Other / mixed grade configuration · Sterling Heights, MI

Willow Woods Elementary School

Federal NCES profile for Willow Woods Elementary School, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators - Resource Investment Index 25/100.

2024-25 NCES dataOther / mixed grade configurationNCES 263519007109
0/100100/10025/100
👥 S:T ratio
34
🌟 Gifted program
30
🎓 Counselors
28
📋 Attendance
10
Scored 0–100 from federal NCES and CRDC indicators, resource allocation, not test scores. Full methodology →

The verdict

Willow Woods Elementary School earns 25/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes near the Michigan median. It is also more racially and ethnically mixed than most Michigan schools.

#14 of 23
schools in Sterling Heights · Resource Index
25
Resource Index · Lower
16.5:1
students per teacher
75.0%
free-lunch eligible

Willow Woods Elementary School has class sizes near the Michigan median. Computed live against every Michigan school reporting to NCES.

By Resource Investment Index, Willow Woods Elementary School ranks #14 of 23 schools in Sterling Heights, MI.

Enrollment

362

Michigan · 2024-25 NCES data

Teachers (FTE)

22.0

Federal CCD staff survey

Students per teacher

16.5:1

vs 17.5:1 Michigan avg

-6% vs state

Free-lunch eligible

75.0%

vs 54.3% Michigan avg

+38% vs state

Student-teacher ratio in context

How Willow Woods Elementary School compares with Michigan and U.S. medians

At or below state median

Source: NCES Common Core of Data As of 2024-25 federal staff survey Total enrollment ÷ full-time-equivalent classroom teachers

What stands out at Willow Woods Elementary School

Willow Woods Elementary School is a high-poverty, mid-sized combined-grade school in Sterling Heights, Michigan, enrolling 362 students.

At 16.5:1, its student-teacher ratio sits close to the Michigan median, within a few percentage points of the 17.5:1 state norm, neither notably crowded nor notably small.

Economic need runs somewhat above the state's typical profile, with 75.0% of students eligible for free meals.

With 362 students, its enrollment sits close to the Michigan median campus size.

Its Resource Investment Index sits near the middle of the pack among 3,375 scored Michigan schools.

Against 492 statewide peers matched on enrollment and economic need, it ranks mid-pack at #202.

Its student body is led by White (58%) and African American (20%), more mixed than most schools in the state (diversity index 59/100).

Counselor availability sits well past the ASCA benchmark, roughly 362 students sharing each counselor, though short of the most stretched campuses.

Chronic absenteeism is elevated: 35.9% of students missed 10% or more of school days (2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection).

Its district draws 15.7% of revenue from federal sources, an above-typical federal share that tends to track a higher-need student population.

Warren Consolidated Schools also operates Warren Mott High School (1,335 students) and Sterling Heights Senior Hs (1,262 students) alongside Willow Woods Elementary School.

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 Willow Woods Elementary School compares

Willow Woods Elementary School on the metrics families compare, against Michigan and U.S. means.

Metric This school vs Michigan Michigan avg U.S. avg
Students per teacher 16.5:1 ▼ 6% 17.5:1 15.7:1
Free-lunch eligible 75.0% ▲ 38% 54.3% 51.7%
Enrollment 362 top 49% - -

Source: NCES Common Core of Data School-level CCD + state/national means from Public School Universe · 2024-25

16.5:1
Leaner classes than 34% of US schools, a middle-of-the-pack class size.
362
Bigger than 42% of US schools by enrollment, mid-sized for the country.

Equity indicators (what these measure)

Economic need
75.0%
free-lunch eligible - 38% above the Michigan average of 54.3%
Above the 40% Title I schoolwide threshold; federal funds support the whole school, not individual students.
Staffing depth
16.5:1
students per teacher - 6% below state mean
Top 48% in Michigan - lower ratio than 52% of state schools
Between 16:1 and 20:1, squarely in the typical U.S. public-school staffing range.
Engagement
35.9%
chronically absent (missed 10%+ of school days)
At or above 20%, the commonly used threshold for "high" chronic absenteeism, signaling significant barriers to regular attendance.
Funding equity
$15,519
per pupil, district-wide - above Michigan avg of $13,507
Somewhat below the U.S. average per-pupil spend; funding constraints may affect programs, facilities, and staffing.
Support staff
Counselors1.0 FTE
Per 362 students, the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
0
in-school suspensions + 2 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 0.0 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 0.6 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 58.3%
African American 20.2%
Asian 15.5%
Two or More 4.1%
Hispanic or Latino 1.7%
American Indian / Alaska Native 0.3%

Largest group: White at 58.3% of enrollment.

