The top reported proficiency rate is 45% in English language arts. The lowest is 24% in Social studies.
Original Research by School Decision on Borland Elementary School
Borland Elementary School serves grades three through five in Imlay City, a small Lapeer County community at the crossroads of I-69 and M-53. It is one of several schools operated by Imlay City Community Schools, each distributed across the city rather than gathered on a single campus. Weston Elementary handles the early grades, Borland takes the upper elementary years, and the middle and high schools sit elsewhere in town. This setup means families with children spanning multiple grade bands may find themselves at different buildings for drop-off and pickup.
The school's enrollment is modest for its grade band, with students spread fairly evenly across the three grades. A substantial share of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, reflecting the working-class character of the community. The student body is predominantly white, with a sizable Hispanic minority and very small representation from other racial and ethnic groups. Data on English learners and special education populations was not reported, so those figures are not available here.
On Michigan's M-STEP assessments for the most recent school year, Borland's results tell a mixed story. Third-grade math proficiency sits near the midpoint, with roughly half of tested students meeting the state bar. Fourth-grade math dips somewhat, and fifth-grade math drops sharply, with only about a fifth of students scoring proficient. English language arts is steadier across all three grades, hovering in the mid-forties, which suggests a reasonably consistent reading and writing program even as math outcomes slide in the upper grade. Science and social studies are tested only in fifth grade, and both come in lower, with science around a third proficient and social studies under a quarter. When measured against other districts in Lapeer County, Borland's overall proficiency lands in the bottom quartile. A parent may want to look into the fifth-grade math decline with the school, as the drop from third to fifth grade is the clearest pattern in the results.
Because Borland is an elementary school serving grades three through five, there is no graduation rate to report. Chronic absenteeism data was not available. No discipline, course access, or staffing details were provided, so those dimensions are left out rather than guessed.
Imlay City itself blends a historic downtown with surrounding farmland and an industrial corridor. The city is publicly described as rich in agriculture and industrial business, with Vlasic Pickles maintaining a long-standing processing plant that remains a local anchor. The downtown Depot District along Main Street offers bench-lined sidewalks, small shops, and civic gathering spaces. The Ruth Hughes Memorial District Library serves the city and neighboring townships. Community life runs through seasonal events at the Eastern Michigan State Fairgrounds, a weekly farmers' market, summer concerts, and the Polly Ann Trail, a non-motorized recreational path. No fixed-route public transit was identified. The city promotes itself as a Tree City USA community and markets its position on the I-69 corridor as a draw for business and manufacturing.
Housing in the school's zip code sits below both the state and national benchmarks for typical home values, and the price-to-income ratio is moderate, which may appeal to families seeking affordability in a smaller community. Recent home values have been climbing at a pace above the state average. For renters, no local rent index was available.
At the district level, voters approved a bond proposal in May to fund infrastructure upgrades across Imlay City Community Schools, including roof replacements, heating system improvements, safety enhancements, athletic facility work, and technology upgrades. The bond is structured to retire without increasing the current tax rate, which points to stable facilities investment in the coming years.
Borland fits a family looking for a small upper-elementary school in an affordable, agriculturally rooted community with a walkable downtown and a strong local identity. The academic results are uneven, particularly in fifth-grade math, and the school sits near the lower end of its county cohort on proficiency. Families considering Borland would do well to ask how the school supports students through the transition into upper elementary math, and how the district's coming facilities upgrades will reach this building.
See more original research from School Decision →