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If you had an hour of school board time for Harbor Lights Middle School, what would you bring up?
Community prompt from u/allk12. Replies below.
Enrollment
903
Middle
DISTRICT 768 · STATE 502
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·WEST OTTAWA PUBLIC SCHOOL DISTRICT·NCES 263591001169
Harbor Lights Middle School
1024 136TH AVE, HOLLAND, MI 49424 · (616) 786-1000 · Ottawa County
GRADES 06–08MIDDLE22-SUBURBTITLE IREGULAR SCHOOL903 STUDENTS
C
allk12 Grade
Scored higher than 33% of Michigan public middle schools
- CTest scores Share of students meeting the state standard in reading, math, and other tested subjects, 2023-24 and 2024-25.
- C+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 middle schools
Student : Teacher
17.9:1
51 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 16.4:1 · STATE 17.5:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
53%
477 students
DISTRICT 59% · STATE 55%
Community
5
0 members
Enrollment and student:teacher ratio compared against other middle schools. Free/Reduced Lunch and demographics compared against all schools.
Enrollment by grade, 2024-25
| Grade | Students | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Grade 6 | 279 | 31% |
| Grade 7 | 303 | 34% |
| Grade 8 | 321 | 36% |
Student demographics
65%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 64% · 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
36.6%
MI avg 47.7%
Math
30.6%
MI avg 44.8%
What this means: On the M-STEP, Michigan's statewide test, about 37 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 31 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
37.0%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
42.9%
based on MI schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
-5.9pp
below demographic expectation
What this means: About 37% 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 →
Schools most like Harbor Lights Middle School
Harbor Lights Middle School's state test result (37.0% proficient) is higher than 4 of the 4 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| Harbor Lights Middle School this school | 903 | 52.8% | 37.0% |
| Holland Middle School HOLLAND | 605 | 62.5% | 25.6% |
| Macatawa Bay Middle School HOLLAND | 632 | 62.7% | 36.9% |
| Springbrook Middle School ADRIAN | 612 | 60.9% | N/A |
| Sturgis Middle School STURGIS | 634 | 68.8% | 22.8% |
| White Pine Middle School SAGINAW | 1,019 | 48.4% | 33.8% |
Matched among Michigan middle 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 Harbor Lights Middle School ranks
Among middle schools| Measure | This school | In Michigan | In Ottawa County |
|---|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 37.0% | #268 of 397 | #13 of 15 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 30.6% | #245 of 380 | #13 of 15 |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 36.6% | #261 of 377 | #14 of 15 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 903 | #25 of 491 | #1 of 15 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 17.9:1 | #253 of 436 | #14 of 15 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 64.7% | #42 of 437 | #2 of 15 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 52.8% | #186 of 477 | #3 of 15 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked steepest decline first | -1.3% | #328 of 339 | #8 of 8 |
Ranked against other public middle 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
903
+88 (+11%) vs 2020
-25% since 2000-01, when it was 1,212
Student : Teacher
17.9:1
was 18.1:1
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 | 903 | 50.6 | 17.9:1 | 53% (477) |
| 2023-24 | 856 | 48 | 17.9:1 | 51% (437) |
| 2022-23 | 817 | 46.3 | 17.6:1 | 52% (427) |
| 2020-21 | 815 | 45 | 18.1:1 | 44% (360) |
| 2017-18 | 915 | 51.4 | 17.8:1 | 57% (521) |
| 2015-16 | 911 | 52 | 17.5:1 | 54% (494) |
| 2010-11 | 945 | 58 | 16.3:1 | 52% (489) |
| 2000-01 | 1,212 | 62 | 19.6:1 | 24% (285) |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for Harbor Lights Middle School.
Since 2017-18: students down 1% (915 to 903); teachers down 2% (51.4 to 50.6).
About Harbor Lights Middle School
Students in HOLLAND, Michigan, attend Harbor Lights Middle School, a high-enrollment middle school. The school reports 903 students in grades 6 through 8. The school's enrollment is 80% above the 502 average for middle schools in Michigan.
Federal data list 13 schools in West Ottawa Public School District, with 6,729 students enrolled.
