The reported proficiency rate for English language arts is 9%.
Original Research by School Decision on Potter School
Potter School is a regular public elementary school in Flint, serving pre-kindergarten through sixth grade. It operates within the Flint School District of the City of, the city's traditional public district. The school sits on the north side of Flint along Averill Avenue, in a residential part of a city that has seen decades of population loss and disinvestment following the collapse of its once-dominant General Motors manufacturing base.
The school is small for its grade band, with enrollment distributed fairly evenly across kindergarten through sixth grade. Its student body is predominantly Black, with a substantial White population and smaller shares of Hispanic students and students of two or more races. A very large majority of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, reflecting the economic conditions of the surrounding community. Data on individualized education programs and English learner status was not reported, so those populations cannot be characterized here.
State assessment results from the most recent year show proficiency rates that are very low across every tested subject and grade. In mathematics, virtually no students reached proficiency in grades three through six, with the reported rates falling in the lowest bands the state tracks. English language arts results were similarly low, with only a small handful of students meeting proficiency benchmarks in each tested grade. Science and social studies, both assessed in fifth grade, landed in the same lowest range. Average scale scores were reported but offer no brighter picture. When compared with other districts across Genesee County, Potter's overall proficiency places it in the bottom quartile. A parent evaluating this school may want to ask the administration directly about what academic supports and interventions are in place, and what the improvement trajectory looks like over time, since multi-year trend data was not available to assess here.
Because Potter serves only elementary and middle grades, it has no graduation rate, and that is expected for a school with this grade span. No data on chronic absenteeism was reported either. Course access, staffing levels, and discipline data were all absent from the available sources, so questions about teacher experience, class sizes, or program offerings would be best directed to the school itself. The school is not a charter or magnet school, and its Title I status was not reported, though given the free-or-reduced-price lunch rate, federal poverty-based funding is very likely part of its budget.
Flint itself is a mid-sized post-industrial city spread across roughly thirty-four square miles. Walkability is limited outside the downtown core along Saginaw Street, where cultural venues like the Capitol Theatre and the Sloan Museum cluster near the University of Michigan-Flint campus. Most residential neighborhoods, including the area around Potter, are auto-dependent. The city has been shaped by its automotive heritage, and publicly reported sources note that annual events like Back to the Bricks and the Flint Jazz Festival draw on that legacy. Flint's trajectory has been one of long-term population decline rather than growth, with the city nearly halving in size over several decades. Since the lead water crisis, publicly reported sources indicate the city has secured a new water source and replaced lead service lines, though large-scale new housing construction has not been evidenced.
For families considering the area, housing is very affordable relative to both state and national benchmarks. Home values in the school's zip code are well below the state median, and rents are modest. Across Genesee County more broadly, the housing market shows rising listing prices and steady demand, with homes selling at a moderate pace. A family looking to buy near Potter would find some of the most accessible price points in the region.
Potter School is a small, community-rooted elementary school in a city working through a long recovery. Its academic results are a clear area of concern, and families considering it should engage directly with school leadership about instructional priorities, supports, and plans for improvement. The surrounding neighborhood offers affordability but limited walkability and amenities. Whether it fits a given family depends heavily on what the school can communicate about its current direction and what a parent finds in conversation with staff.
See more original research from School Decision →