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Best kept secret at Thurston Elementary School?
Community prompt from u/allk12. Replies below.
Enrollment
506
Elementary
DISTRICT 376 · STATE 369
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·ANN ARBOR PUBLIC SCHOOLS·NCES 260282004027
Thurston Elementary School
2300 PRAIRIE ST, ANN ARBOR, MI 48105 · (734) 994-1970 · Washtenaw County
GRADES KG–05ELEMENTARY12-CITYREGULAR SCHOOL506 STUDENTS
Student : Teacher
15.7:1
32 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 14.5:1 · STATE 15.8:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
20%
102 students
DISTRICT 28% · 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 | 89 | 18% |
| Grade 1 | 80 | 16% |
| Grade 2 | 90 | 18% |
| Grade 3 | 97 | 19% |
| Grade 4 | 72 | 14% |
| Grade 5 | 78 | 15% |
This year's kindergarten class (89) is 14% larger than its 5th grade class (78).
Student demographics
69%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 69% · 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
Test scores
M-STEP 2024-25 . % Advanced + ProficientEnglish Language Arts
65.6%
MI avg 47.7%
Math
65.7%
MI avg 44.8%
What this means: On the M-STEP, Michigan's statewide test, about 66 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 66 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
59.9%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
57.4%
based on MI schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
+2.6pp
above demographic expectation
What this means: About 60% of students here test proficient in math and reading, compared with the roughly 57% 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 Thurston Elementary School
Thurston Elementary School's state test result (59.9% proficient) is higher than 4 of the 5 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| Thurston Elementary School this school | 506 | 20.2% | 59.9% |
| Orchard Hills Elementary School NOVI | 453 | 18.5% | 65.5% |
| Troy Union Elementary School TROY | 395 | 22.8% | 51.4% |
| Hickory Woods Elementary School NOVI | 499 | 27.9% | 57.8% |
| Hillside Elementary School FARMINGTON HILLS | 682 | 16.6% | 47.0% |
| Ann L Dolsen Elementary School NEW HUDSON | 427 | 12.2% | 53.1% |
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 Thurston Elementary School ranks
Among elementary schools| Measure | This school | In Michigan | In Washtenaw County |
|---|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 59.9% | #213 of 1,085 | #18 of 39 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 65.7% | #144 of 1,072 | #14 of 39 |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 65.6% | #150 of 1,139 | #12 of 39 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 506 | #266 of 1,630 | #9 of 53 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 15.7:1 | #649 of 1,424 | #29 of 47 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 69.4% | #86 of 1,424 | #10 of 47 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 20.2% | #1,386 of 1,563 | #32 of 50 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked fastest growth first | +2.6% | #353 of 440 | #9 of 15 |
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
506
+31 (+7%) vs 2020
+51% since 1990-91, when it was 335
Student : Teacher
15.7:1
was 14.0:1
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 | 506 | 32.2 | 15.7:1 | 20% (102) |
| 2023-24 | 526 | 40.4 | 13.0:1 | 21% (113) |
| 2022-23 | 495 | 34.8 | 14.2:1 | 18% (88) |
| 2020-21 | 475 | 34 | 14.0:1 | 15% (70) |
| 2017-18 | 493 | 34.6 | 14.3:1 | 14% (68) |
| 2015-16 | 461 | 26 | 17.7:1 | 12% (57) |
| 2010-11 | 418 | 22 | 19.0:1 | 11% (48) |
| 2000-01 | 452 | 23 | 19.6:1 | 15% (66) |
| 1990-91 | 335 | N/A | N/A | N/A |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for Thurston Elementary School.
Since 2017-18: students up 3% (493 to 506); teachers down 7% (34.6 to 32.2).
About Thurston Elementary School
Thurston Elementary School is a medium-sized elementary school in Michigan, with an address in ANN ARBOR. Its 506 students are spread across kindergarten through 5. The school's enrollment is 37% bigger than the 369 average for elementary schools in Michigan.
