Hinks Elementary

Located at 7667 US HIGHWAY 23 N, in ALPENA, Michigan, Hinks Elementary is a very small elementary school that caters to 132 students (grades K through 5), run under Alpena Public Schools. Compared to the state average of about 369 students per school, that is 64% smaller than typical.

Alpena Public Schools comprises 9 schools with combined enrollment of 3,553 students; Hinks Elementary is among them.

Looking at the student body, Hinks Elementary records that 95% of students identify as White, making the school strongly White-majority. Beyond that, the school reports 3% Hispanic, 2% multiracial. That mix tracks the wider county fairly closely.

Looking at school resources, The school currently runs with 8 full-time-equivalent teachers, for a student-teacher ratio near 16.4:1. That tracks the state average closely. Roughly 56% of students at Hinks Elementary qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, which schools and policymakers use as a rough income-mix signal.

With demographic context factored in, Hinks Elementary is in the OUTPERFORMING tier of the BeatsExpectations model, which fits a per-state line through proficiency and FRL share. Schools with this campus's poverty mix typically land near 41.5%; this one delivers 59.0%, a residual of +17.5 points.

In the broader community, ACS estimates for Alpena County put median household earnings sit near $53,950, 18% of adults hold a bachelor's degree or higher, and census figures put the poverty rate at about 13%. In all, Alpena County runs 10 public schools (combined enrollment of about 3,598 students), of which Hinks Elementary is one.

Pied Piper School is the nearest neighboring public school, about 5.0 miles from this campus. 7 of the 8 nearest public schools sit inside a ten-mile radius, suggesting a relatively low-density school footprint. Among the 5 schools in that immediate cluster with test data (this one included), Hinks Elementary ranks 1st on composite proficiency, above the local average of 38.3%.

The school occupies a small-town site.

Looking at the recent track record. Looking back 7 years, enrollment at Hinks Elementary has fell 10%, going from 146 students in 2018 to 132 in 2025. The student-to-teacher ratio fell from 20.3:1 in 2018 to 16.4:1 today.

In the discussion threads here, members of the Hinks Elementary community share and discuss open house dates, ride-share offers, and field-trip permission slips. Anyone with firsthand experience at this school can post or comment.