The top reported proficiency rate is 60% in English language arts. The lowest is 30% in Social studies.
Original Research by School Decision on Ferry Elementary School
Ferry Elementary School sits in Grosse Pointe Woods, a primarily residential suburb of Detroit and one of the five Grosse Pointe communities. The city took much of its current shape in the mid-20th century, built around and just after World War II, with single-family homes on tree-lined streets spread across a small, entirely landlocked area. It is the only one of the five Grosse Pointes with no Lake St. Clair shoreline of its own, though the city owns Lake Front Park in neighboring St. Clair Shores, a sizable municipal park bordering the lake. Civic life centers on the Robert E. Novitke Municipal Center rather than a traditional walkable downtown, and I-94 runs along the western edge, giving residents easy regional auto access. The population has been slowly declining over recent decades, and the city recently adopted a 2024 Master Plan to guide its future. Publicly reported sources note no major new housing developments.
Ferry is a regular public school in the Grosse Pointe Public School System, serving kindergarten through fourth grade. Enrollment is moderate for an elementary building of this grade band, with a sizable kindergarten cohort and fairly even distribution across the upper grades. The student body is predominantly white, with smaller Black, Hispanic, Asian, and multiracial populations. A small share of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, low relative to Wayne County as a whole, which aligns with the residential character of the community. Data on individualized education programs and English learners was not available, so those populations cannot be characterized here.
Academic results from the most recent state testing cycle are a clear strength. In English language arts, a majority of third and fourth graders reached proficiency, with results comfortably above what is typical for Michigan elementary schools. Math proficiency was also solid, with just over half of tested students meeting the bar in both grades. Taken together, Ferry's overall proficiency across tested subjects and grades places it in the top quartile among elementary buildings in the Wayne County district comparison set. These are the most current figures available, drawn from the state M-STEP assessment.
Science and social studies results exist but come from older testing cycles and different grade levels, making them less useful as a current read. The science figure dates to an earlier year and the social studies result to a different earlier year, and Michigan has since adjusted some cut scores. Trend comparability was not established, so it would be misleading to read those older numbers as a current indicator. A parent curious about science instruction today may want to ask the school directly how the subject is taught at the early elementary level, since recent state data is not available.
Because Ferry ends at fourth grade, there is no graduation rate to report, and that metric does not apply here. Chronic absenteeism data was not available for this building. The payload did not include discipline, course access, staffing, or attendance details, so those dimensions of school environment cannot be described. No specific program offerings were listed, and Title I status was not reported.
The housing market around Ferry reflects an established, mid-century suburb. Home values in the school's zip code sit well above the Wayne County median listing price but below the national benchmark, and values have been appreciating modestly year over year. Rents are moderate. The county market as a whole shows ample active listings and a supply score that exceeds demand, meaning buyers have relative room to maneuver compared to many metropolitan markets. Estimated monthly mortgage costs run higher than typical rents, which is worth noting for families weighing a purchase against renting in the area.
What the picture adds up to is a small, stable elementary school in a quiet, established suburb, with academic results that stand out in a county where many schools face steeper economic challenges. Families considering Ferry are looking at a community where enrollment is manageable, peers come from a fairly homogeneous but somewhat varied background, and the early grades produce proficiency rates that suggest solid foundational instruction. The gaps in the data, particularly around special populations, staffing, and recent science outcomes, mean a parent would want to fill in those details through direct conversation with the school before drawing a complete conclusion.
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