Ann Arbor Public Schools serves 16,551 students across 32 schools.
By race and ethnicity, the largest group at Thurston Elementary School is White (45%). Other groups make up 28% Asian, 10% multiracial, 9% Black, and 8% Hispanic. Washtenaw County as a whole is about 69% White, so the school's share is lower. Thurston Elementary School has a diversity index of 69%, compared with 70% for all US public school students.
Teachers at the school number 32.2 full-time equivalents, and the ratio is 15.7:1. Across elementary schools in Michigan, the average ratio is about 15.8:1. Roughly 20% of the student body qualifies for free or reduced-price lunch. For comparison, public schools in Washtenaw County average 34%.
Thurston Elementary School sits between the top and bottom 10% of Michigan schools on BeatsExpectations, with an actual average proficiency rate on state tests of 59.9% and a predicted 57.4%.
Within Washtenaw County, median household income is about $89,180, a bachelor's degree or higher is held by about 59% of adults, and the poverty rate is about 7%. Federal data list 104 public schools in Washtenaw County, with a combined enrollment of about 42,861.
The school nearest to Thurston Elementary School is Clague Middle School, at a distance of about 0.3 miles. Counting only straight-line distance, at least 8 other public schools are within five miles. Of the 7 nearby schools with scores, including this one, Thurston Elementary School is 7th on average proficiency.
By NCES locale, the school is City: Mid-size, or inside a principal city with a population between 100,000 and 250,000.
Enrollment was 475 in 2020-21 and 506 in 2024-25, a increase of 31 students. Federal data show the ratio rising from 14.0:1 to 15.7:1.
Questions about sports schedules, lunch menus, and spirit week can be posted here. Questions from prospective families are welcome too.
Washtenaw County at a glance
View full county profilePopulation
369,822
Census ACS
Median income
$89,180
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
59%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
7%
Below federal line
Schools in county
104
42,861 students
Quick facts
Related schools
Other schools in Ann Arbor Public Schools
- Huron High SchoolHigh · 1,696 students
- Pioneer High SchoolHigh · 1,671 students
- Skyline High SchoolHigh · 1,237 students
- Slauson Middle SchoolMiddle · 729 students
- Clague Middle SchoolMiddle · 696 students
- Tappan Middle SchoolMiddle · 695 students
Other schools in ANN ARBOR
- Huron High SchoolHigh · 1,696 students
- Pioneer High SchoolHigh · 1,671 students
- Skyline High SchoolHigh · 1,237 students
- Washtenaw Technical Middle CollegeHigh · 821 students
- Slauson Middle SchoolMiddle · 729 students
- Clague Middle SchoolMiddle · 696 students
Other Thurston Elementary schools
One other US public school is named Thurston Elementary. Thurston Elementary School is the largest of the 2.
- Thurston Elementary SchoolSpringfield, OR · 348 students
Nearby schools
- Clague Middle School0.3 mi · 696
- Logan Elementary School0.6 mi · 349
- Martin Luther King Elem School1.7 mi · 511
- Huron High School1.7 mi · 1,696
- Ann Arbor STEAM at Northside School1.7 mi · 614
- Angell School2.6 mi · 294
Frequently asked questions
About Thurston Elementary SchoolHow many students attend Thurston Elementary School?
Thurston Elementary School enrolls approximately 506 students in grades KG-05.
What grades does Thurston Elementary School serve?
Thurston Elementary School serves grades KG-05.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Thurston Elementary School?
The student-to-teacher ratio at Thurston Elementary School is approximately 15.7:1 (32 FTE teachers).
What is the racial breakdown of students at Thurston Elementary School?
At Thurston Elementary School, the student body is approximately 45% White, 8% Hispanic, 9% Black, 28% Asian, 10% Two or more.
What district is Thurston Elementary School in?
Thurston Elementary School is part of Ann Arbor Public Schools.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.