Silver Lake Elementary School

Silver Lake Elementary School is a cozy elementary school in TRAVERSE CITY, Michigan, run under Traverse City Area Public Schools. The school hosts 286 students in grades pre-K through 5. That puts it 22% smaller than the typical public school in Michigan, which averages around 369 students.

Traverse City Area Public Schools comprises 16 schools with combined enrollment of 8,546 students; Silver Lake Elementary School is among them.

Demographically, Silver Lake Elementary School reports that 93% of students identify as White, making the school strongly White-majority; the rest is composed of 3% Hispanic, 2% Native American. Compared to Grand Traverse County overall, the school's racial mix sits in roughly the same range.

In terms of school funding signals, On paper, Silver Lake Elementary School has 18 full-time-equivalent teachers, translating to a class-load average of around 16.0:1. The state averages about 15.8:1, putting this campus right in line with peers. An estimated 38% of students are eligible for free or reduced-price lunch, a number frequently used as a low-income enrollment indicator.

On a residual basis (actual vs predicted given the student mix), Silver Lake Elementary School tracks the demographic baseline. The model predicts 49.5% given the school's FRL share; actual proficiency is 43.2%.

Zooming out to the county, community-level numbers for Grand Traverse County indicate median household earnings sit near $81,647, 41% of adults hold a bachelor's degree or higher, and roughly 6% of residents live below the federal poverty line. Across Grand Traverse County's 32 public schools (combined enrollment of about 12,069 students), Silver Lake Elementary School is one campus in the mix.

Blair Elementary School is the nearest neighboring public school, about 2.5 miles from this campus. Within five miles, there are 8 other public schools. Ranking that nearby cluster on reported proficiency puts Silver Lake Elementary School at 4th of 6; the average score across the group is 47.1%.

The campus sits in a commuter-belt setting.

Five-year trend. Looking back 7 years, enrollment at Silver Lake Elementary School has edged down 15%, going from 336 students in 2018 to 286 in 2025. Class-load math has fell: from 20.9:1 in 2018 to 16.0:1 in 2025.

Inside the community feed, recent activity here tends to focus on school events, parent volunteer needs, and clubs. Parents, students, alumni, and staff are welcome to weigh in.