Compare Postma Elementary School with Swenke Elementary School

Postma Elementary School performed excellent to earn a State accountability rating of A (90-100) based on three domains: student achievement, school progress and closing the gaps. Scores are scaled from 0 to 100 to align with letter grades. The school scored 91 in student achievement, 93 in school progress and 98 in closing performance gaps. It scored 95 overall in post-secondary readiness, a broad term that refers to student preparedness to undertake multiple pathways after graduation, or specifically, their preparedness for college education.

On the other hand, Swenke Elementary School also performed excellent to earn a State accountability rating of A. The school posted 94 in student achievement, 92 in school progress, 98 in closing performance gaps and 95 overall in post-secondary readiness.

A distinction designation acknowledges districts and campuses for outstanding achievement based on the outcomes of several performance indicators. Distinction designations are awarded for achievement in several areas and are based on performance relative to a group of campuses of similar type, size, grade span, and student demographics.

It is in this area where the two schools differ. Postma Elementary School's five out of seven distinctions are in Reading/English Language Arts (ELA), Mathematics, Science, with 25% student progress and 25% closing performance gaps. Swenke Elementary School’s only distinction designation is in Science.

Based on Racial/Ethnic Groups, Hispanics comprise the biggest group at Postma Elementary School. They make up for 29.42% of student population, followed by African Americans (28.45%), Whites or Caucasians (18.46%), Asians (18.46%), Two or More Races (4.95%) and Native Americans (0.09%).

At Swenke Elementary School, Whites or Caucasians are the biggest group, comprising 59.48% of student population, followed by Hispanics (20.16%), Asians (8.54%), African Americans (5.96%), Two or More Races (5.56%) and Native Americans (0.30%).

Based on household incomes, Postma Elementary School’s economically disadvantaged students is significantly higher at 44.52% compared to 10.72% at Swenke Elementary School.

In terms of Limited English Proficiency (LEP), a term used in the United States that refers to a person who is not fluent in the English Language, mainly because it is not their native language, Postma Elementary School has a significantly higher number of English Language Learners comprising 22.79% of its student population compared to 4.27% at Swenke Elementary School.

In addition, Postma Elementary School has 22.00% bilingual students, 3.36% are in the gifted and talented program, while 10.60% are in the special education program. This stacks up against Swenke Elementary School with 3.87% bilingual students, 7.35% gifted and talented students and 11.82% students in the special education program.

63 teachers employed at Postma Elementary School have been teaching in the school for an average of about 9 years with individual teaching experience averaging 11.3 years. The 59 teachers at Swenke Elementary School have been serving the school for an average of 11.2 years with individual teaching experience averaging 14.2 years.

Of its teaching staff, Postma Elementary School has one teacher only serving the school for over 30 years, has seven teachers serving the school for 20-30 years, 22 teachers have worked for 11-20 years, 13 teachers have worked for 6-10 years, while 18 teachers have been serving the school for over 1-5 years, including three beginning teachers. Swenke Elementary School has one teacher only serving the school for over 30 years, has 11 teachers serving the school for 20-30 years, 28 teachers have worked for 11-20 years, 15 teachers have worked for 6-10 years, while four teachers have been serving the school for over 1-5 years, including one beginning teacher only.

In both schools, female teachers outnumber the male teachers. At Postma Elementary School there are 60 female teachers and three male teachers. Of its teaching staff, six special education teachers are being assisted by 22 teachers aides or paraprofessionals. In addition to its teaching staff, the school has three staff members in the school administration department and ten more working as school support staff.

At Swenke Elementary School there are 56 female teachers and three male teachers. Of its teaching staff, seven special education teachers are being assisted by 21 teachers aides or paraprofessionals. In addition to its teaching staff, the school has three staff members in the school administration department and nine more working as school support staff.