education0.6 mi · 24
- Niles Virtual School0.7 mi · 18
- WAY Niles0.7 mi · 95
- Niles Cedar Lane0.7 mi · 134
Frequently asked questions
About Eastside Connections SchoolHow large is Eastside Connections School?
Eastside Connections School enrolls approximately 403 students in grades KG-08.
Is Eastside Connections School an elementary, middle, or high school?
Eastside Connections School is an elementary school covering grades KG-08.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Eastside Connections School?
The student-to-teacher ratio at Eastside Connections School is approximately 18.6:1 (22 FTE teachers).
What is the student diversity at Eastside Connections School?
Student demographics at Eastside Connections School are roughly 64% White, 10% Hispanic, 14% Black, 1% Asian, 10% Two or more.
Is Eastside Connections School public or private?
Eastside Connections School is a public K-12 school, overseen by Niles Community Schools.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.