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Schools›Michigan›BENTON HARBOR
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·DOWAGIAC UNION SCHOOL DISTRICT·NCES 261215004923

Sister Lakes Elementary School

68079 M 152, BENTON HARBOR, MI 49022 · (269) 782-4468 · Van Buren County
GRADES KG–05ELEMENTARY42-RURALTITLE IREGULAR SCHOOL166 STUDENTS
C
allk12 Grade
Scored higher than 34% of Michigan public elementary schools
  • CTest scores Share of students meeting the state standard in reading, math, and other tested subjects, 2023-24 and 2024-25.
  • B-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

Enrollment
166
Elementary
DISTRICT 217 · STATE 369
Student : Teacher
13.8:1
12 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 14.7:1 · STATE 15.8:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
67%
111 students
DISTRICT 71% · STATE 55%
Community
0
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

GradeStudentsShare
Kindergarten2012%
Grade 12817%
Grade 22314%
Grade 33219%
Grade 43119%
Grade 53219%

This year's kindergarten class (20) is 38% smaller than its 5th grade class (32).

Student demographics
56%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 58% · STATE 56% · US 70%
White
9457%
DISTRICT 60% · STATE 63% · US 43%
Hispanic
5533%
DISTRICT 20% · STATE 9% · US 30%
Black
11%
DISTRICT 7% · STATE 18% · US 15%
Two+
127%
DISTRICT 11% · STATE 5% · US 5%
Native American
21%
DISTRICT 2% · STATE 1% · US 1%
Pacific Islander
21%
DISTRICT 0% · STATE 0% · US 0%
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
Male
8652%
Female
8048%

School pathway

Students here typically continue to
Sister Lakes Elementary School→Dowagiac Middle School→Union High School
Based on grade levels within Dowagiac Union School District. Attendance zones can vary; confirm enrollment with the district.

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Test scores

M-STEP 2024-25 . % Advanced + Proficient
English Language Arts
40.7%
MI avg 47.7%
Math
36.0%
MI avg 44.8%

What this means: On the M-STEP, Michigan's statewide test, about 41 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 36 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 · methodology
Tier
AS EXPECTED
Performing as predicted given the school's student profile
Actual proficiency
36.9%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
36.7%
based on MI schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
+0.2pp
above demographic expectation

What this means: About 37% of students here test proficient in math and reading, compared with the roughly 37% 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 Sister Lakes Elementary School

SchoolStudentsLow-incomeProficient
Sister Lakes Elementary School this school16666.9%36.9%
Sheldon Woods Elementary School
WEST OLIVE
14568.3%N/A
Congress School
STURGIS
16270.4%N/A
Grant Primary Center
GRANT
18260.4%N/A
Prairie Elementary School
ADRIAN
18778.6%N/A
Suttons Bay Elementary Middle School
SUTTONS BAY
21468.2%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 Sister Lakes Elementary School ranks

Among elementary schools
MeasureThis schoolIn MichiganIn Van Buren County
State test proficiency
ranked highest first
36.9%#787 of 1,085#7 of 10
Math proficiency
ranked highest first
36.0%#777 of 1,072#7 of 10
Reading proficiency
ranked highest first
40.7%#754 of 1,139#7 of 11
Enrollment
ranked largest first
166#1,485 of 1,630#14 of 17
Free and reduced lunch
ranked highest share first
66.9%#560 of 1,563#8 of 15
Enrollment change since 2017-18
ranked steepest decline first
-18.2%#295 of 979#6 of 13
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 2024-25
Enrollment
166
-5 (-3%) vs 2020
-48% since 1990-91, when it was 321
Student : Teacher
13.8:1
was 15.6:1
Source: NCES Common Core of Data

Enrollment and staffing by year

School yearStudentsTeachers (FTE)Students per teacherFree and reduced lunch
2024-251661213.8:167% (111)
2023-241681214.0:174% (125)
2022-2318112.314.7:181% (146)
2020-211711115.6:185% (145)
2017-1820315.613.0:187% (177)
2015-161931612.1:182% (158)
2010-112031414.5:180% (162)
2000-013031816.8:148% (146)
1990-91321N/AN/AN/A
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for Sister Lakes Elementary School.

