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Best kept secret at Vanguard Charter Academy?
Community prompt from u/allk12. Replies below.
Enrollment
765
Elementary
STATE 369
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·VANGUARD CHARTER ACADEMY·NCES 260009800602
Vanguard Charter Academy
1620 52ND ST SW, WYOMING, MI 49519 · (616) 538-3630 · Kent County
GRADES PK–08ELEMENTARY13-CITYCHARTERTITLE IREGULAR SCHOOL765 STUDENTS
A
allk12 Grade
Scored higher than 88% of Michigan public elementary schools
- A-Test scores Share of students meeting the state standard in reading, math, and other tested subjects, 2023-24 and 2024-25.
- A+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 elementary schools
Student : Teacher
19.7:1
39 FTE teachers
STATE 15.8:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
59%
451 students
STATE 55%
Community
5
0 members
Enrollment and student:teacher ratio compared against other elementary schools. Free/Reduced Lunch and demographics compared against all schools.
Enrollment by grade, 2024-25
| Grade | Students | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Kindergarten | 106 | 14% |
| Grade 1 | 83 | 11% |
| Grade 2 | 88 | 12% |
| Grade 3 | 83 | 11% |
| Grade 4 | 84 | 11% |
| Grade 5 | 85 | 11% |
| Grade 6 | 83 | 11% |
| Grade 7 | 82 | 11% |
| Grade 8 | 71 | 9% |
This year's kindergarten class (106) is 49% larger than its 8th grade class (71).
Student demographics
68%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
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
Test scores
M-STEP 2024-25 . % Advanced + ProficientEnglish Language Arts
65.5%
MI avg 47.7%
Math
58.6%
MI avg 44.8%
What this means: On the M-STEP, Michigan's statewide test, about 66 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 59 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
OUTPERFORMING
Top 10% of MI schools after controlling for student poverty
Actual proficiency
57.9%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
40.2%
based on MI schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
+17.7pp
above demographic expectation
What this means: About 58% of students here test proficient in math and reading, well above the roughly 40% typical for Michigan schools with a similar share of low-income students. BeatsExpectations ranks schools against others at the same poverty level, not by raw scores, so a school can post high scores and still fall short of its prediction, or post lower scores and still beat it. This school clears its prediction by about 18 points, placing it in Michigan's top 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 Vanguard Charter Academy
Vanguard Charter Academy's state test result (57.9% proficient) is higher than 4 of the 4 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| Vanguard Charter Academy this school | 765 | 59.0% | 57.9% |
| Madison Elementary School ADRIAN | 753 | 59.5% | 32.2% |
| Roberts Elementary School SHELBY TOWNSHIP | 534 | 63.9% | 37.3% |
| Walker Charter Academy GRAND RAPIDS | 711 | 53.7% | 52.1% |
| Creative Montessori Academy SOUTHGATE | 759 | 60.5% | 27.5% |
| Sherwood Elementary School SAGINAW | 531 | 64.0% | N/A |
Matched among Michigan elementary 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 Vanguard Charter Academy ranks
Among elementary schools| Measure | This school | In Michigan | In Kent County |
|---|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 57.9% | #250 of 1,085 | #38 of 79 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 58.6% | #250 of 1,072 | #39 of 79 |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 65.5% | #154 of 1,139 | #29 of 82 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 765 | #35 of 1,630 | #3 of 115 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 19.7:1 | #1,331 of 1,424 | #98 of 105 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 68.0% | #114 of 1,424 | #22 of 105 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 59.0% | #724 of 1,563 | #53 of 114 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked steepest decline first | -1.3% | #935 of 979 | #79 of 80 |
Ranked against other public elementary 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
765
-8 (-1%) vs 2020
+30% since 2000-01, when it was 590
Student : Teacher
19.7:1
was 20.3:1
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 | 765 | 38.8 | 19.7:1 | 59% (451) |
| 2023-24 | 791 | 40.8 | 19.4:1 | 62% (488) |
| 2022-23 | 797 | 38.5 | 20.7:1 | 63% (504) |
| 2020-21 | 773 | 38 | 20.3:1 | 52% (402) |
| 2017-18 | 775 | 37.8 | 20.5:1 | 53% (411) |
| 2015-16 | 771 | 35 | 22.0:1 | 46% (351) |
| 2010-11 | 726 | 34 | 21.4:1 | 52% (377) |
| 2000-01 | 590 | 31 | 19.0:1 | 14% (85) |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for Vanguard Charter Academy.
