The top reported proficiency rate is 64% in English language arts. The lowest is 37% in Social studies.
Original Research by School Decision on Herbison Woods Elementary School
Herbison Woods Elementary School sits in DeWitt, a small residential city just north of Lansing in Clinton County. It is a regular public school serving only fourth and fifth grades, a narrow band that makes it something of a transition campus within DeWitt Public Schools. The district spreads its schools across different locations rather than clustering them on a single campus, and Herbison Woods carries the name of the road it sits on, a pattern that reflects how the buildings are distributed through the community rather than anchored to a downtown core.
The school draws from a community that is largely a bedroom suburb. DeWitt grew into that role after a historic fire devastated its downtown business district, and residential development continued while commercial life contracted. Today the city is compact, car-dependent, and quiet, with a small historic downtown along the Looking Glass River. Most working residents commute toward Lansing or nearby institutions. Housing in the surrounding zip code sits near the national median in value, above the state benchmark, and the rental market is modest relative to local incomes. Property values have crept up only slightly year over year, and vacancy is tight, so families moving into the area should expect limited inventory and prices that reflect a desirable mid-Michigan suburb.
At Herbison Woods, the student body is predominantly white, with smaller Hispanic and multiracial populations and very few Black or Asian students. A small share of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, consistent with the broader community's income profile. The enrollment is sizable for a two-grade school, which gives it enough scale to feel like a real campus while still serving only upper-elementary children.
Academic results from the most recent M-STEP testing are a genuine strength. In English language arts, a clear majority of both fourth and fifth graders reached proficiency, with fifth grade performing notably well. Math results were solid in fourth grade, though fifth-grade math proficiency dipped to about half of tested students. Science proficiency among fifth graders was strong. Social studies was the one soft spot, with fewer than two-fifths of fifth graders reaching proficiency. The data flags a change in the social studies cut score, so a parent may want to look into this further with the school before drawing strong conclusions from that single result. Across all tested subjects and grades, the school's overall proficiency stands above the midpoint among districts in Clinton County, which is a favorable position in a set of eight county districts.
Some data gaps are structural rather than concerning. Because the school stops at fifth grade, there is no graduation rate to report. Participation rates for the state assessments were not available. IEP and English learner counts were missing from the demographic data, so the picture of special populations is incomplete. Chronic absenteeism and discipline data were not provided. None of these gaps reflect poorly on the school; they reflect what was and was not reported.
The district has invested in facilities. DeWitt Public Schools carried substantial construction and capital outlay spending in a recent fiscal year, supported by a debt retirement levy dedicated to facilities. That level of investment points to buildings and infrastructure that families experience directly, and it suggests the district is maintaining or upgrading its physical plant rather than deferring.
For a parent weighing Herbison Woods, the essential question is whether a two-grade upper-elementary model fits the child. The school offers strong core academic results, particularly in reading and science, with a peer group drawn from an affluent, stable commuter suburb. Fifth-grade math and social studies are areas to watch. The surrounding community is quiet, residential, and tight on housing, with slow growth and limited commercial energy inside the city even as the broader township develops more rapidly along the highway corridor. Families looking for a small, academically solid upper-elementary experience in a well-maintained suburban district will find that here.
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