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What tradition at Palmer Park Preparatory Academy should never be changed?
Community prompt from u/allk12. Replies below.
Enrollment
405
Elementary
DISTRICT 461 · STATE 369
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·DETROIT PUBLIC SCHOOLS COMMUNITY DISTRICT·NCES 260110301293
Palmer Park Preparatory Academy
3901 MARGARETA ST, DETROIT, MI 48221 · (313) 494-7300 · Wayne County
GRADES PK–08ELEMENTARY11-CITYTITLE IREGULAR SCHOOL405 STUDENTS
·
allk12 Grade
Not graded
This school has no state test results for 2023-24 or 2024-25 to grade, which is common for schools that end before third grade. How grades work
Student : Teacher
16.2:1
25 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 15.8:1 · STATE 15.8:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
60%
242 students
DISTRICT 86% · 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 | 49 | 12% |
| Grade 1 | 43 | 11% |
| Grade 2 | 38 | 9% |
| Grade 3 | 35 | 9% |
| Grade 4 | 26 | 6% |
| Grade 5 | 21 | 5% |
| Grade 6 | 55 | 14% |
| Grade 7 | 62 | 15% |
| Grade 8 | 76 | 19% |
This year's kindergarten class (49) is 36% smaller than its 8th grade class (76).
Student demographics
28%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 35% · 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
31.4%
MI avg 47.7%
What this means: On the M-STEP, Michigan's statewide test, about 31 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level. The Michigan average is about 48 of 100.
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
34.3%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
39.8%
based on MI schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
-5.5pp
below demographic expectation
What this means: About 34% of students here test proficient in math and reading, compared with the roughly 40% 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 Palmer Park Preparatory Academy
Palmer Park Preparatory Academy's state test result (34.3% proficient) is higher than 2 of the 3 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| Palmer Park Preparatory Academy this school | 405 | 59.8% | 34.3% |
| Alice M Birney K8 School SOUTHFIELD | 452 | 62.8% | N/A |
| Morris Adler Elementary School SOUTHFIELD | 355 | 65.6% | 27.6% |
| Metro Charter Academy ROMULUS | 421 | 69.4% | 44.1% |
| Adlai Stevenson Elementary School SOUTHFIELD | 527 | 65.5% | 31.0% |
| Jane Addams Elementary School REDFORD | 297 | 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 Palmer Park Preparatory Academy ranks
Among elementary schools| Measure | This school | In Michigan | In Wayne County |
|---|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 34.3% | #852 of 1,085 | #105 of 165 |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 31.4% | #960 of 1,139 | #125 of 176 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 405 | #631 of 1,630 | #146 of 301 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 16.2:1 | #774 of 1,424 | #143 of 281 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 28.0% | #864 of 1,424 | #148 of 281 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 59.8% | #708 of 1,563 | #211 of 294 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked steepest decline first | -7.3% | #687 of 979 | #115 of 177 |
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
405
-58 (-13%) vs 2020
Student : Teacher
16.2:1
was 16.5:1
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 | 405 | 25 | 16.2:1 | 60% (242) |
| 2023-24 | 376 | 28 | 13.4:1 | 63% (236) |
| 2022-23 | 425 | 30 | 14.2:1 | 73% (310) |
| 2020-21 | 463 | 28 | 16.5:1 | 81% (376) |
| 2017-18 | 437 | 21.2 | 20.6:1 | 89% (388) |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for Palmer Park Preparatory Academy.
Since 2017-18: students down 7% (437 to 405); teachers up 18% (21.2 to 25).
About Palmer Park Preparatory Academy
Palmer Park Preparatory Academy is a mid-sized elementary school located in DETROIT, Michigan. The school has 405 students in 2024-25 across pre-K through 8.
District-wide, Detroit Public Schools Community District has 103 schools and 48,448 students.
Black students are 84% of those enrolled at Palmer Park Preparatory Academy. The rest of enrollment is 12% White and 2% multiracial. Census estimates put the Black share of Wayne County's population at about 37%. On a 0 to 100 scale, the school's diversity index is 28, compared with 70 nationally.
Teacher count: 25 full-time equivalents. Student-to-teacher ratio: 16.2:1. The average for elementary schools in Michigan is about 15.8:1. Roughly 60% of students come from households that qualify for free or reduced-price lunch.
Based on its free or reduced-price lunch share, the BeatsExpectations model predicts an average proficiency rate across its state test results of 39.8% for Palmer Park Preparatory Academy. The school posts 34.3%, 5.5 points below the prediction.
In Wayne County, the median household earns about $60,539 a year, about 28% of adults have at least a bachelor's degree, and the share of residents below the poverty line is 16%. Wayne County has 573 public schools with about 259,786 students, including Palmer Park Preparatory Academy.
Measured in a straight line, Bagley Elementary School of Journalism and Technology is about 0.7 miles from Palmer Park Preparatory Academy. Within five miles are at least 8 other public schools. Of 4 schools in the immediate area with test results, Palmer Park Preparatory Academy ranks 3rd on average proficiency.
For locale, NCES codes Palmer Park Preparatory Academy as City: Large.
The school shrank from 463 students in 2020-21 to 405 in 2024-25.
On allk12, people connected to Palmer Park Preparatory Academy can post about pickup and drop-off, after-school programs, and teacher feedback. Members of the school community can share what they know.
Wayne County at a glance
View full county profilePopulation
1,772,259
Census ACS
Median income
$60,539
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
28%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
16%
Below federal line
Schools in county
573
259,786 students
Quick facts
Related schools
Other schools in Detroit Public Schools Community District
- Cass Technical High SchoolHigh · 2,493 students
- Western International High SchoolHigh · 1,959 students
- Renaissance High SchoolHigh · 1,197 students
- Earhart ElementaryMiddle SchoolElementary · 1,002 students
- Martin Luther King Jr Senior High SchoolHigh · 976 students
- Munger ElementaryMiddle SchoolElementary · 954 students
Other schools in DETROIT
- Cass Technical High SchoolHigh · 2,493 students
- Western International High SchoolHigh · 1,959 students
- Renaissance High SchoolHigh · 1,197 students
- Oakland International Academy 28Middle · 1,034 students
- Earhart ElementaryMiddle SchoolElementary · 1,002 students
- Martin Luther King Jr Senior High SchoolHigh · 976 students
Nearby schools
- Bagley Elementary School of Journalism and Technology0.7 mi · 374
- Pasteur Elementary School0.8 mi · 310
- The School at Marygrove1.2 mi · 606
- Mumford High School1.4 mi · 850
- Mary McLeod Bethune ElementaryMiddle School1.4 mi · 692
- Bates Academy1.4 mi · 773
Frequently asked questions
About Palmer Park Preparatory AcademyHow many students attend Palmer Park Preparatory Academy?
Palmer Park Preparatory Academy enrolls approximately 405 students in grades PK-08.
Is Palmer Park Preparatory Academy an elementary, middle, or high school?
Palmer Park Preparatory Academy is an elementary school covering grades PK-08.
How many teachers does Palmer Park Preparatory Academy have?
Palmer Park Preparatory Academy employs 25 FTE teachers, for a student-to-teacher ratio of 16.2:1.
What is the student diversity at Palmer Park Preparatory Academy?
Student demographics at Palmer Park Preparatory Academy are roughly 12% White, 1% Hispanic, 84% Black, 0% Asian, 2% Two or more.
Is Palmer Park Preparatory Academy public or private?
Palmer Park Preparatory Academy is a public K-12 school, overseen by Detroit Public Schools Community District.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.