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How has Lake Center Elementary School changed in the last five years, for better or worse?
Community prompt from u/allk12. Replies below.
Enrollment
494
Elementary
DISTRICT 464 · STATE 369
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·PORTAGE PUBLIC SCHOOLS·NCES 262895006488
Lake Center Elementary School
10011 PORTAGE RD, PORTAGE, MI 49002 · (269) 323-6355 · Kalamazoo County
GRADES PK–05ELEMENTARY13-CITYREGULAR SCHOOL494 STUDENTS
B
allk12 Grade
Scored higher than 59% of Michigan public elementary schools
- B+Test 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 elementary schools
Student : Teacher
17.3:1
29 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 16.3:1 · STATE 15.8:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
17%
85 students
DISTRICT 27% · 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 | 82 | 17% |
| Grade 1 | 87 | 18% |
| Grade 2 | 84 | 17% |
| Grade 3 | 77 | 16% |
| Grade 4 | 77 | 16% |
| Grade 5 | 87 | 18% |
This year's kindergarten class (82) is 6% smaller than its 5th grade class (87).
Student demographics
40%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 52% · 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
57.7%
MI avg 47.7%
Math
55.4%
MI avg 44.8%
What this means: On the M-STEP, Michigan's statewide test, about 58 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 55 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
55.6%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
58.7%
based on MI schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
-3.0pp
below demographic expectation
What this means: About 56% of students here test proficient in math and reading, compared with the roughly 59% 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 Lake Center Elementary School
Lake Center Elementary School's state test result (55.6% proficient) is higher than 0 of the 4 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lake Center Elementary School this school | 494 | 17.2% | 55.6% |
| Coolidge Elementary School LIVONIA | 535 | 18.9% | 63.8% |
| Webber School LAKE ORION | 485 | 16.9% | 61.9% |
| Bird Elementary School PLYMOUTH | 476 | 17.6% | 61.4% |
| Schavey Road Elementary School DEWITT | 469 | 15.4% | N/A |
| Woodland Meadows Elementary School SALINE | 453 | 17.0% | 71.0% |
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 Lake Center Elementary School ranks
Among elementary schools| Measure | This school | In Michigan | In Kalamazoo County |
|---|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 55.6% | #299 of 1,085 | #7 of 30 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 55.4% | #318 of 1,072 | #5 of 30 |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 57.7% | #309 of 1,139 | #7 of 32 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 494 | #297 of 1,630 | #9 of 44 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 17.3:1 | #1,035 of 1,424 | #30 of 38 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 40.3% | #617 of 1,424 | #27 of 38 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 17.2% | #1,428 of 1,563 | #41 of 42 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked steepest decline first | -11.0% | #550 of 979 | #12 of 24 |
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
494
-36 (-7%) vs 2020
-20% since 1990-91, when it was 615
Student : Teacher
17.3:1
was 15.1:1
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 | 494 | 28.5 | 17.3:1 | 17% (85) |
| 2023-24 | 516 | 31.5 | 16.4:1 | 24% (123) |
| 2022-23 | 529 | 31.5 | 16.8:1 | 24% (126) |
| 2020-21 | 530 | 35 | 15.1:1 | 18% (97) |
| 2017-18 | 555 | 31.1 | 17.8:1 | 16% (90) |
| 2015-16 | 543 | 30 | 18.1:1 | 16% (87) |
| 2010-11 | 567 | 29 | 19.6:1 | 17% (96) |
| 2000-01 | 489 | 26 | 18.8:1 | 26% (126) |
| 1990-91 | 615 | N/A | N/A | N/A |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for Lake Center Elementary School.
Since 2017-18: students down 11% (555 to 494); teachers down 8% (31.1 to 28.5).
About Lake Center Elementary School
Lake Center Elementary School is a medium-sized elementary school in PORTAGE, Michigan. Enrollment in 2024-25 was 494 students in pre-K through 5. Against the 369-student average for elementary schools in Michigan, enrollment here is 34% higher.