Since 2017-18: students down 1% (775 to 765); teachers up 3% (37.8 to 38.8).
About Vanguard Charter Academy
Vanguard Charter Academy is a high-enrollment elementary school in WYOMING, Michigan, that operates as a charter school. The school enrolls 765 students, from pre-K through 8. An average school in this group (elementary schools in Michigan) has about 369 students.
The school serves as its own district in federal records.
By race and ethnicity, the largest group at Vanguard Charter Academy is White (43%). Other students are 33% Hispanic, 11% multiracial, and 11% Black. That is lower than the 73% White share among all Kent County residents. Vanguard Charter Academy has a diversity index of 68%, compared with 70% for all US public school students.
The school reports 38.8 full-time-equivalent teachers, which works out to about 19.7 students per teacher. For comparison, elementary schools in Michigan average 15.8:1. Free or reduced-price lunch eligibility covers 59% of students. Across public schools in Kent County, the average is 47%.
Measured against Michigan public elementary schools, Vanguard Charter Academy receives an A. The grade weighs proficiency most heavily, then how results compare with what the school's low-income share predicts, then the three-year change.
On BeatsExpectations, which compares test results with what a school's student poverty level would predict, Vanguard Charter Academy ranks in the top 10% in Michigan. Its average proficiency rate on state tests is 57.9%, against a prediction of 40.2%.
Within Kent County, median household income is about $82,631, a bachelor's degree or higher is held by about 41% of adults, and the poverty rate is about 6%. Federal data list 239 public schools in Kent County, with a combined enrollment of about 97,253.
The closest other public school is Pine Grove Learning Center, about 0.6 miles away. There are at least 8 other public schools within five miles. Ranking the closest schools with test data puts Vanguard Charter Academy at 2nd of 4.
The school's setting, by NCES definition, is City: Small: inside a principal city with a population under 100,000. It is a charter school, open to the public and funded by taxpayers.
Enrollment went from 773 in 2020-21 to 765 in 2024-25, a change of 8 students.
Questions about sports schedules, lunch menus, and spirit week can be posted here. Questions from prospective families are welcome too.
Kent County at a glance
View full county profilePopulation
663,150
Census ACS
Median income
$82,631
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
41%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
6%
Below federal line
Schools in county
239
97,253 students
Quick facts
Related schools
Other schools in WYOMING
- Wyoming High SchoolHigh · 1,273 students
- Kelloggsville High SchoolHigh · 595 students
- Wyoming Junior High SchoolMiddle · 584 students
- Wyoming IntermediateMiddle · 579 students
- Lee High SchoolHigh · 537 students
- West Elementary SchoolElementary · 468 students
Nearby schools
- Pine Grove Learning Center0.6 mi · 85
- Marshall Elementary School1.5 mi · 463
- Oriole Park Elementary School1.6 mi · 277
- West Kelloggsville School1.8 mi · 253
- West Elementary School1.8 mi · 468
- 54th Street Academy1.9 mi · 94
Frequently asked questions
About Vanguard Charter AcademyHow large is Vanguard Charter Academy?
Vanguard Charter Academy enrolls approximately 765 students in grades PK-08.
Is Vanguard Charter Academy an elementary, middle, or high school?
Vanguard Charter Academy is an elementary school covering grades PK-08.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Vanguard Charter Academy?
The student-to-teacher ratio at Vanguard Charter Academy is approximately 19.7:1 (39 FTE teachers).
What is the racial breakdown of students at Vanguard Charter Academy?
At Vanguard Charter Academy, the student body is approximately 43% White, 33% Hispanic, 11% Black, 2% Asian, 11% Two or more.
Is Vanguard Charter Academy public or private?
Vanguard Charter Academy is a public K-12 school operated as a charter, overseen by Vanguard Charter Academy.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.