The top reported proficiency rate is 52% in Math. The lowest is 37% in Social studies.
Original Research by School Decision on Southwest Elementary School
Southwest Elementary School sits on Gay Street in Howell, the county seat of Livingston County. It is a regular public school in the Howell Public Schools district, serving kindergarten through fifth grade. The school draws from a community that blends a historic downtown with surrounding residential neighborhoods, a place that publicly reports a rural and suburban lifestyle within reach of I-96 and the Detroit metro area. Howell's downtown features preserved historic buildings and walkable streets, with seasonal events like the Michigan Challenge Balloonfest and the Howell Melon Festival drawing large crowds. The city grew substantially over the decades leading up to the last census, though more recent estimates show a slight population decline. Manufacturing is the largest employment sector, with major employers including Thai Summit America, Citizens Insurance, and St. Joseph Mercy Hospital. Howell Public Schools itself is among the larger employers in the city.
The school's enrollment is moderate for an elementary building in this region. A substantial share of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch. The student body is predominantly white, with a smaller Hispanic population and a small number of Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander students. The remaining racial and ethnic groups each represent a very small fraction of enrollment. Data on individualized education programs and English learners was not available, so those proportions cannot be characterized here. A parent wanting to understand special-population services may want to ask the school directly.
On state assessments, Southwest Elementary shows a solid academic profile. In math, roughly half of third graders and slightly more than half of fourth graders demonstrated proficiency, with fifth grade landing at about the halfway mark as well. English language arts results follow a similar pattern, with third and fourth grade near the middle of the range and fifth grade coming in somewhat higher. Science proficiency for fifth grade was just below the halfway point. Social studies was the soft spot, with fifth-grade proficiency falling below the levels seen in the other tested subjects. This is an area a parent may want to look into further with the school, particularly if civic and historical content matters to the family. Across all tested subjects and grades, the school's overall proficiency stands above the midpoint among the districts in Livingston County, which is a reasonably strong position relative to its neighbors.
The school does not have graduation rate data, which is expected for an elementary school serving only kindergarten through fifth grade. Chronic absenteeism data was also not available. No multi-year trend information was provided, so it is not possible to say whether these results represent improvement, stability, or decline from prior years.
Howell's housing market sits above the state benchmark and roughly in line with national values. Home prices in the school's zip code have risen modestly year over year. Estimated monthly mortgage costs exceed typical rents by a narrow margin, and rent absorbs a reasonable share of household income compared to the mortgage burden. The broader economic backdrop includes a stable unemployment rate and a thirty-year fixed mortgage rate that has been hovering in the mid-six range. For families considering a move into the attendance area, buying is somewhat more expensive month to month than renting, though both options are within reach for households near the area's income levels.
A note on the building itself: publicly reported information indicates that the former Southwest Elementary facility now houses the Little Highlander's Learning Center and Innovation Academy, the district's alternative and early-learning programs sharing a combined space. This represents a reorganization of school options within Howell Public Schools. Whether this affects Southwest Elementary's current operations or campus arrangement is something a family would want to confirm with the district, as the available sources did not specify dates or further detail.
What Southwest Elementary offers is a mainstream public elementary pathway in a historically rooted small city with a walkable core and strong community traditions. Its test results are respectable for the county, sitting above the midpoint among neighboring districts, with relative strength in English language arts at the upper elementary level and consistent math performance across grades. Social studies is the area that stands out as comparatively weaker. Families drawn to Howell's character and willing to engage with the school on specific questions about special populations and programming would find a school with steady academic grounding and a community-oriented setting.
See more original research from School Decision →