Student-body diversity index 59.3/100

Simpson diversity index - at 59.3, Willow Woods Elementary School is more mixed than the Michigan school average of 36.2.

Programs

Funding & spending

District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Warren Consolidated Schools, which includes Willow Woods Elementary School.

$15,519
Per student
+15%
vs Michigan
Avg $13,507
-6%
vs U.S.
Avg $16,593
Revenue mix
Local 33.2%
State 51.1%
Federal 15.7%

Source: NCES F-33 School District Finance Survey District-level finance · FY 2021-22 Per-pupil expenditure reflects the district-wide average. Individual school budgets are not reported at the federal level.

How Willow Woods Elementary School Compares to District-Mates

School Enrollment Economic Profile Student-Teacher Ratio
Warren Mott High School Larger Similar economic need Higher S:T ratio
Sterling Heights Senior Hs Larger Similar economic need Higher S:T ratio
Cousino Senior High School Larger Lower economic need Higher S:T ratio
Grissom Middle School Larger Similar economic need Higher S:T ratio
Carter Middle School Larger Lower economic need Higher S:T ratio

Comparisons are relative to Willow Woods Elementary School's own figures; each column derives from NCES Common Core of Data.

Other Schools in This District

Warren Consolidated Schools · 5 sibling schools

View district profile

Similar other 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.

Next steps

Verify locally before acting on Willow Woods Elementary School's federal record.

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 Willow Woods Elementary School

How many students attend Willow Woods Elementary School?

Willow Woods Elementary School has 362 students enrolled. It is a public school in Sterling Heights, MI.

What is the student-teacher ratio at Willow Woods Elementary School?

The student-teacher ratio at Willow Woods Elementary School is 16.5:1, which is 6% lower than the Michigan average of 17.5:1 and 5% higher 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 Willow Woods Elementary School?

75.0% of students at Willow Woods Elementary School are eligible for free lunch, compared to the Michigan average of 54.3%.

What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Willow Woods Elementary School?

The largest demographic group at Willow Woods Elementary School is White at 58.3% of enrollment, in Sterling Heights, MI. Its student body is more racially and ethnically mixed than most US schools, with a diversity index of 59.3/100.

What is the Resource Investment Index for Willow Woods Elementary School?

Willow Woods Elementary School has a Resource Investment Index of 25/100 (lower reported resources relative to schools nationally) based on 4 factors: student-teacher ratio, counselor availability, attendance rates. Not a test-score or academic measure (national median ~41/100, see methodology).

How does Willow Woods Elementary School rank among schools in Sterling Heights?

By Resource Investment Index, Willow Woods Elementary School ranks #14 of 23 schools in Sterling Heights, MI. This compares federal resource and staffing data among local peers; it is not a test-score or academic ranking. See all schools in Sterling Heights on the city page.

Is Willow Woods Elementary School a good school?

Willow Woods Elementary School earns 25/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes near the Michigan median. It is also more racially and ethnically mixed than most 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 Warren Consolidated Schools?

Besides Willow Woods Elementary School, Warren Consolidated Schools also operates Warren Mott High School (1,335 students), Sterling Heights Senior Hs (1,262 students), and Cousino Senior High School (1,250 students). See the Warren Consolidated Schools district page for the complete list.

Source: National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) CCD + Public School Universe (2024-25), CRDC (2021-22), F-33 District Finance Survey (FY 2021-22) · 2024-25 Data as of the 2024-25 school year. Coverage from U.S. Department of Education NCES Common Core of Data. Varies by entity type; administrative districts and certain charter networks may report only a subset of fields.

All federal data sources used on this page

Full source list and how we compute each figure: methodology page.

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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.