Starr Elementary School

Starr Elementary School is one of the mid-sized elementary-level communitys in PLAINWELL, Michigan, operated by Plainwell Community Schools, with 410 students on its rolls from grades pre-K through 5.

Starr Elementary School is one of 6 schools operated by Plainwell Community Schools, a district that caters to 2,620 students overall.

Looking at the student body, Starr Elementary School shows that 84% of students identify as White, making the school strongly White-majority. The remainder reads as 9% Hispanic, 5% multiracial. That composition is broadly in line with Allegan County as a whole.

Looking at school resources, Staff filings list 27 full-time-equivalent teachers, which works out to roughly 15.1:1 students per teacher. That figure is tighter than the state norm's 15.8:1 average. Roughly 54% of students at Starr Elementary School qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, which schools and policymakers use as a rough income-mix signal. That share is above Allegan County's rate of about 43%.

On a residual basis (actual vs predicted given the student mix), Starr Elementary School sits in the middle band of the BeatsExpectations distribution. Schools with this campus's student mix typically land near 42.4%; this one delivers 31.4%.

In the broader community, the surrounding county (Allegan County) logs that median household earnings sit near $83,283, about 27% of the adult population holds a bachelor's degree or above, and the poverty rate sits near 5%. In all, Allegan County runs 55 public schools (combined enrollment of about 17,174 students), of which Starr Elementary School is one.

The closest other public school is Plainwell High School, roughly 0.1 miles away. Within five miles, there are 8 other public schools. Ranking that nearby cluster on reported proficiency puts Starr Elementary School at 6th of 6; the average score across the group is 41.9%.

Geographically, the school is in a town-center area.

Looking at the recent track record. Starr Elementary School's enrollment has shrank 20% since 2018, when it stood at 514 (now 410). Class-load math has pulled in: from 17.1:1 in 2018 to 15.1:1 in 2025.

On the community side, members of the Starr Elementary School community share and discuss fundraisers, lost-and-found posts, and report-card season. Contributors range from current parents to recent graduates and teachers.