NCES CCD 2024-25 18 schools MI

Best-Resourced Schools in Southfield, MI

18 public K-12 schools in Southfield from NCES Common Core of Data: enrollment, grade span, demographics, and Civil Rights Data Collection statistics for every active campus.

18
Schools
7,131
Students
26.6/100
Avg Resource Index
16.3:1
Avg Student-Teacher Ratio

National city placement

Lean reported-resource profile

According to NCES CCD 2024-25, Southfield has more public-school enrollment than 70% of the 4,487 US cities in this directory. Southfield's average Resource Investment Index falls in the lower portion of the 4,487-city comparison set. The index is a resource snapshot, not an academic grade: it reflects the federal staffing, counselor, gifted-program, and attendance fields available for local campuses. The most useful next step is to open the individual schools below and identify which component is pulling each score down, because the same city average can hide very different campus-level constraints.

The school portfolio is elementary-weighted

9 of Southfield's 18 listed schools are elementary campuses. That composition means citywide enrollment and staffing averages are influenced more by early-grade operating patterns than by the city's 2 middle and 2 high-school records. Families comparing later grades should rely on those individual rows rather than the all-school mean.

Governance mix is central to a fair comparison

8 of 18 listed Southfield campuses are reported as charters, so district-run and charter records occupy substantial shares of the same city view. They may follow different governance, enrollment, and program structures even when their mailing city matches. The 39-point gap between Mcintyre Elementary School and Faxon Academy should be read within that context, not as a single-system league table. Check charter status and district affiliation before comparing two nearby schools, and verify current admissions rules with the operator.

City enrollment
Top 30%
School count
Top 17%
Resource Index average
6th percentile
Teacher staffing
40th percentile

Southfield school enrollment varies 23× across entities

Southfield school enrollment ranges from 46 students (lowest) to 1,049 students (highest), a spread of 1,003 students. That spread is wider than typical and predicts noticeable gaps in service quality between the highest and lowest areas. Per-school staffing and program breadth can differ sharply at opposite ends of that enrollment range, so the city average should not be treated as a typical campus.

Source: NCES Common Core of Data

Southfield reports 71.4% free-lunch eligibility

The reported share sits between 62.5% and 75%, above a simple majority but below the highest descriptive band used here. Title I operates under the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA, 2015), but its statutory allocation uses additional LEA-level counts and rules not represented by this average. This percentage is an economic-need context measure; it does not establish a Title I award, show dollars received, or describe how funds are distributed among campuses.

Source: NCES Common Core of Data

Southfield operates 7 school districts — among the most fragmented governance structures in the country

Each school district has independent budgeting, hiring, and service delivery authority. The fragmentation reflects historical patterns of inter-municipal boundary lines that pre-date modern city growth, students in different parts of the same city can attend different districts with different per-pupil spending, calendars, and graduation requirements. Per-region variation is largest in fragmented systems because each school district sets its own budget, contracts, and priorities without higher-level coordination above the regulatory floor.

Source: NCES Common Core of Data

Southfield student-teacher ratio is 16.3:1 — near the typical range (US average ~15.7) — citywide staffing is neither unusually lean nor unusually crowded by this measure

student-teacher ratio is the simplest comparative metric but it does not capture the full picture: the ratio counts FTE classroom teachers against total enrollment, push-in specialists, English-language aides, special-education co-teachers, and counselors are not included in most reporting Variation between sub-units within Southfield is typically wider than the Southfield-aggregate figure suggests.

Source: NCES Common Core of Data, Public School Universe

8 of Southfield's 18 listed schools are charters

44% of the city's listed public-school campuses are reported as charter schools in NCES CCD. Charter status identifies a different governance arrangement; it does not establish admissions availability, academic quality, or the share of city students enrolled in those campuses. Open each school record to compare enrollment and staffing directly.

Source: NCES Common Core of Data

Most racially and ethnically mixed schools in Southfield

Ranked by the Simpson student-body diversity index (0-100) from NCES race and ethnicity data, where higher means a more evenly mixed student body. It measures mix, not quality.

  1. 1 Thompson K8 International Academy 32.1/100
  2. 2 Laurus Academy 22.8/100
  3. 3 Kennedy Learning Center 20.2/100
  4. 4 Adlai Stevenson Elementary School 16.1/100
  5. 5 Southfield High School for the Arts and Technology 14.3/100

What do families ask about schools in Southfield?

Which Southfield school has the highest Resource Investment Index?

Mcintyre Elementary School has the highest Resource Investment Index among the Southfield schools in this federal-data comparison at 51/100. The index summarizes reported staffing, counseling, gifted-program, and attendance inputs; it is not an academic rating.

How many schools are in Southfield, MI?

Southfield has 18 public schools with a total enrollment of 7,131 students. 8 are charter schools. Average student-teacher ratio: 16.3:1.

Other Cities in Michigan

Side-by-side: Compare any two schools or districts in Michigan →

Data from NCES Common Core of Data (CCD) 2024-25 and Civil Rights Data Collection (CRDC) 2021-22. The Resource Investment Index uses reported student-teacher ratio, counselor access, gifted programs, and attendance; it is not an academic rating. Cities must include at least five schools to be listed. This public-data comparison is for informational purposes: verify current enrollment, attendance boundaries, and programs with the school district before acting. See the guide to understanding NCES data.