Tipton Academy PK3

Tipton Academy PK3, a modestly sized elementary-level community in GARDEN CITY, Michigan, one of the schools within Tipton Academy, serves 301 students, covering grades pre-K through 3.

Tipton Academy PK3 is one of 2 schools operated by Tipton Academy, a district that works with 556 students overall.

On the student-mix side, Tipton Academy PK3 logs that the largest single group is Black, at 59% of enrollment; the rest reads as 32% White, 4% multiracial, 3% Hispanic. That is considerably more Black than the county at large, where the share is closer to 37%.

On the resource side, The school employs 21 full-time-equivalent teachers, for a student-teacher ratio near 14.5:1. That figure is tighter than the state norm's 15.8:1 average. Roughly 73% of students at Tipton Academy PK3 qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, which schools and policymakers use as a rough income-mix signal.

Adjusting for the school's free-and-reduced-lunch share, Tipton Academy PK3 sits in the middle band of the BeatsExpectations distribution. Schools with this campus's student mix typically land near 33.8%; this one delivers 24.6%.

In the broader community, the surrounding county (Wayne County) logs that median household income runs about $60,539, 28% of adults hold a bachelor's degree or higher, and the poverty rate sits near 16%. In all, Wayne County runs 573 public schools (combined enrollment of about 259,786 students), of which Tipton Academy PK3 is one.

The closest other public school is Lathers Early Childhood and Kindergarten Center, roughly 0.4 miles away. 8 of the 8 nearest public schools sit inside a five-mile radius. Among the 4 schools in that immediate cluster with test data (this one included), Tipton Academy PK3 ranks 4th on composite proficiency, behind the local average of 41.5%.

Tipton Academy PK3 operates from an outer-ring location. As a public charter, Tipton Academy PK3 runs on public funding but with greater curricular and operational autonomy than a typical district school.

Trend over the last 7 years. Over the past 7-year window, the student count increased 4%: 290 students in 2018 compared to 301 in 2025. Black enrollment moved from 33% to 59% across the same window.

In the discussion threads here, the feed for Tipton Academy PK3 typically covers pickup logistics, teacher feedback, and after-school programs. Members of the school community can share what they know.