The top reported proficiency rate is 83% in English language arts. The lowest is 75% in Math.
Original Research by School Decision on Wealthy School
Wealthy School sits on Lake Drive in Grand Rapids, within the East Grand Rapids Public Schools district. It is a regular public elementary serving kindergarten through fifth grade, with an enrollment that runs evenly across the six grade levels. The student body is predominantly white, with small shares of multiracial, Hispanic, Black, and Asian students. A very small fraction of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, which sets this school apart from most of Grand Rapids and reflects the relative affluence of its surrounding neighborhood.
Academically, the most recent M-STEP results place Wealthy School in the top quartile among districts in Kent County for overall proficiency across tested subjects and grades. Third-grade English language arts stands out as especially strong, with the large majority of tested students meeting proficiency. Fifth-grade ELA is similarly high. Math proficiency starts strong in third grade and declines somewhat in fourth and fifth grades, though a clear majority still reach proficiency at every tested level. Fifth-grade science and social studies results are both solid, with most students proficient in each. The participation rate for state testing was not reported, so we cannot speak to how fully the student body was represented in these results. No multi-year trend data was available, so there is no clear picture of whether performance is improving, holding, or slipping over time.
The school does not serve grades that take state graduation measures, so no graduation rate applies here. Chronic absenteeism, discipline, course access, staffing, and attendance data were not available in the materials we reviewed. Information on individualized education programs and English learner status was also missing. A parent weighing this school for a child who needs special education services or English language support may want to look into those offerings directly with the school and district.
Grand Rapids, Michigan's second-largest city, is the economic and cultural anchor of West Michigan. The city carries a furniture-manufacturing heritage and has diversified into healthcare, education, manufacturing, and technology. Publicly reported sources describe Corewell Health as the region's largest employer, with Meijer and Steelcase also anchoring the local economy. The Grand Rapids Medical Mile concentrates health-science institutions along a downtown riverfront corridor, and substantial investment continues to flow into that sector. The downtown core is walkable, with museums, Van Andel Arena, breweries, and the Grand River as civic anchors, while outer neighborhoods are more car-dependent. The city hosts ArtPrize annually, a large-scale public art competition that activates public spaces.
The housing market around the school reflects a desirable, established neighborhood. Typical home values in the school's zip code sit well above both the state and national benchmarks, and rents are moderately high. Homes in the broader Kent County market move at a moderate pace, with listing supply and demand roughly balanced. For a family considering buying in this attendance area, the cost of entry is higher than most of the region, and the housing context is part of what shapes the school's peer environment.
Wealthy School fits a family looking for a small, well-resourced elementary setting with strong academic results, a stable peer group, and an established residential neighborhood. The proficiency numbers are genuinely strong across subjects, and the school performs near the top of its county cohort. The tradeoff is a less economically and racially diverse student body than many Grand Rapids families will find elsewhere in the region. Information gaps on special populations, staffing, and attendance mean some questions about day-to-day school climate will need to come from direct conversations with the school rather than from public data.
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