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What advice would you give to incoming students at Thunder Bay Junior High School?
Community prompt from u/allk12. Replies below.
Enrollment
796
Middle
DISTRICT 395 · STATE 502
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·ALPENA PUBLIC SCHOOLS·NCES 260273003995
Thunder Bay Junior High School
3500 S THIRD AVE, ALPENA, MI 49707 · (989) 358-5400 · Alpena County
GRADES 06–08MIDDLE33-TOWNTITLE IREGULAR SCHOOL796 STUDENTS
C
allk12 Grade
Scored higher than 31% of Michigan public middle schools
- C-Test scores Share of students meeting the state standard in reading, math, and other tested subjects, 2023-24 and 2024-25.
- B-Beats expectations How far test scores land above or below what the share of low-income students predicts for a school in this state.
- ·Three-year trend Not available for this school, so the grade uses the other parts.
Grades compare a school only with schools in the same state, because every state gives its own test. How grades work · Top-graded Michigan public middle schools
Student : Teacher
15.6:1
51 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 16.0:1 · STATE 17.5:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
64%
509 students
DISTRICT 63% · STATE 55%
Community
5
0 members
Enrollment and student:teacher ratio compared against other middle schools. Free/Reduced Lunch and demographics compared against all schools.
Enrollment by grade, 2024-25
| Grade | Students | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Grade 6 | 271 | 34% |
| Grade 7 | 251 | 32% |
| Grade 8 | 274 | 34% |
Student demographics
14%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 17% · STATE 56% · US 70%
Student head counts by race/ethnicity from federal NCES enrollment data. District, state, and US figures are each group's share of all public school students in that area (US excludes territories). Very small groups may be suppressed in the source, so categories do not always sum exactly to total enrollment.
Gender split
School pathway
Feeds from
Based on grade levels within Alpena Public Schools. Attendance zones can vary; confirm enrollment with the district.
Test scores
M-STEP 2024-25 . % Advanced + ProficientEnglish Language Arts
28.9%
MI avg 47.7%
Math
23.2%
MI avg 44.8%
What this means: On the M-STEP, Michigan's statewide test, about 29 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 23 of 100 do math at grade level. Across all Michigan schools, those numbers are about 48 and 45.
Source: M-STEP. All students, all grades. See all years and grades →
BeatsExpectations
Demographically-adjusted score · methodologyTier
AS EXPECTED
Performing as predicted given the school's student profile
Actual proficiency
34.0%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
38.0%
based on MI schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
-3.9pp
below demographic expectation
What this means: About 34% of students here test proficient in math and reading, compared with the roughly 38% typical for Michigan schools with a similar share of low-income students. BeatsExpectations measures results against demographically similar schools rather than by raw scores, and this school falls within the typical range, neither among Michigan's top nor bottom 10%.
BeatsExpectations runs a per-state regression of proficiency on free/reduced-lunch share, then scores each school by residual. How this is calculated →
Schools most like Thunder Bay Junior High School
Thunder Bay Junior High School's state test result (34.0% proficient) is higher than 1 of the 5 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| Thunder Bay Junior High School this school | 796 | 63.9% | 34.0% |
| Bryant Middle School DEARBORN | 781 | 62.4% | 51.0% |
| Surline Middle School WEST BRANCH | 580 | 64.8% | 39.0% |
| Gaylord Intermediate School GAYLORD | 632 | 60.0% | 39.0% |
| Clio Middle School CLIO | 564 | 65.2% | 33.6% |
| Chesaning Middle School CHESANING | 584 | 56.7% | 46.8% |
Matched among Michigan middle schools on enrollment, the share of students from low-income families (eligible for free or reduced-price lunch), and racial and ethnic makeup. Proficient is the average share of students meeting the state standard across all of the school's state tests in 2023-24 and 2024-25, the same combined score our test-score rankings use. Online schools and schools serving specialized populations are not matched.
Where Thunder Bay Junior High School ranks
Among middle schools| Measure | This school | In Michigan |
|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 34.0% | #306 of 397 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 23.2% | #328 of 380 |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 28.9% | #339 of 377 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 796 | #55 of 491 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 15.6:1 | #81 of 436 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 14.3% | #397 of 437 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 63.9% | #114 of 477 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked steepest decline first | -7.3% | #258 of 339 |
Ranked against other public middle schools. Online schools are left out of every list, and test-score lists leave out schools that serve specialized populations. Each rank links to the full list. Arrows under a test-score rank show places moved since the prior test year, among schools tested both years.
