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What's one thing Northern Trails 56 School gets right about preparing students for what comes next?
Community prompt from u/allk12. Replies below.
Enrollment
520
Middle
DISTRICT 436 · STATE 502
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·FOREST HILLS PUBLIC SCHOOLS·NCES 261461000900
Northern Trails 56 School
3777 LEONARD ST NE, GRAND RAPIDS, MI 49525 · (616) 493-8990 · Kent County
GRADES 05–06MIDDLE21-SUBURBREGULAR SCHOOL520 STUDENTS
A
allk12 Grade
Scored higher than 87% of Michigan public middle schools
- ATest scores Share of students meeting the state standard in reading, math, and other tested subjects, 2023-24 and 2024-25.
- A-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
17.8:1
29 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 19.3:1 · STATE 17.5:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
18%
92 students
DISTRICT 14% · 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 5 | 262 | 50% |
| Grade 6 | 258 | 50% |
Student demographics
53%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 41% · 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
71.1%
MI avg 47.7%
Math
58.1%
MI avg 44.8%
What this means: On the M-STEP, Michigan's statewide test, about 71 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 58 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
62.5%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
58.4%
based on MI schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
+4.1pp
above demographic expectation
What this means: About 63% of students here test proficient in math and reading, compared with the roughly 58% 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 Northern Trails 56 School
Northern Trails 56 School's state test result (62.5% proficient) is higher than 3 of the 5 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| Northern Trails 56 School this school | 520 | 17.7% | 62.5% |
| Northern Hills Middle School GRAND RAPIDS | 515 | 15.3% | 69.8% |
| Scripps Middle School LAKE ORION | 446 | 21.1% | 59.7% |
| Portage West Middle School PORTAGE | 717 | 17.4% | 57.3% |
| Haslett Middle School HASLETT | 660 | 23.2% | 58.8% |
| North Hills Middle School Bloomfield Hills | 593 | 13.5% | 69.4% |
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 Northern Trails 56 School ranks
Among middle schools| Measure | This school | In Michigan | In Kent County |
|---|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 62.5% | #44 of 397 | #13 of 24 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 58.1% | #49 of 380 | #14 of 26 |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 71.1% | #10 of 377 | #5 of 24 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 520 | #233 of 491 | #18 of 39 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 17.8:1 | #242 of 436 | #16 of 33 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 52.8% | #108 of 437 | #11 of 33 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 17.7% | #428 of 477 | #28 of 36 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked steepest decline first | -3.0% | #309 of 339 | #22 of 22 |
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
520
+27 (+5%) vs 2020
-12% since 2000-01, when it was 592
Student : Teacher
17.8:1
was 18.3:1
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 | 520 | 29.3 | 17.8:1 | 18% (92) |
| 2023-24 | 499 | 28.5 | 17.5:1 | 18% (92) |
| 2022-23 | 478 | 27.8 | 17.2:1 | 17% (79) |
| 2020-21 | 493 | 27 | 18.3:1 | 16% (79) |
| 2017-18 | 536 | 29.9 | 17.9:1 | 15% (79) |
| 2015-16 | 567 | 33 | 17.2:1 | 9% (50) |
| 2010-11 | 520 | 34 | 15.3:1 | 12% (63) |
| 2000-01 | 592 | 41 | 14.4:1 | 9% (55) |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for Northern Trails 56 School.
Since 2017-18: students down 3% (536 to 520); teachers down 2% (29.9 to 29.3).
About Northern Trails 56 School
Northern Trails 56 School is a medium-sized middle-grades school in Forest Hills Public Schools, located in GRAND RAPIDS, Michigan. The school's 520 students are in grades 5 through 6.
Northern Trails 56 School is one of the 18 schools that make up Forest Hills Public Schools (8,797 students in total).
White students are the majority at Northern Trails 56 School, with 67% of enrollment. It is also 12% Hispanic, 9% Asian, 7% multiracial, and 5% Black. Pick two students at random and there is a 53% chance they belong to different racial or ethnic groups; that figure is the school's diversity index.
At Northern Trails 56 School, 29.3 full-time-equivalent teachers work with students, a ratio of about 17.8:1. That matches the 17.5:1 average for middle schools in Michigan fairly closely. Roughly 18% of the student body qualifies for free or reduced-price lunch. Among public schools in Kent County, the average eligibility rate is 47%.
The allk12 Grade for Northern Trails 56 School is A. Compared with Michigan public middle schools, the school scored higher than 87% on a mix of test scores, poverty-adjusted results, and recent trend.
The model predicts 58.4% for a school in Michigan with Northern Trails 56 School's free or reduced-price lunch share. Northern Trails 56 School posts 62.5%.
Census Bureau estimates for Kent County show that the median household income is $82,631, 41% of adults hold a bachelor's degree or higher, and about 6% of people live in poverty. Northern Trails 56 School is one of 239 public schools in the county.
The nearest other public school, Forest Hills Transition Center, is less than a tenth of a mile away. There are at least 8 more public schools inside five miles.
The National Center for Education Statistics classifies the school's location as Suburb: Large, meaning it is in a suburban area outside a principal city, within an urbanized area with a population of 250,000 or more.
Compared with 2020-21, the school had 27 more students in 2024-25.
Conversations here can range across enrollment questions, class placement, and PTA news. Reviews and ratings from people who know the school are welcome.
Kent County at a glance
View full county profilePopulation
663,150
Census ACS
Median income
$82,631
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
41%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
6%
Below federal line
Schools in county
239
97,253 students
Quick facts
Related schools
Other schools in Forest Hills Public Schools
- Northern High SchoolHigh · 1,088 students
- Central High SchoolHigh · 999 students
- Eastern High SchoolHigh · 768 students
- Eastern Middle SchoolMiddle · 528 students
- Knapp Forest Elementary SchoolElementary · 520 students
- Northern Hills Middle SchoolMiddle · 515 students
Other schools in GRAND RAPIDS
- East Kentwood High SchoolHigh · 2,068 students
- Northern High SchoolHigh · 1,088 students
- PrepNet Virtual AcademyCombined · 1,080 students
- Northview High SchoolHigh · 1,078 students
- Central High SchoolHigh · 999 students
- City High Middle SchoolHigh · 955 students
Nearby schools
- Forest Hills Transition Center0.0 mi · 8
- Northern High School0.2 mi · 1,088
- Northern Hills Middle School0.3 mi · 515
- Kent Education CenterBeltline1.1 mi · 43
- Lincoln School1.2 mi · 99
- Lincoln Developmental Center1.3 mi · 77
Frequently asked questions
About Northern Trails 56 SchoolHow large is Northern Trails 56 School?
Northern Trails 56 School enrolls approximately 520 students in grades 05-06.
Is Northern Trails 56 School an elementary, middle, or high school?
Northern Trails 56 School is a middle school covering grades 05-06.
How many teachers does Northern Trails 56 School have?
Northern Trails 56 School employs 29 FTE teachers, for a student-to-teacher ratio of 17.8:1.
What is the student diversity at Northern Trails 56 School?
Student demographics at Northern Trails 56 School are roughly 67% White, 12% Hispanic, 5% Black, 9% Asian, 7% Two or more.
What district is Northern Trails 56 School in?
Northern Trails 56 School is part of Forest Hills Public Schools.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.