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Lansing, Michigan - 2 schools
An equity score of 34/100 ranks Cole Academy #599 of 707 districts in Michigan (state average 50). Derived live from how evenly resources are distributed across the district's schools.
At $8,687 per pupil, Cole Academy ranks #805 of 821 Michigan districts by per-pupil spending (Michigan districts). NCES F-33 finance data.
354
Total Enrollment
2
Schools
$8,687
Per-Pupil Spending
Elementary
School Types
District-Level NCES Analysis
Cole Academy operates 2 public schools serving 354 students, placing it among the smallest districts in Michigan. The school portfolio breaks down into 2 elementary schools, a small enough portfolio that most families will interact with nearly every campus in the district at some point. These enrollment and school figures come from the NCES Common Core of Data (CCD) 2024-25 release, and the district is based in Ingham County.
Per-pupil expenditure runs $8,687 according to the NCES F-33 School District Finance Survey, among the bottom 83 of 821 Michigan districts by per-pupil spending. See how Michigan compares in our national per-pupil spending analysis. The funding mix is 8.3% local, 74.8% state, and 17.0% federal, a state-revenue-heavy mix that insulates the district somewhat from local property-tax volatility, though it ties funding to state budget cycles. The district's equity score is 34/100, ranked #599 of 707 in Michigan against a state average of 50, notably less even than the typical district in the state for how evenly funding reaches its schools.
and 55.5% chronic absenteeism from the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection. Demographically, the student body averages 31.9% African American, 26.8% Hispanic or Latino, 24.2% White across the district's schools.
Its largest campus is Cole Academy, enrolling 155 students (51% of the district's total enrollment).
Cole Academy accounts for 43.8% of all Cole Academy student enrollment
That dominant concentration means Cole Academy-wide averages can mask substantial variation outside the dominant entity. Grade band: elementary. A single dominant campus often anchors a district's program offerings and staffing patterns; the share helps explain why district-wide averages may not reflect the typical neighbourhood-school experience. When one entity dominates a region's footprint, its programmatic and budget decisions effectively set policy for a majority of the affected population.
Cole Academy has higher-than-average Title I eligibility — 55.3% of the population qualifies for free or reduced-price lunch
free or reduced-price lunch eligibility is the federal threshold for Title I funding allocations, established under the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA, 2015). Areas above 75% eligibility receive concentration grants on top of the basic Title I formula. Regions with eligibility this high typically draw a substantially larger federal funding share relative to their local tax base, which can either offset or reinforce existing gaps depending on allocation policy.
Cole Academy chronic absenteeism rate is 55.5% — well above typical (typically associated with unusually large scale or acute resource constraints)
chronic absenteeism rate is the simplest comparative metric but it does not capture the full picture: a student is chronically absent if they miss ≥10% of enrolled days for any reason, illness, family obligations, or disengagement Values this far above typical often signal acute resource constraints or a structurally different scale than most peers — worth reading alongside the underlying counts, not the ratio alone.
Cole Academy has 2 schools, including 2 elementary. Total enrollment is 354 students.
How much does Cole Academy spend per student?
Cole Academy spends $8,687 per student. The district has an equity score of 34/100, ranking #599 in Michigan.
What is the demographic composition of Cole Academy?
Cole Academy students are 31.9% African American, 26.8% Hispanic or Latino, 24.2% White, 1.3% Asian, averaged across 2 schools. Source: NCES CCD Membership 2024-25.
What is the equity score for Cole Academy?
Cole Academy has an equity score of 34/100, ranking #599 out of 707 districts in Michigan.