The top reported proficiency rate is 32% in Science. The lowest is 18% in Social studies.
Original Research by School Decision on Homestead Hills Elementary School
Homestead Hills Elementary School sits in Benzonia, a small village at the southeast end of Crystal Lake in Benzie County. It is a regular public school serving pre-kindergarten through fifth grade as part of Benzie County Central Schools. The school draws from a community that describes itself as quaint and walkable, with a compact village center along US-31 where the public library, a historic community house, Academy Park with its playground and seasonal ice rink, the post office, and local shops and restaurants all sit within a short stroll of each other. The village began as an educational Christian colony modeled on Oberlin, Ohio, and that heritage is still visible in its civic anchors. The local economy runs on health care and social assistance, retail trade, and accommodation and food service, a mix that reflects Benzonia's dual identity as a residential community and a near-lake destination.
The school is small for its grade band, with enrollment distributed fairly evenly across kindergarten through fifth grade. A substantial share of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, and the student body is predominantly white, with smaller Hispanic and multiracial populations and a very small number of American Indian or Alaska Native students. Data on English learners and students with individualized education programs was not available, so those population sizes are unknown here.
On Michigan's M-STEP assessments in the most recent school year, Homestead Hills showed a pattern worth understanding clearly. English language arts results were uneven across grades, with third grade starting at a modest level, fourth grade dipping, and fifth grade rising to the school's strongest reading result. Math told a harder story, with third grade at the same modest level as ELA but fourth and fifth grades falling well below that. Fifth-grade science landed in a middling range, while fifth-grade social studies was the weakest result across all tested subjects and grades. Taken together, the school's overall proficiency across tested subjects and grades places it in the bottom quartile relative to districts in Benzie County, a comparison set that includes only two districts. A parent considering this school may want to look into how the district is supporting math instruction in the upper elementary grades and what intervention resources are available for students working below grade level.
No multi-year trend data was available, so it is not possible to say from these figures whether performance is improving, declining, or holding steady. Participation rates were also missing from the data, though the tested counts at each grade level are small enough that a few students moving in or out of proficiency can shift results noticeably from year to year.
Because Homestead Hills is an elementary school, there is no graduation rate to report, and that metric does not apply to this grade band. No chronic absenteeism data was available. Information on discipline, course access, staffing, and attendance was not provided, so those aspects of the school environment cannot be characterized here. The school's Title I status was also not reported.
The housing market around the school adds another layer for families to weigh. Home values in the school's zip code sit above the state benchmark but below the national one, and the estimated monthly mortgage cost at current rates exceeds what a typical renter pays by a modest margin. Rent data for the immediate area was not available. The broader economic context shows a national unemployment rate holding steady and median household income trending upward over the past several years, though Benzonia's own median income sits below that national figure. The village has seen modest population growth and adopted a Vision Master Plan to guide future development, but no major new housing projects were identified in available sources.
At the district level, Benzie County Central Schools shows evidence of capital investment, with publicly reported outlay suggesting construction activity, but specific parent-relevant policy changes, referendum outcomes, or curriculum initiatives could not be confirmed from available sources. A parent wanting a fuller picture of the district's direction would need to contact the district office directly.
What Homestead Hills offers is a small, community-rooted elementary school in a walkable lakeside village with affordable housing relative to the national market. Its academic results are currently soft, especially in upper-elementary math, and its standing among Benzie County districts is at the low end of a small comparison set. Families for whom a tight-knit, small-classroom environment in a quiet near-lake community matters may find the setting appealing, and the school's fifth-grade reading and science results suggest pockets of strength. The math results across fourth and fifth grade, though, are the area most worth pressing on in a conversation with the school.
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