Over the past several years, Lapeer Community Schools (LCS) has experienced tremendous growth on statewide elementary assessments. Last year, the District’s average growth on the M-STEP was nearly double the next highest-growth school district in Lapeer and Genesee Counties. 

This year, the tremendous growth has continued. 

The top two highest-performing elementary schools in Lapeer County are Schickler Elementary and Murphy Elementary. The two schools, both recently recognized by the State of Michigan as Reward Schools, were either first or tied for first in six of the seven tested areas. In the seventh tested area, third grade ELA, Lynch Elementary was tied for first with Chatfield.

“We are thrilled to see the results of these assessments reflect the fidelity of our approach to teaching and learning,” said LCS Superintendent Matt Wandrie. “For people who have been around our district for some time, it is truly incredible to see Schickler now performing at the highest level in the entire county.”

Logan Stacer. He is working with Keaton Pankey and Nicholas Uryga-Williams.

In 2015, the District lagged eight points behind the statewide average on all tested areas; Fast forward three years and the District is now outperforming the state by four points. The District is also outperforming Lapeer County schools by nearly three points. 

The goal, moving forward, is to use the data to identify gaps in proficiency and to implement strategies to fill them. 

“We are fortunate to have a tremendous amount of good data that we can use to improve instruction at every level,” said Michelle Bradford, Executive Director of Curriculum and Instruction. “We have common goals across the District and we are starting to speak a common language. Moving forward, everything we do as an organization will be student-centered and will consistently affirm our commitment to using data to drive our decisions.”

The District is now in a position to evaluate its performance with respect to student achievement metrics against the highest-performing districts in the region. In stark contrast to years past, the District acquits itself quite nicely when compared to historically high-performing and well-funded districts like Grand Blanc and Oxford. 

“Our goal is not to merely outperform our neighboring districts, but to be among the highest-performing districts in the region. This can’t happen overnight, but we are encouraged to see the numbers continue to increase.”