The top reported proficiency rate is 48% in Math. The lowest is 23% in Social studies.
Original Research by School Decision on Clayton H Symons Elementary School
Clayton H. Symons Elementary School sits in Milan, a small city straddling Monroe and Washtenaw counties roughly sixteen miles south of Ann Arbor. Milan has a historic Main Street commercial core listed on the National Register of Historic Places, tree-lined residential streets, and a compact, walkable downtown centered on the Saline River. The surrounding ZIP code reaches into several adjacent townships in both counties, so the city functions as a local hub for a broader rural and suburban area. US-23 runs along the eastern edge, and for most daily needs beyond the downtown grid, residents rely on cars. All Milan Area Schools buildings sit within the city limits rather than on remote campuses, which keeps civic life and school life integrated into the same town fabric.
Symons is a regular public school serving the upper elementary band. The district recently went through a grade reconfiguration that matters to families: in 2024, Milan Area Schools shifted Symons from serving grades three through five to serving grades two through four. The stated purpose was to expand early childhood programming at Paddock Elementary and smooth transitions between buildings. Fifth grade moved up to Milan Middle School, which now serves grades five through eight. What this means in practice is that the current assessment data reflects a transitional period, and the grade levels tested most recently are third and fourth, with fifth-grade results carried over from the prior year before the shift.
On Michigan's M-STEP assessments, Symons shows a mixed academic picture. Math results are the relative bright spot, with third-grade proficiency running ahead of fourth-grade. English language arts trails math in both tested grades, and fourth-grade ELA is the weaker of the two. Science results from the prior fifth-grade cohort landed in a moderate range, while social studies was the softest area by a wide margin, with proficiency well below the other subjects. A parent may want to look into the social studies results further with the school to understand what is driving that gap. Across all tested subjects and grades, the school's overall proficiency sits below the midpoint among Monroe County districts. There is no multi-year trend data available, so it is not yet possible to say whether these results represent a stable pattern or a reconfiguration-related dip.
The student body is predominantly white, with a modest Hispanic presence and small numbers of students from other racial and ethnic backgrounds. Nearly half of the students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch. Data on students with individualized education programs and English learners was not available, and Title I status was not reported. No discipline, staffing, attendance, or chronic absenteeism figures were provided, and the school does not carry a graduation rate because it serves only elementary grades.
Housing in the Milan area sits between the Michigan state benchmark and the national one, making it more affordable than many markets closer to Ann Arbor while still running above the state norm. The price-to-income ratio is moderate, and estimated mortgage costs are manageable relative to area incomes. Rent data was not available, but the broader economic context shows a stable national unemployment picture and a median household income that has been slowly rising. Milan has been actively recruiting businesses along the US-23 corridor, and the city's Downtown Development Authority continues to promote the historic core, though specific recent housing development data was not found in available sources.
For a family weighing Symons, the school offers a conventional public elementary pathway in a small-town setting where schools, civic life, and historic downtown are all within the same community footprint. The recent grade reconfiguration is the most important recent change to understand, since it determines building assignment and commute for every grade level. The academic results are middling relative to county peers, strongest in math and weakest in social studies, and a parent would benefit from asking the school how the reconfiguration is settling in and what supports are in place for ELA and social studies.
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