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If you could change one rule at Starr Elementary School, what would it be?
Community prompt from u/allk12. Replies below.
Enrollment
410
Elementary
DISTRICT 379 · STATE 369
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·PLAINWELL COMMUNITY SCHOOLS·NCES 262853006403
Starr Elementary School
601 SCHOOL DR, PLAINWELL, MI 49080 · (269) 685-5835 · Allegan County
GRADES PK–05ELEMENTARY31-TOWNTITLE IREGULAR SCHOOL410 STUDENTS
Student : Teacher
15.1:1
27 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 16.8:1 · STATE 15.8:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
54%
221 students
DISTRICT 38% · 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 | 77 | 19% |
| Grade 1 | 60 | 15% |
| Grade 2 | 55 | 13% |
| Grade 3 | 70 | 17% |
| Grade 4 | 66 | 16% |
| Grade 5 | 82 | 20% |
This year's kindergarten class (77) is 6% smaller than its 5th grade class (82).
Student demographics
29%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 24% · 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
Starr Elementary School→Plainwell Middle School
Based on grade levels within Plainwell Community Schools. Attendance zones can vary; confirm enrollment with the district.
Test scores
M-STEP 2024-25 . % Advanced + ProficientEnglish Language Arts
34.1%
MI avg 47.7%
Math
27.5%
MI avg 44.8%
What this means: On the M-STEP, Michigan's statewide test, about 34 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 28 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
31.4%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
42.4%
based on MI schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
-11.1pp
below demographic expectation
What this means: About 31% of students here test proficient in math and reading, compared with the roughly 42% 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 Starr Elementary School
Starr Elementary School's state test result (31.4% proficient) is higher than 1 of the 5 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| Starr Elementary School this school | 410 | 53.9% | 31.4% |
| Elva Lynch Elementary School LAPEER | 390 | 54.4% | 32.1% |
| Davisburg Elementary School DAVISBURG | 391 | 55.0% | 47.0% |
| McAlearSawden Elem School BAY CITY | 378 | 54.0% | 34.6% |
| Patterson Elementary School HOLLY | 408 | 56.9% | 39.7% |
| Lincoln Elementary School HUDSON | 438 | 56.4% | 26.1% |
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 Starr Elementary School ranks
Among elementary schools| Measure | This school | In Michigan | In Allegan County |
|---|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 31.4% | #918 of 1,085 | #19 of 20 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 27.5% | #954 of 1,072 | #19 of 20 |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 34.1% | #895 of 1,139 | #18 of 20 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 410 | #607 of 1,630 | #5 of 26 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 15.1:1 | #497 of 1,424 | #9 of 21 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 28.6% | #856 of 1,424 | #10 of 21 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 53.9% | #825 of 1,563 | #8 of 23 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked steepest decline first | -20.2% | #228 of 979 | #6 of 16 |
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
410
-42 (-9%) vs 2020
-33% since 1990-91, when it was 610
Student : Teacher
15.1:1
was 16.1:1
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 | 410 | 27.2 | 15.1:1 | 54% (221) |
| 2023-24 | 451 | 28.4 | 15.9:1 | 63% (283) |
| 2022-23 | 460 | 30 | 15.3:1 | 62% (285) |
| 2020-21 | 452 | 28 | 16.1:1 | 56% (251) |
| 2017-18 | 514 | 30 | 17.1:1 | 53% (270) |
| 2015-16 | 503 | 30 | 16.8:1 | 51% (257) |
| 2010-11 | 523 | 28 | 18.7:1 | 49% (255) |
| 2000-01 | 560 | 33 | 17.0:1 | 23% (130) |
| 1990-91 | 610 | N/A | N/A | N/A |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for Starr Elementary School.
Since 2017-18: students down 20% (514 to 410); teachers down 9% (30 to 27.2).
