1
What tradition at Shepherd Middle School should never be changed?
Community prompt from u/allk12. Replies below.
Enrollment
390
Middle
DISTRICT 349 · STATE 502
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·SHEPHERD PUBLIC SCHOOLS·NCES 263138007436
Shepherd Middle School
350 S CHIPPEWA ST, SHEPHERD, MI 48883 · (989) 828-6003 · Isabella County
GRADES 06–08MIDDLE42-RURALTITLE IREGULAR SCHOOL390 STUDENTS
Student : Teacher
17.3:1
23 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 18.0:1 · STATE 17.5:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
49%
191 students
DISTRICT 54% · STATE 55%
Community
1
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 6 | 142 | 36% |
| Grade 7 | 118 | 30% |
| Grade 8 | 130 | 33% |
Student demographics
28%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 25% · 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
School pathway
Students here typically continue to
Shepherd Middle School→Shepherd High School
Based on grade levels within Shepherd Public Schools. Attendance zones can vary; confirm enrollment with the district.
Test scores
M-STEP 2024-25 . % Advanced + ProficientEnglish Language Arts
37.4%
MI avg 47.7%
Math
37.9%
MI avg 44.8%
What this means: On the M-STEP, Michigan's statewide test, about 37 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 38 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
43.2%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
44.6%
based on MI schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
-1.4pp
below demographic expectation
What this means: About 43% of students here test proficient in math and reading, compared with the roughly 45% 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 Shepherd Middle School
Shepherd Middle School's state test result (43.2% proficient) is higher than 5 of the 5 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| Shepherd Middle School this school | 390 | 49.0% | 43.2% |
| Gladwin Junior High School GLADWIN | 359 | 47.4% | 33.1% |
| ReethsPuffer Intermediate Sch MUSKEGON | 479 | 50.5% | 26.4% |
| Tawas Area Middle School TAWAS CITY | 340 | 46.2% | 42.8% |
| Grayling Middle School GRAYLING | 450 | 49.3% | 35.0% |
| Thomas Simpson Middle School FLAT ROCK | 417 | 44.8% | 26.6% |
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 Shepherd Middle School ranks
Among middle schools| Measure | This school | In Michigan |
|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 43.2% | #181 of 397 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 37.9% | #167 of 380 |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 37.4% | #249 of 377 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 390 | #316 of 491 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 17.3:1 | #198 of 436 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 28.2% | #263 of 437 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 49.0% | #217 of 477 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked steepest decline first | -10.8% | #205 of 339 |
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
390
-12 (-3%) vs 2020
-12% since 1990-91, when it was 443
Student : Teacher
17.3:1
was 16.8:1
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 | 390 | 22.6 | 17.3:1 | 49% (191) |
| 2023-24 | 387 | 21.4 | 18.1:1 | 55% (214) |
| 2022-23 | 417 | 23.4 | 17.9:1 | 53% (219) |
| 2020-21 | 402 | 24 | 16.8:1 | 46% (185) |
| 2017-18 | 437 | 24.7 | 17.7:1 | 49% (212) |
| 2015-16 | 406 | 23 | 17.6:1 | 46% (188) |
| 2010-11 | 433 | 20 | 21.6:1 | 40% (172) |
| 2000-01 | 440 | 23 | 19.1:1 | 0% (0) |
| 1990-91 | 443 | N/A | N/A | N/A |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for Shepherd Middle School.
Since 2017-18: students down 11% (437 to 390); teachers down 8% (24.7 to 22.6).
About Shepherd Middle School
Shepherd Middle School is a public middle-grades school in SHEPHERD, Michigan. It serves 390 students in grades 6 through 8. For comparison, middle schools in Michigan average about 502 students.
Shepherd Middle School is a school in Shepherd Public Schools. The district has 5 schools and 1,746 students.
Most students at Shepherd Middle School are White: 84% of enrollment. Other students are 6% Hispanic, 5% Native American, and 3% Black. For comparison, Isabella County is about 85% White. By the diversity index, Shepherd Middle School comes in at 28%.
Shepherd Middle School's 22.6 full-time-equivalent teachers put its ratio at 17.3:1. Middle schools in Michigan average about 17.5:1, a similar figure. The school's rate of free or reduced-price lunch eligibility is 49%. That is close to the 47% average for public schools in Isabella County.
The allk12 BeatsExpectations score for Shepherd Middle School is -1.4 points: 43.2% actual, 44.6% predicted.
According to the American Community Survey, in Isabella County, median household income is about $55,237, 31% of adults hold a bachelor's degree or higher, and about 14% of residents live below the federal poverty line. A total of 20 public schools operate in Isabella County, serving about 6,493 students.
Shepherd Elementary School is the nearest neighboring public school, about 0.1 miles away. A five-mile radius around the school includes 2 other public schools.
NCES assigns Shepherd Middle School the locale Rural: Distant, meaning in rural territory some distance from an urban area.
Shepherd Middle School saw enrollment fall 3% between 2020-21 and 2024-25.
Community posts for Shepherd Middle School can cover science fairs, picture day, and bus routes. Questions from prospective families are welcome too.
Isabella County at a glance
View full county profilePopulation
64,565
Census ACS
Median income
$55,237
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
31%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
14%
Below federal line
Schools in county
20
6,493 students
Quick facts
Related schools
Other schools in Shepherd Public Schools
- Shepherd Elementary SchoolElementary · 544 students
- Shepherd High SchoolHigh · 519 students
- Winn Elementary SchoolElementary · 224 students
- Odyssey MiddleHigh SchoolHigh · 69 students
Other schools in SHEPHERD
- Shepherd Elementary SchoolElementary · 544 students
- Shepherd High SchoolHigh · 519 students
- Winn Elementary SchoolElementary · 224 students
- Flextech High School ShepherdHigh · 79 students
Other Shepherd Middle schools
3 other US public schools in 4 states are named Shepherd Middle. Shepherd Middle School is the 2nd largest of the 4.
- Shepherd Middle SchoolSHEPHERD, TX · 448 students
- Shepherd Middle SchoolOttawa, IL · 353 students
- Shepherd Middle SchoolShepherd, MT · 180 students
Nearby schools
- Shepherd Elementary School0.1 mi · 544
- Shepherd High School0.1 mi · 519
- Odyssey MiddleHigh School5.2 mi · 69
- Oasis5.7 mi · 138
- Isabella Day Treatment5.7 mi · 6
- Mt Pleasant Senior High School6.2 mi · 1,066
Frequently asked questions
About Shepherd Middle SchoolHow large is Shepherd Middle School?
Shepherd Middle School enrolls approximately 390 students in grades 06-08.
What grades does Shepherd Middle School serve?
Shepherd Middle School serves grades 06-08.
How many teachers does Shepherd Middle School have?
Shepherd Middle School employs 23 FTE teachers, for a student-to-teacher ratio of 17.3:1.
What is the student diversity at Shepherd Middle School?
Student demographics at Shepherd Middle School are roughly 84% White, 6% Hispanic, 3% Black, 0% Asian, 1% Two or more.
Is Shepherd Middle School public or private?
Shepherd Middle School is a public K-12 school, overseen by Shepherd Public Schools.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.