Enrollment
67
Michigan · 2024-25 NCES data
High school (grades 9-12) · Traverse City, MI
Life Skills Center
Federal NCES profile for Life Skills Center, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators - Resource Investment Index 50/100.
2024-25 NCES dataHigh school (grades 9-12)NCES 268044001584
👥 S:T ratio 86
📚 AP courses 10
🌟 Gifted program 30
📋 Attendance 74
Scored 0–100 from federal NCES and CRDC indicators, resource allocation, not test scores. Full methodology →
The verdict
Life Skills Center earns 50/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes smaller than 99% of Michigan schools.
- #1 of 3
- high schools in Traverse City · Resource Index
- 50
- Resource Index · Higher
- 3.4:1
- small classes for Michigan
- 33.8%
- free-lunch eligible
Life Skills Center has class sizes smaller than 99% of Michigan schools. Computed live against every Michigan school reporting to NCES.
By Resource Investment Index, Life Skills Center ranks #1 of 3 high schools in Traverse City, MI.
School address
District: Northwest Education Services · Michigan
NCES ID 268044001584 Verify on NCES CCD record →
Teachers (FTE)
20.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
3.4:1
vs 17.5:1 Michigan avg
-81% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
33.8%
vs 54.3% Michigan avg
-38% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Life Skills Center compares with Michigan and U.S. medians
What stands out at Life Skills Center
Life Skills Center is a small high school in Traverse City, Michigan, enrolling 67 students.
Classes run notably small here: at 3.4:1, Life Skills Center is leaner than roughly 99% of Michigan schools and 81% under the state's 17.5:1 norm, more adult attention per pupil than most peers.
Economic need runs somewhat below the state's typical profile, with 33.8% of students eligible for free meals.
Enrollment of 67 puts it in the smaller third of Michigan schools by headcount.
Its Resource Investment Index outscores 99% of the 3,375 Michigan schools with a score on record, a top-tier result on this measure.
Among 44 similarly sized, similarly resourced-need Michigan schools statewide, it ranks #1, a top-tier result once campus size and economic need are matched.
Its student body is predominantly White (90% of enrollment) (diversity index 20/100).
No Advanced Placement courses are reported for this campus in the federal data.
10.4% of students were chronically absent in the 2021-22 collection, in line with the post-pandemic national range.
Among Traverse City's high schools, it stands alongside The Greenspire High School (176 students): Life Skills Center is smaller than that campus by headcount and runs leaner classes (3.4:1 vs 29.3:1).
Northwest Education Services also operates North Ednew Horizons (75 students) and North Edbridgeway (70 students) alongside Life Skills Center.
Sourced from NCES CCD, CRDC, and F-33 (federal records, not a quality verdict). How we source and compute this.
Source: National Center for Education Statistics Common Core of Data + CRDC + F-33 · 2024-25
How Life Skills Center compares
Life Skills Center on the metrics families compare, against Michigan and U.S. means.
| Metric | This school | vs Michigan | Michigan avg | U.S. avg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Students per teacher | 3.4:1 | ▼ 81% | 17.5:1 | 15.7:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 33.8% | ▼ 38% | 54.3% | 51.7% |
| Enrollment | 67 | top 90% | - | - |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data School-level CCD + state/national means from Public School Universe · 2024-25
3.4:1
Leaner classes than 99% of US schools, among the more generously staffed nationally.
67
Bigger than 7% of US schools by enrollment, a small campus.
Equity indicators (what these measure)
Economic need
33.8%
free-lunch eligible
- 38% below the Michigan average of 54.3%
Below the 40% Title I threshold; federal aid targets individual qualifying students rather than schoolwide programs.
Staffing depth
3.4:1
students per teacher
- 81% below state mean
Top 1% in Michigan - lower ratio than 99% of state schools
Well under the widely cited 15:1 individualized-attention benchmark, among the leaner class loads nationally.
Engagement
10.4%
chronically absent (missed 10%+ of school days)
In the 10-15% range, above the pre-pandemic national baseline but within the broader post-pandemic picture.
Support staff
Counselors0.0 FTE
Student-support staffing from the Civil Rights Data Collection.
Discipline context
0
in-school suspensions + 0 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 0.0 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 0.0 per 100 students. Reported via the Civil Rights Data Collection.