About Starr Elementary School
Starr Elementary School sits in PLAINWELL, Michigan, and is classified as an elementary school. It enrolled 410 students in pre-K through 5 for the 2024-25 school year.
The district, Plainwell Community Schools, has 2,620 students enrolled across 6 schools.
White students make up 84% of enrollment at Starr Elementary School. Next come 9% Hispanic and 5% multiracial. The White share in Allegan County as a whole is similar, at about 87%. The school's diversity index is 29%, meaning two students picked at random have a 29% chance of belonging to different racial or ethnic groups.
The count of teachers at Starr Elementary School is 27.2 full-time equivalents, for a ratio of 15.1:1. That is 0.8 students per teacher below the 15.8:1 average for elementary schools in Michigan. Around 54% of the school's students qualify for free or reduced-price meals. That is higher than the 43% average for public schools in Allegan County.
The school's average proficiency rate on state tests is 31.4%. For its free or reduced-price lunch share, the predicted value is 42.4%.
Among Allegan County residents, the median household income is $83,283, 27% of adults hold a bachelor's degree or higher, and about 5% of residents live below the federal poverty line. Starr Elementary School is one of 55 public schools in the county.
Of nearby public schools, Plainwell High School is the closest, at about 0.1 miles. Starr Elementary School has at least 8 other public schools within five miles. Among 6 nearby schools that report test results, Starr Elementary School ranks 6th on proficiency.
Locale: Town: Fringe. In NCES terms, the school is in a town close to an urbanized area.
Over 4 years, Starr Elementary School's enrollment dropped 9%, to 410. The student-to-teacher ratio went down from 16.1:1 to 15.1:1.
Threads on this page can be about sports schedules, lunch menus, and spirit week. Alumni can share how the school prepared them.
Allegan County at a glance
View full county profilePopulation
121,456
Census ACS
Median income
$83,283
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
27%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
5%
Below federal line
Schools in county
55
17,174 students
Quick facts
Related schools
Other schools in Plainwell Community Schools
- Plainwell High SchoolHigh · 828 students
- Plainwell Middle SchoolMiddle · 569 students
- Gilkey Elementary SchoolElementary · 439 students
- Cooper Elementary SchoolElementary · 288 students
- Renaissance High SchoolHigh · 86 students
Other schools in PLAINWELL
- Plainwell High SchoolHigh · 828 students
- Plainwell Middle SchoolMiddle · 569 students
- Gilkey Elementary SchoolElementary · 439 students
- Renaissance High SchoolHigh · 86 students
Other Starr Elementary schools
5 other US public schools in 6 states are named Starr Elementary. Starr Elementary School is the 4th largest of the 6.
- Starr ElementaryStarr, SC · 525 students
- Starr Elementary SchoolOregon, OH · 472 students
- STARR ELEMENTARY SCHOOLGRAND ISLAND, NE · 453 students
- Starr ElementaryFresno, CA · 336 students
- Starr Elementary SchoolRichmond, IN · 284 students
Nearby schools
- Plainwell High School0.1 mi · 828
- Plainwell Middle School0.1 mi · 569
- Gilkey Elementary School0.7 mi · 439
- Renaissance High School1.3 mi · 86
- Dix Street Elementary School2.2 mi · 357
- Washington Street Elementary School3.1 mi · 448
Frequently asked questions
About Starr Elementary SchoolHow large is Starr Elementary School?
Starr Elementary School enrolls approximately 410 students in grades PK-05.
Is Starr Elementary School an elementary, middle, or high school?
Starr Elementary School is an elementary school covering grades PK-05.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Starr Elementary School?
The student-to-teacher ratio at Starr Elementary School is approximately 15.1:1 (27 FTE teachers).
What is the racial breakdown of students at Starr Elementary School?
At Starr Elementary School, the student body is approximately 84% White, 9% Hispanic, 2% Black, 0% Asian, 5% Two or more.
What district is Starr Elementary School in?
Starr Elementary School is part of Plainwell Community Schools.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.