Willow Hill Elementary School

Willow Hill Elementary School is one of the reasonably sized elementary-level communitys in TRAVERSE CITY, Michigan, run under Traverse City Area Public Schools, with 429 students on its rolls from grades pre-K through 5.

Willow Hill Elementary School is one of 16 schools operated by Traverse City Area Public Schools, a district that hosts 8,546 students overall.

For racial and ethnic makeup, Willow Hill Elementary School shows that nearly all students (95%) are White; the rest consists of 2% Hispanic. Compared to Grand Traverse County overall, the school's racial mix sits in roughly the same range.

Looking at school resources, The school reports having 23 full-time-equivalent teachers, for a student-teacher ratio near 18.3:1. The state averages around 15.8:1, so this campus is higher than the state norm typical. An estimated 14% of students are eligible for free or reduced-price lunch, often used as a Title I proxy. That share is below Grand Traverse County's rate of about 31%.

On a residual basis (actual vs predicted given the student mix), Willow Hill Elementary School performs roughly as the BeatsExpectations model predicts for a school with this FRL share. The predicted value is around 60.1%, the actual is 56.5%, a residual of -3.6 points.

Zooming out to the county, the surrounding county (Grand Traverse County) logs that median household income runs about $81,647, roughly 41% of adults have completed at least a four-year degree, and roughly 6% of residents live below the federal poverty line. Across Grand Traverse County's 32 public schools (combined enrollment of about 12,069 students), Willow Hill Elementary School is one campus in the mix.

Nearest neighbor: Central Grade School, around 1.2 miles off. Counting just inside five miles, 8 other public schools cluster around Willow Hill Elementary School. Among the 4 schools in that immediate cluster with test data (this one included), Willow Hill Elementary School ranks 2nd on composite proficiency, higher than the local average of 55.5%.

The school occupies a downtown site.

Trend over the last 7 years. Over the past 7-year window, the student count declined 8%: 465 students in 2018 compared to 429 in 2025. Over the same period, the White share expanded from 90% to 95%. The student-to-teacher ratio tightened from 20.4:1 in 2018 to 18.3:1 today.

On the community side, the page collects discussion, questions, and updates around classroom updates, athletics, and weather closures. Parents, students, alumni, and staff are welcome to weigh in.