RATHER ELEMENTARY

A.A. Rather Elementary School (as our school is officially known) was built in 1960. Its first addition, a 2,004 square foot media center, was constructed on the east end of the original building during the 1988/1989 school year. Four classrooms, two small office spaces/storerooms, a hallway, and an entryway were added at the northeast end of Rather School during the 1998/1999 school year.

Rather Elementary School annually houses more than 320 students in two sections each of kindergarten through fifth grade.  The district's preschool program, Bulldog Beginnings, is also held at Rather Elementary School and typically contains 15 to 18 students in the a.m. section and 15 to 18 students in the p.m. section.

Rather School was mentioned as a Best Practices School Building in both the 1998/1999 and the 1999/2000 Standard & Poor’s Report for outperforming the state average, as measured by the proportion of MEAP scores that meet or exceed state standards, despite having above-average levels of economically-disadvantaged students.

In 2001, Rather School received a Michigan Association of School Boards Michigan’s Best Education Excellence Award for the Rather Elementary School Reading Club. During the 2004/2005 school year, Rather Elementary School was one of 32 elementary schools in Michigan to receive recognition as a Michigan Exemplary Blue Ribbon School Award winner.