Star Elementary School

Star Elementary School, a cozy elementary school in HASTINGS, Michigan, operated by Hastings Area School District, hosts 287 students, covering grades pre-K through 5. That puts it 22% leaner than the typical public school in Michigan, which averages around 369 students.

Hastings Area School District comprises 6 schools with combined enrollment of 2,481 students; Star Elementary School is among them.

On demographics, Star Elementary School shows that the student body is overwhelmingly White (91%); the rest comes out to 4% Hispanic, 4% multiracial. Compared to Barry County overall, the school's racial mix sits in roughly the same range.

On the resource side, Star Elementary School records 17 full-time-equivalent teachers, putting the student-to-teacher ratio at about 16.7:1. Statewide, the average ratio sits near 15.8:1, putting Star Elementary School higher than the state norm the norm. About 49% of enrolled students meet the income threshold for free or reduced-price lunch, which schools and policymakers use as a rough income-mix signal.

With demographic context factored in, Star Elementary School tracks the demographic baseline. The model predicts 44.7% given the school's FRL share; actual proficiency is 47.4%.

Zooming out to the county, Barry County reports that the typical household earns roughly $77,500 per year, roughly 25% of adults have completed at least a four-year degree, and roughly 6% of residents live below the federal poverty line. Across Barry County's 22 public schools (combined enrollment of about 8,041 students), Star Elementary School is one campus in the mix.

Southeastern Elementary School is the nearest neighboring public school, about 0.9 miles from this campus. Within five miles, there are 7 other public schools. Ranking that nearby cluster on reported proficiency puts Star Elementary School at 2nd of 5; the average score across the group is 46.2%.

Star Elementary School operates from a small-town location.

Five-year trend. Over the past 7-year window, the student count shrank 11%: 321 students in 2018 compared to 287 in 2025. Class-load math has narrowed: from 20.7:1 in 2018 to 16.7:1 in 2025.

Inside the community feed, members of the Star Elementary School community share and discuss fundraisers, lost-and-found posts, and report-card season. Anyone with firsthand experience at this school can post or comment.