The top reported proficiency rate is 52% in Science. The lowest is 38% in Social studies.
Original Research by School Decision on Emma V Lobbestael Elem School
Emma V. Lobbestael Elementary sits on Prentiss Street in Harrison Township, a primarily residential charter township along the northwestern shore of Lake St. Clair in Macomb County. It is a regular public school serving pre-kindergarten through fifth grade, part of L'Anse Creuse Public Schools, a district headquartered in neighboring Clinton Township. The school draws from a community that is car-dependent and suburban in character, with single-family neighborhoods, commercial strips along major roads, and no traditional walkable downtown. Selfridge Air National Guard Base occupies a large portion of the township's northern section, and Lake St. Clair Metropark anchors the waterfront. I-94 and M-59 provide highway access. The township has seen a modest population decline rather than growth, and no major new housing developments surfaced in publicly reported sources.
State assessment results from the most recent M-STEP administration give a mixed but generally improving picture as students move through the grades. Third-grade proficiency is the softest spot, with roughly a quarter of tested students reaching proficiency in English language arts and somewhat under a third in math. By fourth grade, proficiency climbs to near half in both subjects, and fifth grade holds a similar level. Science results for fifth graders are the strongest among the reported measures, with just over half of tested students scoring proficient. Social studies proficiency sits below that, with roughly three-eighths of fifth graders proficient. Taken together, the school's overall proficiency across tested subjects and grades lands above the midpoint relative to districts in Macomb County, which is a reasonably encouraging position for a school serving an established, working- and middle-class suburban area.
The school's enrollment is moderate for an elementary building, with fairly even distribution across kindergarten through fifth grade. The student body is predominantly white, with small representations of Black, Hispanic, multiracial, and a few Asian and American Indian students. About half the students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, which is a substantial share but not unusual for this stretch of Macomb County. Data on individualized education programs and English learner status was not reported, so those population sizes are not available here. No discipline, course access, staffing, or attendance figures were provided either, and those gaps are worth noting. A parent wanting to understand classroom support, chronic absenteeism, or special-education services would need to ask the school directly, because the available data does not speak to those areas.
Housing in the school's zip code is relatively affordable compared with state and national benchmarks. Home values sit below the Michigan median, and rents are similarly modest. The local market has seen a slight recent dip in home values, while rents have edged upward. County-wide, listings have increased and homes are spending somewhat longer on the market than a year earlier, which may give families a bit more breathing room than in tighter markets. Estimated mortgage costs run noticeably higher than rents, so renting remains the more affordable path for many households. Median household income at the national level has been climbing modestly, and the broader unemployment picture has been stable.
Because Lobbestael serves only elementary grades, there is no graduation rate to report, and the school does not appear in chronic absenteeism or college-readiness metrics. Those measures simply do not apply to this grade band. The district brief turned up no parent-relevant changes from recent years that cleared the bar, so there is little to relay on that front.
For a family considering this school, the academic signal is that proficiency strengthens as children progress through the grades, with third grade being the area where a parent may want to look into further support. The peer environment reflects a established suburban community with a meaningful portion of students from lower-income households. Housing is accessible by Metro Detroit standards. The school's position above the midpoint among Macomb County districts on proficiency is a real strength, even as the third-grade numbers and the missing data on student support services leave open questions worth raising with the administration.
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