The top reported proficiency rate is 20% in Math. The lowest is 8% in Science.
Original Research by School Decision on Washington Writers Academy
Washington Writers Academy is a regular public elementary school in Kalamazoo Public Schools, serving pre-kindergarten through fifth grade on Portage Street in the city's south side. It is one of the district's neighborhood elementaries, and as a Kalamazoo Public Schools student, a child here would be eligible for the Kalamazoo Promise, the publicly reported scholarship program that covers tuition and mandatory fees at Michigan public universities and community colleges for district graduates.
The school serves a predominantly Black student body, with smaller groups identifying as two or more races, white, and Hispanic. A substantial majority of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, reflecting the economic composition of the surrounding neighborhood. The enrollment is modest for an elementary school spanning pre-K through fifth grade. Data on special education enrollment and English learner status was not available, so those populations cannot be described here.
On state assessments, Washington Writers Academy's results sit in the bottom quartile relative to districts in Kalamazoo County. The proficiency index, which averages reported proficiency rates across tested subjects and grades, places the school below every other district-level entity in the county comparison set. Looking at the grade-level detail behind that index, proficiency was low across the board. In third-grade math, no tested students reached proficiency, and the same was true for fifth-grade math. Fourth-grade math was somewhat stronger, with roughly one in five students proficient. English language arts followed a similar pattern: fourth grade had the highest proficiency rate, while third and fifth grades had only a handful of proficient students. Fifth-grade science and social studies results were also low, with social studies showing no proficient students among those tested.
A parent reading these results may want to look into this further with the school. The numbers reflect where students stood on a single year of M-STEP testing, and the data does not include prior-year trends, so it is not possible to say whether performance is improving, declining, or holding steady. The state did not report participation rates for any of these assessments, which means the proficiency picture could be affected by who actually sat for the test. The school's average scale scores are available in the data sections for families who want a closer look at how students performed relative to the proficiency cut line.
Because Washington Writers Academy is an elementary school, there is no graduation rate, and that metric does not apply here. Chronic absenteeism data was also not available. Information on discipline, course access, staffing, and attendance was not provided, so those aspects of the school environment cannot be characterized. Program offerings were not listed in the data, so whether the school offers specific enrichment, intervention, or extracurricular programs is something a family would need to ask about directly.
The surrounding community is a mixed-use city shaped by its universities and healthcare and pharmaceutical industries. Kalamazoo is home to Western Michigan University, Kalamazoo College, and Kalamazoo Valley Community College, all of which contribute to a young population and a downtown with restaurants and one-of-a-kind shops along the pedestrian Kalamazoo Mall. The Kalamazoo Nature Center, Bronson Park, and the Kalamazoo River with its tributaries are civic anchors. The city sits along I-94 and is the county seat.
Housing in the school's zip code is affordable relative to both state and national benchmarks. Home values are well below the Michigan state benchmark and roughly half the national figure, and rents run lower than in many comparable markets. The estimated monthly mortgage on a typical home in this area exceeds the typical rent, meaning renting may be the more accessible path for families weighing the cost of living against buying. Rental costs have risen faster year over year than home values, though both remain in a range that sits below broader state and national trends.
Washington Writers Academy is a small neighborhood elementary serving a community where economic need is prevalent and academic outcomes on state tests are low. Families drawn to the Kalamazoo Promise and to an affordable urban setting may find the location appealing, but a closer conversation with the school about instruction, support services, and student growth would help fill the gaps this data leaves open.
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