Great Lakes Academy

Great Lakes Academy, a cozy elementary school in PONTIAC, Michigan, operated by Great Lakes Academy, teaches 162 students, covering grades K through 8. Compared to the state average of about 369 students per school, that is 56% leaner than typical.

Operationally, Great Lakes Academy answers to Great Lakes Academy, which sets policy, hires staff, and reports enrollment to the state.

On demographics, Great Lakes Academy records that the student body is overwhelmingly Black (81%). The remainder breaks down as 12% Hispanic. That is meaningfully more Black than the county at large, where the share is closer to 13%.

Looking at school resources, Staff filings list 13 full-time-equivalent teachers, which works out to roughly 12.5:1 students per teacher. The state averages around 15.8:1, so this campus is tighter than the state norm typical. Roughly 88% of students at Great Lakes Academy qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, a commonly cited indicator of low-income enrollment. That share is north of Oakland County's rate of about 32%.

In the broader community, community-level numbers for Oakland County indicate the typical household earns roughly $97,760 per year, roughly 51% of adults have completed at least a four-year degree, and roughly 5% of residents live below the federal poverty line. Across Oakland County's 345 public schools (combined enrollment of about 169,926 students), Great Lakes Academy is one campus in the mix.

Flex High School of Pontiac is the nearest neighboring public school, about 0.2 miles from this campus. Counting just inside five miles, 8 other public schools cluster around Great Lakes Academy.

Geographically, the school is in an inner-city area. Great Lakes Academy operates as a public charter school, meaning it is publicly funded but governed independently of the surrounding district's traditional schools.

Looking at the recent track record. Over the past 7-year window, the student count decreased 12%: 184 students in 2018 compared to 162 in 2025. Class-load math has narrowed: from 16.7:1 in 2018 to 12.5:1 in 2025.

Within the allk12 community for this school, the feed for Great Lakes Academy typically covers science fair prep, picture-day reminders, and bus-route questions. Contributors range from current parents to recent graduates and teachers.