Buchanan Community Schools

The Buchanan Community Schools district in Michigan consists of 6 schools, including 2 elementary schools, 1 middle school, 1 high school, and 2 alternative schools. The district serves a predominantly white student population, with some diversity in the alternative schools.

Two standout schools in the district are Moccasin Elementary School, which is ranked among the top 396 elementary schools in Michigan and consistently performs well on state assessments, and Buchanan Middle School, which is ranked among the top 130 middle schools in the state and also demonstrates strong academic performance. In contrast, the alternative schools, Buchanan Virtual Academy and Buchanan Step Up, face significant challenges, with much lower graduation rates, higher dropout rates, and lower academic performance compared to the district and state averages.

Across the district, chronic absenteeism rates are relatively high, ranging from 19.4% at Moccasin Elementary to 80.5% at Buchanan Virtual Academy. Additionally, there is variation in spending per student and student-teacher ratios across the schools, suggesting the need for a closer examination of resource allocation to ensure equitable support for all students, especially those in the alternative schools.