1
What's the vibe like in the hallways at Emerson School right now?
Community prompt from u/allk12. Replies below.
Enrollment
421
Elementary
DISTRICT 420 · STATE 369
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·OWOSSO PUBLIC SCHOOLS·NCES 262721006330
Emerson School
515 E OLIVER ST, OWOSSO, MI 48867 · (989) 725-7361 · Shiawassee County
GRADES KG–05ELEMENTARY32-TOWNTITLE IREGULAR SCHOOL421 STUDENTS
Student : Teacher
15.3:1
28 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 15.8:1 · STATE 15.8:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
54%
226 students
DISTRICT 54% · STATE 55%
Community
3
0 members
Enrollment and student:teacher ratio compared against other elementary schools. Free/Reduced Lunch and demographics compared against all schools.
Enrollment by grade
Student demographics
Student head counts by race/ethnicity from federal NCES enrollment data. Very small groups may be suppressed in the source, so categories do not always sum exactly to total enrollment.
Gender split
School pathway
Students here typically continue to
Emerson School→Owosso Middle School
Based on grade levels within Owosso Public Schools. Attendance zones can vary; confirm enrollment with the district.
Test scores
M-STEP 2024-25 . % Advanced + ProficientEnglish Language Arts
35.4%
MI avg 47.7%
Math
35.9%
MI avg 44.8%
What this means: On the M-STEP, Michigan's statewide test, about 35 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 36 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
35.0%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
42.5%
based on MI schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
-7.5pp
below demographic expectation
What this means: About 35% of students here test proficient in math and reading, compared with the roughly 43% 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 →
7-year change
SY 2017-18 vs SY 2024-25Enrollment
421
-80 (-16%) vs 2017
Student : Teacher
15.3:1
was 18.1:1
% White
90%
was 90%
% Hispanic
4%
was 5%
% Black
0%
was 0%
% Asian
0%
was 0%
Source: NCES Common Core of Data
About Emerson School
Located at 515 E OLIVER ST, in OWOSSO, Michigan, Emerson School is a reasonably sized K-5 school that teaches 421 students (grades K through 5), operated by Owosso Public Schools.
Emerson School is one of 6 schools operated by Owosso Public Schools, a district that educates 2,838 students overall.
On demographics, Emerson School records that the student body is overwhelmingly White (90%). Other groups include 5% multiracial, 4% Hispanic. That mix tracks the wider county fairly closely.
On the resource side, Staff filings list 28 full-time-equivalent teachers, which works out to roughly 15.3:1 students per teacher. The state averages about 15.8:1, putting this campus right in line with peers. Around 54% of the student body qualifies for free or reduced-price meals, a number frequently used as a low-income enrollment indicator. Set against Shiawassee County (around 45%), the school's rate is meaningfully above typical.
After controlling for student poverty, Emerson School performs roughly as the BeatsExpectations model predicts for a school with this FRL share. The predicted value is around 42.5%, the actual is 35.0%, a residual of -7.5 points.
In the area at large, Shiawassee County reports that median household earnings sit near $67,404, about 20% of the adult population holds a bachelor's degree or above, and census figures put the poverty rate at about 8%. Emerson School is one of 31 public schools in Shiawassee County (combined enrollment of about 10,105 students).
The closest other public school is Central School, roughly 0.7 miles away. Within five miles, there are 8 other public schools. On composite proficiency, Emerson School comes 4th of 7 in the immediate cluster, ahead of the nearby-schools average of 32.8%.
The campus sits in a town-based setting.
Five-year trend. Emerson School's enrollment has contracted 16% since 2018, when it stood at 501 (now 421). Class-load math has pulled in: from 18.1:1 in 2018 to 15.3:1 in 2025.
On the community side, recent activity here tends to focus on classroom updates, athletics, and weather closures. Parents, students, alumni, and staff are welcome to weigh in.
Shiawassee County at a glance
View full county profilePopulation
67,991
Census ACS
Median income
$67,404
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
20%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
8%
Below federal line
Schools in county
31
10,105 students
Quick facts
Related schools
Other schools in Owosso Public Schools
- Owosso High SchoolHigh · 805 students
- Owosso Middle SchoolMiddle · 641 students
- Bryant SchoolElementary · 431 students
- Central SchoolElementary · 409 students
- Lincoln Alternative High SchoolHigh · 131 students
Other schools in OWOSSO
- Owosso High SchoolHigh · 805 students
- Owosso Middle SchoolMiddle · 641 students
- Bryant SchoolElementary · 431 students
- Central SchoolElementary · 409 students
- Shiawassee RESD Student Learning Center WestCombined · 159 students
- Lincoln Alternative High SchoolHigh · 131 students
Nearby schools
- Central School0.7 mi · 409
- Owosso Middle School0.8 mi · 641
- Owosso High School0.8 mi · 805
- Lincoln Alternative High School1.1 mi · 131
- Bryant School1.5 mi · 431
- Elsa Meyer Elementary School2.4 mi · 484
Frequently asked questions
About Emerson SchoolHow large is Emerson School?
Emerson School enrolls approximately 421 students in grades KG-05.
What grades does Emerson School serve?
Emerson School serves grades KG-05.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Emerson School?
The student-to-teacher ratio at Emerson School is approximately 15.3:1 (28 FTE teachers).
What is the student diversity at Emerson School?
Student demographics at Emerson School are roughly 90% White, 4% Hispanic, 0% Black, 0% Asian, 5% Two or more.
Who oversees Emerson School?
Emerson School is overseen by Owosso Public Schools in Shiawassee County.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.