The top reported proficiency rate is 43% in Science. The lowest is 20% in Social studies.
Original Research by School Decision on Inland Lakes Elementary School
Inland Lakes Elementary School sits along S. Straits Highway in Indian River, a small unincorporated community in Cheboygan County nestled between Burt Lake and Mullett Lake along Michigan's Inland Waterway. The school serves kindergarten through fifth grade as a regular public school within Inland Lakes Schools. Indian River is an auto-oriented place shaped by tourism, outdoor recreation, and lakefront living, with I-75 running through its center and commercial activity clustered along the highway near the interstate interchanges. The population skews older, and only a small share of households have children under eighteen, which gives the community a retiree and seasonal-home character with a smaller year-round residential base. The town has been slowly losing population over recent decades, and no major housing developments or commercial construction projects were identified.
The school's enrollment is modest for its grade band, with a fairly even distribution across the six grade levels. A substantial majority of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, reflecting the economic realities of the area. The student body is predominantly white, with small representations of students identifying as American Indian or Alaska Native, Hispanic, and two or more races. Data on English learners and students with individualized education programs was not available, so those populations could not be characterized here.
On state assessments through Michigan's M-STEP, the most recent results paint a mixed academic picture. English language arts proficiency holds relatively steady across the tested grades, with about a third of third and fourth graders reaching proficiency and a somewhat higher share of fifth graders doing so. Math results tell a different story. Third grade proficiency is in line with the ELA figures, but it drops noticeably in fourth grade and falls further in fifth grade, where only a small fraction of students demonstrated proficiency. Science results for fifth grade were stronger, with a larger share of students meeting the proficiency bar. Social studies proficiency for fifth grade was the weakest area reported. When positioned relative to districts in Cheboygan County, the school's overall proficiency across tested subjects and grades lands in the bottom quartile, meaning it sits below the other districts in this small county cohort on that composite measure. Participation rates were not reported, and trend comparability was flagged as unknown, so year-over-year changes could not be assessed.
A parent looking at these results may want to ask the school how it supports math instruction across the upper elementary grades, given the decline in proficiency from third to fifth grade. The stronger science and ELA outcomes suggest areas where instruction is connecting, and the social studies result is one a family might want to understand in context.
Housing in the school's zip code carries a typical home value above the state benchmark but below the national one, and recent year-over-year appreciation has been minimal. Estimated monthly mortgage costs under current rates are higher than estimated rent, which means renting is comparatively less expensive than buying at current prices and rates. For families considering a move to the area, the housing market is accessible relative to national levels but has seen little recent growth in value. No information was available on staffing, discipline, course access, attendance, or chronic absenteeism, and no program offerings were reported. The district brief turned up no parent-relevant changes or initiatives to relay.
Indian River's civic life centers on its natural assets. Burt Lake State Park offers camping, a beach, and a boat launch. The North Central State Trail runs through town, giving families a non-motorized path for walking and biking from Gaylord to Mackinaw City. The National Shrine of the Cross in the Woods and the Inland Waterway shape the area's identity. For a family drawn to northern Michigan lake country and a small, rural school setting, Inland Lakes Elementary offers a quiet, close-knit environment, and the academic data points to areas worth probing directly with the school before enrolling.
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