4-year change
SY 2020-21 vs SY 2024-25Enrollment
796
-15 (-2%) vs 2020
-5% since 1990-91, when it was 838
Student : Teacher
15.6:1
was 19.8:1
Source: NCES Common Core of Data
Enrollment and staffing by year
| School year | Students | Teachers (FTE) | Students per teacher | Free and reduced lunch |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | 796 | 51.1 | 15.6:1 | 64% (509) |
| 2023-24 | 803 | 50.2 | 16.0:1 | 68% (550) |
| 2022-23 | 844 | 45.7 | 18.5:1 | 60% (504) |
| 2020-21 | 811 | 41 | 19.8:1 | 59% (480) |
| 2017-18 | 859 | 43 | 20.0:1 | 57% (486) |
| 2015-16 | 881 | 44 | 20.0:1 | 57% (506) |
| 2010-11 | 975 | 43 | 22.7:1 | 50% (483) |
| 2000-01 | 892 | 42 | 21.2:1 | 35% (310) |
| 1990-91 | 838 | N/A | N/A | N/A |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for Thunder Bay Junior High School.
Since 2017-18: students down 7% (859 to 796); teachers up 19% (43 to 51.1).
About Thunder Bay Junior High School
Thunder Bay Junior High School is a large middle school in ALPENA, Michigan, administered by Alpena Public Schools. Students in grades 6 through 8 attend, and enrollment is 796 students. The school's enrollment is 59% bigger than the 502 average for middle schools in Michigan.
Thunder Bay Junior High School falls under Alpena Public Schools, which has 9 schools enrolling 3,553 students.
Thunder Bay Junior High School enrolls a student body that is 92% White. The school is also 4% multiracial and 3% Hispanic. For comparison, Alpena County is about 93% White. By the diversity index, Thunder Bay Junior High School comes in at 14%.
Thunder Bay Junior High School employs 51.1 full-time-equivalent teachers. That gives a ratio of about 15.6:1. That ratio is under the 17.5:1 average for middle schools in Michigan. Free or reduced-price lunch eligibility was 64% in 2024-25. That is close to the 62% average for public schools in Alpena County.
allk12 grades Thunder Bay Junior High School a C. The grade compares the school only with Michigan public middle schools, because each state gives its own test.
Given its share of students eligible for free or reduced-price lunch, Thunder Bay Junior High School would be expected to post about 38.0%. Its actual average proficiency rate on state tests is 34.0%.
Alpena County has these Census figures: median household income is about $53,950, a bachelor's degree or higher is held by about 18% of adults, and the poverty rate is about 13%. The public schools of Alpena County number 10 and enroll about 3,598.
Alpena High School is the public school closest to Thunder Bay Junior High School, about 0.5 miles away. Inside a five-mile radius, there are 6 other public schools. Compared with its nearest neighbors, Thunder Bay Junior High School ranks 4th of 5 on average proficiency.
The federal government classifies Thunder Bay Junior High School's location as Town: Remote.
Enrollment has been fairly stable: 811 in 2020-21 and 796 in 2024-25. From 2020-21 to 2024-25, the ratio fell from 19.8:1 to 15.6:1.
Discussion on this page can cover sports tryouts, band and choir, and theater. Posting is open to anyone connected to the school.
Alpena County at a glance
View full county profilePopulation
28,880
Census ACS
Median income
$53,950
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
18%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
13%
Below federal line
Schools in county
10
3,598 students
Quick facts
Related schools
Other schools in Alpena Public Schools
- Alpena High SchoolHigh · 1,091 students
- Besser Elementary SchoolElementary · 470 students
- Ella M White ElementaryElementary · 440 students
- Wilson ElementaryElementary · 220 students
- Sanborn ElementaryElementary · 201 students
- Lincoln ElementaryElementary · 146 students
Other schools in ALPENA
- Alpena High SchoolHigh · 1,091 students
- Besser Elementary SchoolElementary · 470 students
- Ella M White ElementaryElementary · 440 students
- Lincoln ElementaryElementary · 146 students
- Hinks ElementaryElementary · 132 students
- ACES AcademyHigh · 57 students
Nearby schools
- Alpena High School0.5 mi · 1,091
- ACES Academy0.5 mi · 57
- Ella M White Elementary1.3 mi · 440
- Besser Elementary School2.4 mi · 470
- Pied Piper School2.6 mi · 45
- Lincoln Elementary2.6 mi · 146
Frequently asked questions
About Thunder Bay Junior High SchoolWhat is the total enrollment at Thunder Bay Junior High School?
Thunder Bay Junior High School enrolls approximately 796 students in grades 06-08.
What age range does Thunder Bay Junior High School serve?
Thunder Bay Junior High School serves students from grade 06 through grade 08.
How many teachers does Thunder Bay Junior High School have?
Thunder Bay Junior High School employs 51 FTE teachers, for a student-to-teacher ratio of 15.6:1.
What is the student diversity at Thunder Bay Junior High School?
Student demographics at Thunder Bay Junior High School are roughly 92% White, 3% Hispanic, 1% Black, 0% Asian, 4% Two or more.
Is Thunder Bay Junior High School public or private?
Thunder Bay Junior High School is a public K-12 school, overseen by Alpena Public Schools.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.