The top reported proficiency rate is 45% in English language arts. The lowest is 14% in Science.
Original Research by School Decision on Woodworth Elementary School
Woodworth Elementary School is the early-grades building for Leslie Public Schools, a small rural district in Ingham County. It sits in the city of Leslie, a compact community on gently rolling hills between Lansing to the north and Jackson to the south. The town has a real Main Street with shops and eateries, but its overall character is residential and quiet. Most working residents commute elsewhere, and the city relies almost entirely on personal vehicles. Housing here is relatively affordable compared with state and national medians, with a stable, owner-occupied housing stock and very little development pressure. The town's population has been roughly stable to slightly declining.
The school serves students from pre-kindergarten through fourth grade, with the bulk of enrollment concentrated in kindergarten through fourth. The student body is predominantly white, with small numbers of students from other racial and ethnic backgrounds. A substantial share of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch. Data on English learners and students with individualized education programs was not reported, so those populations cannot be characterized here.
On Michigan's M-STEP assessments, Woodworth's results show a clear pattern: third-grade proficiency is modest in both math and English language arts, while fourth-grade results are notably stronger in both subjects. Fourth-grade math and ELA proficiency both sit above half, with ELA slightly outpacing math. Third-grade numbers are lower in both subjects. Science results exist only from an older testing period and are very low, but that data is dated enough that it should not be read as a current picture. Trend data was not available, so it is not possible to say whether proficiency is improving or declining over time. Against the comparison set of districts in Ingham County, Woodworth's overall proficiency sits above the midpoint, which is a reasonably solid position for a small rural school.
Because Woodworth is an elementary school, there is no graduation rate to report, and that is expected for this grade band. Chronic absenteeism data was not available. Information on Title I status, staffing ratios, course access, and discipline was not provided, so those dimensions cannot be assessed. No program offerings data was included. A parent wanting to understand enrichment, intervention, or specialized services would need to ask the school directly.
Leslie Public Schools operates four buildings: Woodworth Elementary, Leslie Middle School, Leslie High School, and the Leslie Learning Center. The district is described publicly as small and rural, with a graduating class of modest size. A district brief search turned up no recent referendums, curriculum changes, property tax shifts, or other parent-relevant developments, so there is nothing new on that front to factor in.
The school sits near the city's core, closer to downtown than the high school, which was built on a separate campus on Hull Road. The old middle school on Woodworth Street, which had stood for a long time and sat abandoned for years, was demolished in 2023. That cleared a site near the elementary building and was part of the district's broader facilities evolution.
For a family considering Woodworth, the strengths are the fourth-grade academic results, which suggest students are hitting stride by the time they prepare to transition out, and the school's above-midpoint standing among county districts. The third-grade proficiency levels are softer, and a parent may want to look into early-literacy and early-math support with the school to understand what interventions are in place. The community is small, affordable, and car-dependent, with a traditional small-town feel. It is a setting where families looking for a quieter, close-knit place with stable housing costs and a straightforward elementary pathway may find a good fit, provided they are comfortable with limited local employment and the need to drive for most services.
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