Coleman Elementary School, Coleman MI

Original Research by School Decision on Coleman Elementary School

Coleman Elementary School sits in a small, rural Midland County community where plastics manufacturing anchors the local economy and the Pere Marquette Rail Trail threads through town. The school serves kindergarten through sixth grade as part of Coleman Community Schools, a district that has recently directed grant funding toward Drama, Athletics, Culinary, and Agriscience programs. The district also operates a school-based health clinic that has seen steady use since early 2024, giving families on-site healthcare access for their children.

The student body is small for its grade band, and a substantial share of students qualify for free or reduced-price meals. The enrollment is overwhelmingly white, with a small Hispanic presence and very few students from other racial or ethnic backgrounds. Information on English learners and special education enrollment was not available in the data provided, so those proportions cannot be characterized here. Coleman itself is a stable, working community where median household income runs below state averages and the cost of living is low. Two plastics manufacturers, Robinson Industries and Huhtamaki, provide much of the local employment, and the town has added a library, senior housing, and streetscape improvements over recent years without seeing real population growth.

On state assessments, Coleman Elementary's results paint a mixed picture that leans toward the lower end. Third-grade math stood out as the strongest result, with a moderate share of students reaching proficiency. From there, math proficiency dipped in fourth grade and stayed in a similar range through fifth and sixth. English language arts followed a different pattern, with fourth grade showing the highest proficiency rate and sixth grade the lowest. Fifth-grade science landed in a middling range, while fifth-grade social studies was the weakest result by a wide margin, with only a small fraction of students demonstrating proficiency. Across all tested subjects and grades, the school's overall proficiency index places it in the bottom quartile relative to districts in Midland County. A parent weighing this school may want to ask administrators how they are responding to these results and what interventions are in place, particularly in the upper elementary grades where proficiency tends to taper.

Several data points that would help round out the picture are absent. No multi-year trend data was available, so it is unclear whether these proficiency levels represent a decline, an improvement, or a steady state. Discipline, staffing, attendance, and chronic absenteeism figures were not reported. Title I status was not specified. Course access and program details beyond what the district brief mentions were not provided. The school does not have a graduation rate, which is expected because it serves only elementary grades.

Housing in the Coleman zip code is affordable compared with both state and national benchmarks, with typical home values well below the statewide figure and a price-to-income ratio that sits below the national level. Mortgage costs are manageable relative to local incomes, and the rental market, while limited, appears affordable as well. For families drawn to a small-town setting with a short commute to Midland or Clare, stable housing costs, and a close-knit community, the location has clear appeal. The academic question is harder to set aside. Coleman Elementary is providing a pathway through the elementary years in a district investing in enrichment and student health, but its state test results are below most of its Midland County peers. Families considering this school should weigh the community context and program investments against the academic data and ask direct questions about how the school supports students who are not yet meeting proficiency benchmarks.

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Academic performance

How students perform on state tests, by grade, set against the district.

Math

Grade 339%

School 39% · District 39%

▼ 3 pts below state median · ▼ 13 pts below county median

Grade 419%

School 19% · District 19%

▼ 19 pts below state median · ▼ 35 pts below county median

Grade 524%

School 24% · District 24%

▼ 8 pts below state median · ▼ 21 pts below county median

Grade 626%

School 26% · District 26%

▼ 3 pts below state median

English language arts

Grade 320%

School 20% · District 20%

▼ 18 pts below state median · ▼ 28 pts below county median

Grade 432%

School 32% · District 32%

▼ 9 pts below state median · ▼ 22 pts below county median

Grade 524%

School 24% · District 24%

▼ 19 pts below state median · ▼ 35 pts below county median

Grade 616%

School 16% · District 16%

▼ 17 pts below state median

Science

Grade 529%

School 29% · District 29%

▼ 10 pts below state median · ▼ 23 pts below county median

Social studies

Grade 59%

School 9% · District 9%

▼ 19 pts below state median · ▼ 27 pts below county median

This schoolColeman Community Schools, same grade

Graduation rate (ACGR) reflects the federally published Adjusted Cohort Graduation Rate for the most recent year available. We refresh this data annually at the close of each academic year in June. The federal source publishes a banded rate (for example, "90-94%") instead of an exact number for cohorts small enough to risk identifying individual students. The state distribution chart, where shown, plots every school in the state with a published rate or band; schools whose rate is federally suppressed are excluded. Where the federal source publishes a band rather than an exact rate, the school is placed within its band using a stable, ID-derived offset, so its position is consistent across visits.

Proficiency by household income

English language arts

Grade 3Lower-income18%Higher-income22%4 pp gap

Grade 4Lower-income23%Higher-income50%27 pp gap

Grade 5Lower-income18%Higher-income33%15 pp gap

Grade 6Lower-income15%Higher-income19%4 pp gap

Mathematics

Grade 3Lower-income32%Higher-income50%18 pp gap

Grade 4Lower-income13%Higher-income31%18 pp gap

Grade 5Lower-income18%Higher-income33%15 pp gap

Grade 6Lower-income22%Higher-income31%9 pp gap