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What tradition at Kalkaska Elementary School should never be changed?
Community prompt from u/allk12. Replies below.
Enrollment
517
Elementary
DISTRICT 294 · STATE 369
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·KALKASKA PUBLIC SCHOOLS·NCES 262005005688
Kalkaska Elementary School
309 N BIRCH ST, KALKASKA, MI 49646 · (231) 258-8629 · Kalkaska County
GRADES PK–05ELEMENTARY42-RURALTITLE IREGULAR SCHOOL517 STUDENTS
Student : Teacher
15.2:1
34 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 13.4:1 · STATE 15.8:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
62%
322 students
DISTRICT 61% · STATE 55%
Community
1
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
Based on grade levels within Kalkaska Public Schools. Attendance zones can vary; confirm enrollment with the district.
Test scores
M-STEP 2024-25 . % Advanced + ProficientEnglish Language Arts
31.7%
MI avg 47.7%
Math
31.9%
MI avg 44.8%
What this means: On the M-STEP, Michigan's statewide test, about 32 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 32 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
32.2%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
38.7%
based on MI schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
-6.5pp
below demographic expectation
What this means: About 32% of students here test proficient in math and reading, compared with the roughly 39% 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
517
+144 (+39%) vs 2017
Student : Teacher
15.2:1
was 14.3:1
% White
95%
was 96%
% Hispanic
2%
was 3%
% Black
1%
was 1%
% Asian
0%
was 0%
Source: NCES Common Core of Data
About Kalkaska Elementary School
Kalkaska Elementary School operates as a moderately sized elementary campus in KALKASKA, Michigan, part of Kalkaska Public Schools. Current enrollment sits at 517 students spanning grades pre-K through 5. Compared to the state average of about 369 students per school, that is 40% larger than typical.
Kalkaska Public Schools runs 4 schools in total, collectively educating 1,333 students. Kalkaska Elementary School is one of those campuses.
Looking at the student body, Kalkaska Elementary School shows that the student body is overwhelmingly White (95%). The remainder looks like 2% Hispanic. That composition is broadly in line with Kalkaska County as a whole.
Looking at school resources, Staff filings list 34 full-time-equivalent teachers, which works out to roughly 15.2:1 students per teacher. That tracks the state average closely. An estimated 62% of students are eligible for free or reduced-price lunch, often used as a Title I proxy.
After controlling for student poverty, Kalkaska Elementary School performs roughly as the BeatsExpectations model predicts for a school with this FRL share. The predicted value is around 38.7%, the actual is 32.2%, a residual of -6.5 points.
Around the school, census data for Kalkaska County shows median household income runs about $68,578, 19% of adults hold a bachelor's degree or higher, and the poverty rate sits near 8%. Kalkaska Elementary School is one of 8 public schools in Kalkaska County (combined enrollment of about 1,728 students).
Nearest neighbor: Kalkaska High School, around 0.2 miles off. Within five miles, there are 2 other public schools.
Kalkaska Elementary School operates from a small-town location.
Looking at the recent track record. Looking back 7 years, enrollment at Kalkaska Elementary School has edged up 39%, going from 373 students in 2018 to 517 in 2025.
On this page, posts here usually surface around science fair prep, picture-day reminders, and bus-route questions. Contributors range from current parents to recent graduates and teachers.
Kalkaska County at a glance
View full county profilePopulation
18,239
Census ACS
Median income
$68,578
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
19%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
8%
Below federal line
Schools in county
8
1,728 students
Quick facts
Related schools
Other schools in Kalkaska Public Schools
- Kalkaska High SchoolHigh · 439 students
- Kalkaska Middle SchoolMiddle · 307 students
- Rapid City Elementary SchoolElementary · 70 students
- Cherry Street Intermediate SchoolCombined
Other schools in KALKASKA
- Kalkaska High SchoolHigh · 439 students
- Kalkaska Middle SchoolMiddle · 307 students
- Crawford SchoolElementary · 46 students
- Cherry Street Intermediate SchoolCombined
Nearby schools
- Kalkaska High School0.2 mi · 439
- Kalkaska Middle School0.3 mi · 307
- Crawford School6.3 mi · 46
- Rapid City Elementary School8.1 mi · 70
- Mill Creek Academy10.4 mi · 233
- Forest Area High School11.1 mi · 156
Frequently asked questions
About Kalkaska Elementary SchoolWhat is the total enrollment at Kalkaska Elementary School?
Kalkaska Elementary School enrolls approximately 517 students in grades PK-05.
What age range does Kalkaska Elementary School serve?
Kalkaska Elementary School serves students from grade PK through grade 05.
How many students per teacher at Kalkaska Elementary School?
Approximately 15.2:1 students per teacher at Kalkaska Elementary School.
What is the racial breakdown of students at Kalkaska Elementary School?
At Kalkaska Elementary School, the student body is approximately 95% White, 2% Hispanic, 1% Black, 0% Asian, 2% Two or more.
Is Kalkaska Elementary School public or private?
Kalkaska Elementary School is a public K-12 school, overseen by Kalkaska Public Schools.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.