Since 2017-18: students down 18% (203 to 166); teachers down 23% (15.6 to 12).

About Sister Lakes Elementary School

Sister Lakes Elementary School is a small elementary school with an address in BENTON HARBOR, Michigan. The school enrolls 166 students in kindergarten through 5. Across elementary schools in Michigan, the average enrollment is about 369.

Sister Lakes Elementary School is run by Dowagiac Union School District, whose 7 schools enroll 1,815 students.

The student body at Sister Lakes Elementary School is 57% White. Beyond that, enrollment is 33% Hispanic and 7% multiracial. The White share of the county population is higher, at 80%. On a 0 to 100 scale, the school's diversity index is 56, compared with 70 nationally.

There are 12 full-time-equivalent teachers at Sister Lakes Elementary School, giving a ratio of 13.8:1. By comparison, the average for elementary schools in Michigan is 15.8:1. A total of 111 students, or 67%, are eligible for free or reduced-price lunch. That is higher than the 52% average for public schools in Van Buren County.

Among Michigan public elementary schools, Sister Lakes Elementary School outscored 34%, which works out to a C on the allk12 Grade.

The BeatsExpectations prediction for Sister Lakes Elementary School is 36.7%, and its average proficiency rate across its state test results is 36.9%.

In the surrounding county, Van Buren County, median household income comes to about $68,114, about 23% of adults have at least a bachelor's degree, and roughly 10% of residents are in poverty. The county has 45 public schools and about 14,850 students.

Of the public schools around it, Sister Lakes Elementary School is closest to Countryside Academy MiddleHigh School, about 7.0 miles away. The ten-mile area around Sister Lakes Elementary School holds at least 8 other public schools.

By NCES locale, the school is Rural: Distant, or in rural territory some distance from an urban area.

Over 4 years, enrollment decreased by 5 students, from 171 to 166. Federal data show the ratio falling from 15.6:1 to 13.8:1.

This page collects posts and questions about Sister Lakes Elementary School, such as open houses, carpools, and field trips. Current and former families are welcome to add their experience.

Van Buren County at a glance

View full county profile
Population
75,795
Census ACS
Median income
$68,114
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
23%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
10%
Below federal line
Schools in county
45
14,850 students

Quick facts

School name
Sister Lakes Elementary School
District
Dowagiac Union School District
Address
68079 M 152, BENTON HARBOR, MI 49022
Phone
(269) 782-4468
County
Van Buren County
Level
Elementary
Grade range
KG–05
Total enrollment
166
Teachers (FTE)
12
Student–teacher ratio
13.8:1
Free and reduced lunch
111 (67%)
Locale
42-Rural: Distant
NCES ID
261215004923
Charter school
No
Virtual school
No

Related schools

Other schools in Dowagiac Union School District
Other schools in BENTON HARBOR
Nearby schools

Frequently asked questions

About Sister Lakes Elementary School
How large is Sister Lakes Elementary School?
Sister Lakes Elementary School enrolls approximately 166 students in grades KG-05.
What age range does Sister Lakes Elementary School serve?
Sister Lakes Elementary School serves students from grade KG through grade 05.
How many teachers does Sister Lakes Elementary School have?
Sister Lakes Elementary School employs 12 FTE teachers, for a student-to-teacher ratio of 13.8:1.
What is the racial breakdown of students at Sister Lakes Elementary School?
At Sister Lakes Elementary School, the student body is approximately 57% White, 33% Hispanic, 1% Black, 7% Two or more.
Is Sister Lakes Elementary School public or private?
Sister Lakes Elementary School is a public K-12 school, overseen by Dowagiac Union School District.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.
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