1
Does HowardEllis Elementary School have enough mental health and stress support?
Community prompt from u/allk12. Replies below.
Enrollment
529
Elementary
DISTRICT 365 · STATE 369
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·NILES COMMUNITY SCHOOLS·NCES 262556006205
HowardEllis Elementary School
2788 MANNIX ST, NILES, MI 49120 · (269) 683-4633 · Cass County
GRADES KG–05ELEMENTARY41-RURALTITLE IREGULAR SCHOOL529 STUDENTS
Student : Teacher
19.5:1
27 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 15.2:1 · STATE 15.8:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
66%
351 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 | 73 | 14% |
| Grade 1 | 82 | 16% |
| Grade 2 | 86 | 16% |
| Grade 3 | 99 | 19% |
| Grade 4 | 111 | 21% |
| Grade 5 | 78 | 15% |
This year's kindergarten class (73) is 6% smaller than its 5th grade class (78).
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
47.5%
MI avg 47.7%
Math
44.2%
MI avg 44.8%
What this means: On the M-STEP, Michigan's statewide test, about 48 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 44 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
41.2%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
36.9%
based on MI schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
+4.3pp
above demographic expectation
What this means: About 41% of students here test proficient in math and reading, compared with the roughly 37% 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 HowardEllis Elementary School
HowardEllis Elementary School's state test result (41.2% proficient) is higher than 3 of the 4 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| HowardEllis Elementary School this school | 529 | 66.4% | 41.2% |
| Campbell Elementary School MUSKEGON | 454 | 65.6% | 31.1% |
| Brendel Elementary School GRAND BLANC | 462 | 63.6% | 39.0% |
| New Haven Elementary School NEW HAVEN | 458 | 62.2% | 30.9% |
| Gates Elementary School DAVISON | 506 | 62.1% | 52.4% |
| Larsen Elementary School COLDWATER | 463 | 66.3% | N/A |
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 HowardEllis Elementary School ranks
Among elementary schools| Measure | This school | In Michigan | In Cass County |
|---|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 41.2% | #684 of 1,085 | #6 of 8 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 44.2% | #576 of 1,072 | #4 of 8 |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 47.5% | #566 of 1,139 | #4 of 8 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 529 | #209 of 1,630 | #1 of 9 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 19.5:1 | #1,316 of 1,424 | #9 of 9 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 55.2% | #377 of 1,424 | #3 of 9 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 66.4% | #573 of 1,563 | #4 of 9 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked steepest decline first | -24.9% | #144 of 979 | #2 of 9 |
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
529
-115 (-18%) vs 2020
+3% since 1990-91, when it was 514
Student : Teacher
19.5:1
was 20.1:1
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 | 529 | 27.2 | 19.5:1 | 66% (351) |
| 2023-24 | 598 | 32.2 | 18.6:1 | 72% (429) |
| 2022-23 | 591 | 31.2 | 19.0:1 | 65% (386) |
| 2020-21 | 644 | 32 | 20.1:1 | 63% (406) |
| 2017-18 | 704 | 33.8 | 20.8:1 | 65% (455) |
| 2015-16 | 493 | 25 | 19.7:1 | 67% (332) |
| 2010-11 | 604 | 29 | 20.8:1 | 50% (303) |
| 2000-01 | 484 | 29 | 16.7:1 | 36% (173) |
| 1990-91 | 514 | N/A | N/A | N/A |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for HowardEllis Elementary School.
Since 2017-18: students down 25% (704 to 529); teachers down 20% (33.8 to 27.2).
About HowardEllis Elementary School
HowardEllis Elementary School serves students in NILES, Michigan, as a mid-sized elementary school. The school covers kindergarten through 5 and reported 529 students in 2024-25. That puts enrollment 43% bigger than the 369-student average for elementary schools in Michigan.
Niles Community Schools is the local district for HowardEllis Elementary School. It runs 11 schools with 3,107 students.
More than half of the students at HowardEllis Elementary School are White (64%). Other reported shares: 16% Black, 10% multiracial, and 9% Hispanic. That compares with about 85% White among all Cass County residents. The diversity index for HowardEllis Elementary School is 55%. For US public schools as a whole it is 70%.
The school's 27.2 full-time-equivalent teachers translate to a student-to-teacher ratio of 19.5:1. Elementary schools in Michigan average 15.8:1, 3.6 fewer students per teacher than here. Income data for the school show 66% of students eligible for free or reduced-price lunch. That rate is above the 54% average among public schools in Cass County.
The BeatsExpectations prediction for HowardEllis Elementary School is 36.9%, and its average proficiency rate across its state test results is 41.2%.
In Cass County, where the school is located, median household income comes to about $70,443, about 22% of adults have at least a bachelor's degree, and roughly 9% of residents are in poverty. There are 23 public schools in the county, enrolling about 6,258, HowardEllis Elementary School among them.
Ring Lardner Middle School sits about 3.5 miles from HowardEllis Elementary School. Around the school, at least 8 other public schools are within five miles.
NCES describes the area around HowardEllis Elementary School as Rural: Fringe, meaning in rural territory close to an urban area.
Enrollment figures show a decline of 115 students from 2020-21 to 2024-25.
This page is a place to ask questions and share updates about open houses, carpools, and field trips at HowardEllis Elementary School. Members of the school community can share what they know.
Cass County at a glance
View full county profilePopulation
51,520
Census ACS
Median income
$70,443
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
22%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
9%
Below federal line
Schools in county
23
6,258 students
Quick facts
Related schools
Other schools in Niles Community Schools
- Niles Senior High SchoolHigh · 828 students
- Ballard Elementary SchoolElementary · 516 students
- Ring Lardner Middle SchoolMiddle · 510 students
- Eastside Connections SchoolElementary · 403 students
- Niles Cedar LaneHigh · 134 students
- WAY NilesHigh · 95 students
Other schools in NILES
- Niles Senior High SchoolHigh · 828 students
- Ballard Elementary SchoolElementary · 516 students
- Ring Lardner Middle SchoolMiddle · 510 students
- Eastside Connections SchoolElementary · 403 students
- Brandywine Elementary SchoolElementary · 379 students
- Brandywine Senior High SchoolHigh · 366 students
Nearby schools
- Ring Lardner Middle School3.5 mi · 510
- Niles Virtual School3.7 mi · 18
- WAY Niles3.7 mi · 95
- Niles Cedar Lane3.7 mi · 134
- Niles Senior High School3.8 mi · 828
- Eastside Connections School4.0 mi · 403
Frequently asked questions
About HowardEllis Elementary SchoolHow many students attend HowardEllis Elementary School?
HowardEllis Elementary School enrolls approximately 529 students in grades KG-05.
What age range does HowardEllis Elementary School serve?
HowardEllis Elementary School serves students from grade KG through grade 05.
How many students per teacher at HowardEllis Elementary School?
Approximately 19.5:1 students per teacher at HowardEllis Elementary School.
How diverse is HowardEllis Elementary School?
HowardEllis Elementary School reports a student body of 64% White, 9% Hispanic, 16% Black, 0% Asian, 10% Two or more.
Is HowardEllis Elementary School public or private?
HowardEllis Elementary 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.