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Jackson, Michigan - 3 schools
An equity score of 74/100 ranks Vandercook Lake Public Schools #53 of 707 districts in Michigan (state average 50). Derived live from how evenly resources are distributed across the district's schools.
At $13,587 per pupil, Vandercook Lake Public Schools ranks #267 of 821 Michigan districts by per-pupil spending (Michigan districts). NCES F-33 finance data.
700
Total Enrollment
3
Schools
$13,587
Per-Pupil Spending
Combined
School Types
District-Level NCES Analysis
Vandercook Lake Public Schools operates 3 public schools serving 700 students, placing it among the smallest districts in Michigan. The school portfolio breaks down into 3 combined 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 Jackson County.
Per-pupil expenditure runs $13,587 according to the NCES F-33 School District Finance Survey, in the upper half of 821 Michigan districts by per-pupil spending. See how Michigan compares in our national per-pupil spending analysis. The funding mix is 20.6% local, 65.4% state, and 14.0% 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 74/100, ranked #53 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.
a 258:1 student-counselor ratio, somewhat above the 250:1 ASCA recommendation, and 57.9% chronic absenteeism from the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection. Demographically, the student body averages 78.2% White, 4.8% African American, 4.4% Hispanic or Latino across the district's schools. Its most demographically mixed campus is Townsend Elementary School, with a diversity index of 43.8/100.
Its largest campus is Townsend Elementary School, enrolling 316 students (50% of the district's total enrollment). Its smallest is Vandercook Lake Virtual Academy, at 55 students, a 6x enrollment spread across the district's campuses.
Townsend Elementary School accounts for 45.1% of all Vandercook Lake Public Schools student enrollment
That is an overwhelming concentration, leaving the rest of Vandercook Lake Public Schools a distant remainder — means Vandercook Lake Public Schools-wide averages can mask substantial variation outside the dominant entity. Grade band: combined. 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.
Vandercook Lake Public Schools school enrollment varies 5.7× across entities
Vandercook Lake Public Schools school enrollment ranges from 55 students (lowest) to 316 students (highest), a spread of 261 students. That relatively narrow ratio reflects an unusually homogeneous campus portfolio, most districts have a wider mix of school sizes. Per-school staffing ratios, programme availability, and capital-renovation cycles often diverge inside the same district based on enrollment shape.
Vandercook Lake Public Schools has higher-than-average Title I eligibility — 71.0% 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). Eligibility here is approaching the 75% concentration-grant threshold; it does not yet unlock the extra funding tier but sits meaningfully above the baseline 50% majority mark. 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.
Vandercook Lake Public Schools student-counselor ratio is 258:1 — near the typical range (US average ~408) — within the typical range for U.S. public districts
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 Variation between sub-units within Vandercook Lake Public Schools is typically wider than the Vandercook Lake Public Schools-aggregate figure suggests.
Vandercook Lake Public Schools chronic absenteeism rate is 57.9% — 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 Vandercook Lake Public Schools'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 Vandercook Lake Public Schools?
Vandercook Lake Public Schools has 3 schools, including 3 combined. Total enrollment is 700 students.
How much does Vandercook Lake Public Schools spend per student?
Vandercook Lake Public Schools spends $13,587 per student. The district has an equity score of 74/100, ranking #53 in Michigan.
What is the demographic composition of Vandercook Lake Public Schools?
Vandercook Lake Public Schools students are 78.2% White, 4.8% African American, 4.4% Hispanic or Latino, 0.5% Asian, averaged across 3 schools. Source: NCES CCD Membership 2024-25.
What is the equity score for Vandercook Lake Public Schools?
Vandercook Lake Public Schools has an equity score of 74/100, ranking #53 out of 707 districts in Michigan.