The top reported proficiency rate is 81% in Math. The lowest is 39% in Science.
Original Research by School Decision on Ada Elementary School
Ada Elementary School sits in the unincorporated community of Ada, a residential township just east of Grand Rapids in Kent County. The township blends suburban subdivisions with rural stretches along the Grand and Thornapple Rivers, and Ada Village along M-21 provides a small historic center anchored by the Ada Covered Bridge. Publicly reported sources note that the township is the corporate home of Alticor and Amway, which dominates the local business base, while the broader community is primarily residential. The township has seen substantial population growth over the past two decades and adopted a council-manager government form, hiring its first Township Manager in 2020 to handle growing municipal complexity. Schools sit on separated campuses scattered through the township rather than clustered in the village core, and the area is car-dependent outside the limited walkable stretch near the village.
The school is part of Forest Hills Public Schools and serves pre-kindergarten through fourth grade. It is a regular public school, neither a charter nor a magnet. Enrollment is modest for its grade band. The student body is predominantly white, with smaller Asian, Hispanic, and multiracial populations, and very few Black students. A small share of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, well below what many public schools in the county see, which reflects the affluent character of the surrounding community. Data on individualized education programs and English learner status was not available, so those population sizes remain unknown.
On state assessments, Ada Elementary posts strong results. In the most recent school year, third and fourth graders showed high proficiency in both math and English language arts, with fourth-grade results particularly strong across both subjects. Third-grade ELA was the comparatively softer mark, though still solid. The school's overall proficiency across tested subjects and grades places it in the top quartile relative to districts in Kent County, which is a meaningful strength. Math performance was consistently high across both tested grades. One data point worth noting: a fourth-grade science proficiency result appears in the data, but it dates to an earlier assessment cycle and is not comparable to the current-year results. A parent evaluating science instruction may want to ask the school for more recent information, since the available figure is stale enough that drawing conclusions from it would be misleading.
Because Ada Elementary serves only early elementary grades, there is no graduation rate, and chronic absenteeism data was not reported for this school. Those gaps reflect the grade band rather than any shortcoming. Civil-rights data, discipline information, course access, and staffing figures were not available in the provided material, so the picture of school climate and support staffing remains incomplete. A family considering enrollment could reasonably ask the school directly about class sizes, specialist teachers, and support services.
The housing market around Ada is expensive relative to both Michigan and the nation. Home values in the school's zip code sit well above the state benchmark and above the national one, and rents are similarly steep. The estimated monthly mortgage on a typical home is notably higher than typical rent, and the price-to-income ratio suggests that buying here requires a strong income. The Kent County market has been moderating, with listing prices roughly flat year over year and days on market ticking up slightly, but the local zip code remains a premium-price area. For families already settled in the township, the housing cost is part of the package that comes with the schools. For families considering a move, the market is a real factor.
Ada Elementary fits families looking for a small, high-performing early-elementary school in an affluent, growing suburb with strong outdoor amenities and a quiet residential setting. The academic results are a clear strength. The missing climate and support data is a gap a parent should fill by visiting or calling the school, since the numbers alone do not capture day-to-day environment or available services.
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