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Welcome to the Walker Charter Academy community. What's one thing that would make Walker Charter Academy even better?
Community prompt from u/allk12. Replies below.
Enrollment
711
Elementary
STATE 369
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·WALKER CHARTER ACADEMY·NCES 260014900910
Walker Charter Academy
1801 3 MILE RD NW, GRAND RAPIDS, MI 49544 · (616) 785-2700 · Kent County
GRADES KG–08ELEMENTARY21-SUBURBCHARTERTITLE IREGULAR SCHOOL711 STUDENTS
Student : Teacher
19.1:1
37 FTE teachers
STATE 15.8:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
54%
382 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 | 111 | 16% |
| Grade 1 | 83 | 12% |
| Grade 2 | 82 | 12% |
| Grade 3 | 80 | 11% |
| Grade 4 | 76 | 11% |
| Grade 5 | 69 | 10% |
| Grade 6 | 72 | 10% |
| Grade 7 | 70 | 10% |
| Grade 8 | 68 | 10% |
Student demographics
69%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
54.2%
MI avg 47.7%
Math
51.9%
MI avg 44.8%
What this means: On the M-STEP, Michigan's statewide test, about 54 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 52 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
52.1%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
42.5%
based on MI schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
+9.7pp
above demographic expectation
What this means: About 52% of students here test proficient in math and reading, compared with the roughly 42% 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 →
Where Walker Charter Academy ranks
Among elementary schools| Measure | This school | In Michigan | In Kent County |
|---|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 52.1% | #363 of 1,085 | #41 of 79 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 51.9% | #386 of 1,072 | #43 of 79 |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 54.2% | #374 of 1,139 | #39 of 82 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 711 | #58 of 1,630 | #5 of 115 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 19.1:1 | #1,285 of 1,424 | #92 of 105 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 69.1% | #89 of 1,424 | #20 of 105 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 53.7% | #830 of 1,563 | #56 of 114 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked steepest decline first | -4.4% | #805 of 979 | #72 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.
4-year change
SY 2020-21 vs SY 2024-25Enrollment
711
-16 (-2%) vs 2020
+21% since 2000-01, when it was 586
Student : Teacher
19.1:1
was 19.1:1
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 | 711 | 37.3 | 19.1:1 | 54% (382) |
| 2023-24 | 718 | 35.6 | 20.1:1 | 56% (403) |
| 2022-23 | 698 | 38.4 | 18.2:1 | 53% (371) |
| 2020-21 | 727 | 38 | 19.1:1 | 47% (345) |
| 2017-18 | 744 | 35.5 | 20.9:1 | 42% (314) |
| 2015-16 | 768 | 36 | 21.3:1 | 41% (316) |
| 2010-11 | 704 | 35 | 20.1:1 | 38% (266) |
| 2000-01 | 586 | 31 | 18.9:1 | 10% (58) |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for Walker Charter Academy.
About Walker Charter Academy
Located in GRAND RAPIDS, Michigan, Walker Charter Academy is a large elementary school. A total of 711 students attend the school, which covers kindergarten through 8. Against the 369-student average for elementary schools in Michigan, enrollment here is 93% higher.
In federal data, the district for Walker Charter Academy is the school itself.
Federal enrollment data show White students as the largest group at Walker Charter Academy, at 47%. Enrollment also includes 24% Hispanic, 12% multiracial, 8% Black, and 8% Asian. Among people living in Kent County, the White share is about 73%. The school's diversity index is 69%, meaning two students picked at random have a 69% chance of belonging to different racial or ethnic groups.
At Walker Charter Academy, 37.3 full-time-equivalent teachers work with students, a ratio of about 19.1:1. On average, elementary schools in Michigan have 15.8:1, compared with 19.1:1 here. Students eligible for free or reduced-price lunch make up 54% of enrollment.
Compared with Michigan schools that have similar shares of low-income students, Walker Charter Academy's results are 9.7 points above predicted: 52.1% against 42.5%.
Census estimates describe Kent County this way: the median household income is $82,631, about 41% of adults have at least a bachelor's degree, and about 6% of residents live below the federal poverty line. Besides Walker Charter Academy, Kent County has 238 other public schools.
Nearest public school: CA Frost Environmental Science Academy Middle High School, about 1.8 miles away. A five-mile radius around the school includes at least 8 other public schools. Nearby schools average 45.1% on proficiency, and Walker Charter Academy is above that at 52.1%.
Locale data from NCES put Walker Charter Academy in a suburban area outside a principal city, within an urbanized area with a population of 250,000 or more (Suburb: Large). Charter status: Walker Charter Academy is a public charter school.
Enrollment was essentially flat over 4 years: 727 in 2020-21, 711 in 2024-25.
Topics for discussion here include school events, clubs, and volunteer needs. Alumni can share how the school prepared them.
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 GRAND RAPIDS
- East Kentwood High SchoolHigh · 2,068 students
- Northern High SchoolHigh · 1,088 students
- PrepNet Virtual AcademyCombined · 1,080 students
- Northview High SchoolHigh · 1,078 students
- Central High SchoolHigh · 999 students
- City High Middle SchoolHigh · 955 students
Nearby schools
- CA Frost Environmental Science Academy Middle High School1.8 mi · 309
- Blandford School2.1 mi · 60
- CA Frost Environmental Science Academy Elementary2.1 mi · 476
- Kenowa Hills Pathways High School2.2 mi · 99
- Kenowa Hills High School2.2 mi · 876
- Kenowa Hills Middle School2.2 mi · 634
Frequently asked questions
About Walker Charter AcademyHow large is Walker Charter Academy?
Walker Charter Academy enrolls approximately 711 students in grades KG-08.
What age range does Walker Charter Academy serve?
Walker Charter Academy serves students from grade KG through grade 08.
How many students per teacher at Walker Charter Academy?
Approximately 19.1:1 students per teacher at Walker Charter Academy.
What is the racial breakdown of students at Walker Charter Academy?
At Walker Charter Academy, the student body is approximately 47% White, 24% Hispanic, 8% Black, 8% Asian, 12% Two or more.
Is Walker Charter Academy public or private?
Walker Charter Academy is a public K-12 school operated as a charter, overseen by Walker Charter Academy.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.