Federal data list 14 schools in Portage Public Schools, with 8,479 students enrolled.
White students account for 76% of enrollment at Lake Center Elementary School. Other students are 10% multiracial, 8% Hispanic, 4% Asian, and 2% Black. For comparison, Kalamazoo County is about 76% White. Lake Center Elementary School has a diversity index of 40%, compared with 70% for all US public school students.
With 28.5 full-time-equivalent teachers in 2024-25, the ratio at Lake Center Elementary School was 17.3:1. The 15.8:1 average for elementary schools in Michigan is lower than this school's figure. A measure often used for student poverty, free or reduced-price lunch eligibility, stands at 17%. For comparison, public schools in Kalamazoo County average 45%.
Lake Center Elementary School is graded B by allk12, scoring above 59% of Michigan public elementary schools once test results, poverty-adjusted performance, and the recent trend are combined.
The allk12 BeatsExpectations score for Lake Center Elementary School is -3.0 points: 55.6% actual, 58.7% predicted.
Within Kalamazoo County, median household income is about $72,532, a bachelor's degree or higher is held by about 41% of adults, and the poverty rate is about 8%. Federal data list 93 public schools in Kalamazoo County, with a combined enrollment of about 34,151.
Central Elementary School is the closest public school, about 2.0 miles away in a straight line. There are at least 8 more public schools inside five miles. Of the 8 nearby schools with scores, including this one, Lake Center Elementary School is 2nd on average proficiency.
By NCES locale, the school is City: Small, or inside a principal city with a population under 100,000.
The 2024-25 enrollment of 494 was 7% lower than in 2020-21, when it was 530. Over the same period, the student-to-teacher ratio rose to 17.3:1, from 15.1:1.
Parents and students can post about school events, clubs, and volunteer needs at Lake Center Elementary School. Alumni can share how the school prepared them.
Kalamazoo County at a glance
View full county profilePopulation
262,375
Census ACS
Median income
$72,532
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
41%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
8%
Below federal line
Schools in county
93
34,151 students
Quick facts
Related schools
Other schools in Portage Public Schools
- Portage Central High SchoolHigh · 1,391 students
- Portage Northern High SchoolHigh · 1,194 students
- Portage Central Middle SchoolMiddle · 719 students
- Portage West Middle SchoolMiddle · 717 students
- Portage North Middle SchoolMiddle · 609 students
- Moorsbridge Elementary SchoolElementary · 591 students
Other schools in PORTAGE
- Portage Central High SchoolHigh · 1,391 students
- Portage Northern High SchoolHigh · 1,194 students
- Portage Central Middle SchoolMiddle · 719 students
- Portage West Middle SchoolMiddle · 717 students
- Portage North Middle SchoolMiddle · 609 students
- Moorsbridge Elementary SchoolElementary · 591 students
Nearby schools
- Central Elementary School2.0 mi · 439
- Portage Central High School2.1 mi · 1,391
- Portage Central Middle School2.1 mi · 719
- Tobey Elementary School2.9 mi · 379
- Woodland Elementary School3.4 mi · 348
- Sunset Lake Elementary School3.6 mi · 465
Frequently asked questions
About Lake Center Elementary SchoolHow large is Lake Center Elementary School?
Lake Center Elementary School enrolls approximately 494 students in grades PK-05.
What grades does Lake Center Elementary School serve?
Lake Center Elementary School serves grades PK-05.
How many students per teacher at Lake Center Elementary School?
Approximately 17.3:1 students per teacher at Lake Center Elementary School.
How diverse is Lake Center Elementary School?
Lake Center Elementary School reports a student body of 76% White, 8% Hispanic, 2% Black, 4% Asian, 10% Two or more.
What district is Lake Center Elementary School in?
Lake Center Elementary School is part of Portage Public Schools.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.