Harbor Lights Middle School has no majority group; Hispanic students are the largest, at 44%. Other reported shares: 39% White, 7% multiracial, 5% Asian, and 5% Black. That compares with about 10% Hispanic among all Ottawa County residents. The school's diversity index is 65%, meaning two students picked at random have a 65% chance of belonging to different racial or ethnic groups.
The school reported 50.6 full-time-equivalent teachers in 2024-25 and a ratio of 17.9:1. That is close to the 17.5:1 average for middle schools in Michigan. Eligible students account for 53% of enrollment in the free or reduced-price lunch program. By comparison, the figure for public schools in Ottawa County is 34%.
The allk12 Grade for Harbor Lights Middle School is C. Compared with Michigan public middle schools, the school scored higher than 33% on a mix of test scores, poverty-adjusted results, and recent trend.
Based on student poverty, the model expects 42.9% at Harbor Lights Middle School; the school's average proficiency rate on state tests is 37.0%.
Within Ottawa County, the median household income is $90,502, the share of adults with a bachelor's degree or higher is 39%, and about 4% of people live in poverty. Besides Harbor Lights Middle School, Ottawa County has 102 other public schools.
The nearest other public school, Pine Creek Elementary School, is about 0.3 miles away. Inside a five-mile radius, there are at least 8 other public schools. Ranked by average proficiency, Harbor Lights Middle School places 1st out of 5 schools in its immediate area.
Harbor Lights Middle School is in a suburban area outside a principal city, within an urbanized area with a population between 100,000 and 250,000, a location NCES labels Suburb: Mid-size.
Federal data show an 11% enrollment rise, from 815 in 2020-21 to 903 in 2024-25.
Conversations here can range across school safety, transportation, and start times. Posting is open to anyone connected to the school.
Ottawa County at a glance
View full county profilePopulation
301,203
Census ACS
Median income
$90,502
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
39%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
4%
Below federal line
Schools in county
103
42,894 students
Quick facts
Related schools
Other schools in West Ottawa Public School District
- West Ottawa High School CampusHigh · 2,187 students
- Macatawa Bay Middle SchoolMiddle · 632 students
- Waukazoo Elementary SchoolElementary · 466 students
- Lakeshore Elementary SchoolElementary · 440 students
- Woodside Elementary SchoolElementary · 431 students
- Great Lakes Elementary SchoolElementary · 426 students
Other schools in HOLLAND
- West Ottawa High School CampusHigh · 2,187 students
- Holland High SchoolHigh · 967 students
- Macatawa Bay Middle SchoolMiddle · 632 students
- Holland Middle SchoolMiddle · 605 students
- Black River Public School MiddleHighHigh · 569 students
- Eagle Crest Charter AcademyElementary · 561 students
Other Harbor Lights Middle schools
One other US public school is named Harbor Lights Middle. Harbor Lights Middle School is the largest of the 2.
- Harbor Lights Middle SchoolBandon, OR · 195 students
Nearby schools
- Pine Creek Elementary School0.3 mi · 418
- Macatawa Bay Middle School0.4 mi · 632
- Woodside Elementary School1.4 mi · 431
- West Ottawa Virtual Academy1.7 mi · 40
- Felch Street Building1.8 mi · 118
- West Ottawa High School Campus1.8 mi · 2,187
Frequently asked questions
About Harbor Lights Middle SchoolHow large is Harbor Lights Middle School?
Harbor Lights Middle School enrolls approximately 903 students in grades 06-08.
Is Harbor Lights Middle School an elementary, middle, or high school?
Harbor Lights Middle School is a middle school covering grades 06-08.
How many teachers does Harbor Lights Middle School have?
Harbor Lights Middle School employs 51 FTE teachers, for a student-to-teacher ratio of 17.9:1.
What is the student diversity at Harbor Lights Middle School?
Student demographics at Harbor Lights Middle School are roughly 39% White, 44% Hispanic, 5% Black, 5% Asian, 7% Two or more.
Who oversees Harbor Lights Middle School?
Harbor Lights Middle School is overseen by West Ottawa Public School District in Ottawa County.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.