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Southfield, Michigan - 13 schools
An equity score of 60/100 ranks Southfield Public School District #189 of 707 districts in Michigan (state average 50). Derived live from how evenly resources are distributed across the district's schools.
At $19,303 per pupil, Southfield Public School District ranks #38 of 821 Michigan districts by per-pupil spending (Michigan districts). NCES F-33 finance data.
4,933
Total Enrollment
13
Schools
$19,303
Per-Pupil Spending
Elementary, High
School Types
District-Level NCES Analysis
Southfield Public School District operates 13 public schools serving 4,933 students, placing it among the smaller districts in Michigan. The school portfolio breaks down into 6 elementary, 3 high, 2 combined, 2 middle schools, a compact enough portfolio that families can compare every campus directly before they move, rent, or enrol. These enrollment and school figures come from the NCES Common Core of Data (CCD) 2024-25 release, and the district is based in Oakland County.
Per-pupil expenditure runs $19,303 according to the NCES F-33 School District Finance Survey, among the top 83 of 821 Michigan districts by per-pupil spending. See how Michigan compares in our national per-pupil spending analysis. The funding mix is 58.6% local, 31.2% state, and 10.2% federal, a local-revenue-heavy mix that leaves the district more exposed to property-tax swings and local ballot measures than state-funded peers. The district's equity score is 60/100, ranked #189 of 707 in Michigan against a state average of 50, notably more even than the typical district in the state for how evenly funding reaches its schools.
Academic infrastructure includes 1 of 13 schools offering Advanced Placement (4 AP courses district-wide), a 242.2:1 student-counselor ratio, that meets the ASCA-recommended benchmark, and 44.9% chronic absenteeism from the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection. Demographically, the student body averages 92.7% African American, 2.9% Hispanic or Latino, 1.5% White across the district's schools. Its most demographically mixed campus is Thompson K8 International Academy, with a diversity index of 32.1/100.
Southfield High School for the Arts and Technology accounts for 21.3% of all Southfield Public School District student enrollment
That concentration means Southfield Public School District-wide averages can mask substantial variation outside the dominant entity. Grade band: high. 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.
Southfield Public School District school enrollment varies 23× across entities
Southfield Public School District 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 ratios, programme availability, and capital-renovation cycles often diverge inside the same district based on enrollment shape.
Southfield Public School District has higher-than-average Title I eligibility — 56.1% 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.
Southfield Public School District student-counselor ratio is 242:1 — low (typically associated with meeting or exceeding the American School Counselor Association (ASCA) recommended 250:1 benchmark, which correlates with stronger college and career counseling capacity)
student-counselor ratio is the simplest comparative metric but it does not capture the full picture: the ratio counts FTE counselors against total enrollment, districts that contract intervention or social-emotional staff outside the counselor classification may be under-counted Lower values often correlate with smaller scale and population characteristics rather than higher resource budgets per se.
Southfield Public School District chronic absenteeism rate is 44.9% — 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.
Comparisons are relative to Southfield Public School District's own figures; each column derives from NCES Common Core of Data and the F-33 Finance Survey.
Nearby Districts in Michigan
Top districts in the same state, compare side-by-side for enrollment, spending, and demographics.
How many schools are in Southfield Public School District?
Southfield Public School District has 13 schools, including 3 high, 6 elementary, 2 combined, 2 middle. Total enrollment is 4,933 students.
How much does Southfield Public School District spend per student?
Southfield Public School District spends $19,303 per student. The district has an equity score of 60/100, ranking #189 in Michigan.
What is the demographic composition of Southfield Public School District?
Southfield Public School District students are 92.7% African American, 2.9% Hispanic or Latino, 1.5% White, 0.9% Asian, averaged across 13 schools. Source: NCES CCD Membership 2024-25.
What is the equity score for Southfield Public School District?
Southfield Public School District has an equity score of 60/100, ranking #189 out of 707 districts in Michigan.