Thunder Bay Junior High School

Thunder Bay Junior High School is an intermediate school of heavily attended scale in ALPENA, Michigan, operated by Alpena Public Schools, caters to 796 students in grades 6 through 8. Compared to the state average of about 502 students per school, that is 59% larger than typical.

Thunder Bay Junior High School is one of 9 schools operated by Alpena Public Schools, a district that educates 3,553 students overall.

For racial and ethnic makeup, Thunder Bay Junior High School shows that 92% of students identify as White, making the school strongly White-majority; the rest is composed of 4% multiracial, 3% Hispanic. That mix tracks the wider county fairly closely.

On the income-and-resources front, On paper, Thunder Bay Junior High School has 51 full-time-equivalent teachers, translating to a class-load average of around 15.6:1. Statewide, the average ratio sits near 17.5:1, putting Thunder Bay Junior High School tighter than the state norm the norm. About 64% of enrolled students meet the income threshold for free or reduced-price lunch, a commonly cited indicator of low-income enrollment.

After controlling for student poverty, Thunder Bay Junior High School tracks the demographic baseline. The model predicts 38.0% given the school's FRL share; actual proficiency is 34.0%.

Zooming out to the county, Alpena County reports that median household income runs about $53,950, roughly 18% of adults have completed at least a four-year degree, and the poverty rate sits near 13%. Thunder Bay Junior High School is one of 10 public schools in Alpena County (combined enrollment of about 3,598 students).

Nearest neighbor: ACES Academy, around 0.5 miles off. Counting just inside five miles, 6 other public schools cluster around Thunder Bay Junior High School. Among the 5 schools in that immediate cluster with test data (this one included), Thunder Bay Junior High School ranks 4th on composite proficiency, behind the local average of 44.5%.

Geographically, the school is in a small-town area.

Looking at the recent track record. Over the past 7-year window, the student count ticked down 7%: 859 students in 2018 compared to 796 in 2025. The student-to-teacher ratio narrowed from 20.0:1 in 2018 to 15.6:1 today.

On this page, the feed for Thunder Bay Junior High School typically covers pickup logistics, teacher feedback, and after-school programs. The community welcomes input from current and former families.