Overview
- Common Core of Data (June 2026): enrollment, staffing, and the student-teacher ratio above.
- Civil Rights Data Collection: discipline counts and program access (AP, gifted, special education).
- F-33 School District Finance Survey: the district-wide per-pupil spending figures below.
Three separate federal collections, each on its own reporting cadence - which is why this school's numbers line up on a consistent basis against every other school and state on this site, rather than mixing figures pulled from different survey years.
Student demographics
White 89.6%
Hispanic or Latino 3.0%
American Indian / Alaska Native 3.0%
African American 1.5%
Asian 1.5%
Two or More 1.5%
Largest group: White at 89.6% of enrollment.
Student-body diversity index 19.5/100
Simpson diversity index - at 19.5, Life Skills Center is less mixed than the Michigan school average of 36.2.
Programs
AP program Not offered
How Life Skills Center Compares to District-Mates
| School | Enrollment | Economic Profile | Student-Teacher Ratio |
|---|---|---|---|
| North Ednew Horizons | Similar size | Similar economic need | Higher S:T ratio |
| North Edbridgeway | Similar size | Higher economic need | Similar S:T ratio |
| North Edcreekside School | Similar size | Higher economic need | Higher S:T ratio |
Comparisons are relative to Life Skills Center's own figures; each column derives from NCES Common Core of Data.
Other Schools in This District
- Enrollment
- 75
- Students per teacher
- 7.5:1
- Resource Index
- 33/100
- Enrollment
- 70
- Students per teacher
- 3.7:1
- Resource Index
- 53/100
- Enrollment
- 64
- Students per teacher
- 7.1:1
- Resource Index
- 51/100
Similar high schools in Traverse City
1 comparable high schools (grades 9-12) serving the same city.
Similar high schools statewide
Matched by enrollment size and by staffing ratio across all of Michigan, not just this city - a different peer set than the local comparisons above.
Similar enrollment (~67 students)
Similar student-teacher ratio (~3.4:1)
Next steps
Verify locally before acting on Life Skills Center's federal record.
- Compare Life Skills Center against another school. Compare schools
- Northwest Education Services's spending and staffing shape this school. District profile
- Confirm current enrollment and boundaries with the school. Choosing guide
Federal record (CCD 2024-25, CRDC 2021-22) - PlainSchools assigns no subjective rating; the composite quality score is a transparent, reproducible index computed from this cited federal data.
Frequently asked questions about Life Skills Center
How many students attend Life Skills Center?
Life Skills Center has 67 students enrolled. It is a high school in Traverse City, MI.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Life Skills Center?
The student-teacher ratio at Life Skills Center is 3.4:1, which is 81% lower than the Michigan average of 17.5:1 and 78% lower than the national average of 15.7:1. Lower ratios generally mean more individual attention per student.
What percentage of students receive free lunch at Life Skills Center?
33.8% of students at Life Skills Center are eligible for free lunch, compared to the Michigan average of 54.3%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Life Skills Center?
The largest demographic group at Life Skills Center is White at 89.6% of enrollment, in Traverse City, MI.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Life Skills Center?
Life Skills Center has a Resource Investment Index of 50/100 (higher reported resources relative to schools nationally) based on 4 factors: student-teacher ratio, attendance rates. Not a test-score or academic measure (national median ~41/100, see methodology).
How does Life Skills Center rank among high schools in Traverse City?
By Resource Investment Index, Life Skills Center ranks #1 of 3 high schools in Traverse City, MI. This compares federal resource and staffing data among local peers; it is not a test-score or academic ranking. See all high schools in Traverse City on the city page.
Is Life Skills Center a good school?
Life Skills Center earns 50/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes smaller than 99% of Michigan schools. This is a resource snapshot, not an academic rating; see the Resource Investment Index question above for what the number does and doesn't measure.
What other schools are in Northwest Education Services?
Besides Life Skills Center, Northwest Education Services also operates North Ednew Horizons (75 students), North Edbridgeway (70 students), and North Edcreekside School (64 students). See the Northwest Education Services district page for the complete list.
Related tools
Every figure on PlainSchools is rendered directly from the source NCES, CRDC and F-33 federal records, no number is typed in by an editor. Each school's figures reflect its most recent NCES/CRDC submission on file. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of June 2026.