Summary:
The Forest Area Community Schools district has only one elementary school, Fife Lake Elementary School, which serves students from pre-kindergarten through 5th grade. Located in the rural Forest Area region, the school faces several challenges, including lower-than-average academic performance, high chronic absenteeism, and a student population with significant economic disadvantages.
Fife Lake Elementary School's 3rd grade proficiency rates in both English Language Arts (ELA) and Math are below the state averages, indicating room for improvement in academic outcomes. The school's performance declined from 2022-2023 to 2023-2024 in both subjects. With a high percentage of students (65.52%) qualifying for free or reduced-price lunch, the school's economic challenges may be contributing to the lower academic performance. Additionally, the school's chronic absenteeism rate of 39.3% is quite high, which can negatively impact student learning and achievement.
Despite spending $16,570 per student, which is higher than the state average, the school's academic outcomes have not improved. This suggests that factors beyond just funding, such as attendance and socioeconomic factors, may be at play. As the only elementary school in the Forest Area Community Schools district, Fife Lake Elementary's performance is directly tied to the district's overall academic standing, which appears to be struggling to provide quality education compared to the state average.
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