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What do students at West MI Academy of Environmental Science actually talk about outside of class?
Community prompt from u/allk12. Replies below.
Enrollment
666
Combined
STATE 281
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·WEST MI ACADEMY OF ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE·NCES 260009200596
West MI Academy of Environmental Science
4463 LEONARD ST NW, GRAND RAPIDS, MI 49534 · (616) 791-7454 · Kent County
GRADES PK–12COMBINED21-SUBURBCHARTERTITLE IREGULAR SCHOOL666 STUDENTS
B-
allk12 Grade
Scored higher than 53% of Michigan public K-12 schools
- BTest 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 K-12 schools
Student : Teacher
13.0:1
51 FTE teachers
STATE 17.3:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
47%
310 students
STATE 55%
Community
5
0 members
Enrollment and student:teacher ratio compared against other combined schools. Free/Reduced Lunch and demographics compared against all schools.
Enrollment by grade, 2024-25
| Grade | Students | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Kindergarten | 87 | 13% |
| Grade 1 | 56 | 8% |
| Grade 2 | 60 | 9% |
| Grade 3 | 44 | 7% |
| Grade 4 | 53 | 8% |
| Grade 5 | 61 | 9% |
| Grade 6 | 57 | 9% |
| Grade 7 | 50 | 8% |
| Grade 8 | 55 | 8% |
| Grade 9 | 42 | 6% |
| Grade 10 | 37 | 6% |
| Grade 11 | 32 | 5% |
| Grade 12 | 32 | 5% |
This year's kindergarten class (87) is 58% larger than its 8th grade class (55).
Student demographics
57%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
53.7%
MI avg 47.7%
Math
41.7%
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 42 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
49.5%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
45.7%
based on MI schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
+3.9pp
above demographic expectation
What this means: About 50% of students here test proficient in math and reading, compared with the roughly 46% 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 →
4-year change
SY 2020-21 vs SY 2024-25Enrollment
666
-89 (-12%) vs 2020
+65% since 2000-01, when it was 404
Student : Teacher
13.0:1
was 14.0:1
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 | 666 | 51.2 | 13.0:1 | 47% (310) |
| 2023-24 | 669 | 52.4 | 12.8:1 | 58% (388) |
| 2022-23 | 728 | 43.8 | 16.6:1 | 56% (409) |
| 2020-21 | 755 | 54 | 14.0:1 | 56% (425) |
| 2017-18 | 751 | 51 | 14.7:1 | 62% (467) |
| 2015-16 | 689 | 46 | 15.0:1 | 60% (413) |
| 2010-11 | 524 | 37 | 14.2:1 | 74% (389) |
| 2000-01 | 404 | 25 | 16.2:1 | 0% (0) |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for West MI Academy of Environmental Science.
Since 2017-18: students down 11% (751 to 666); teachers unchanged (51 to 51.2).
About West MI Academy of Environmental Science
West MI Academy of Environmental Science is one of the public schools in GRAND RAPIDS, Michigan. It is a large combined-grade school. It educates 666 students in pre-K through 12. The typical figure for combined schools in Michigan is about 281 students.
Federal records list West MI Academy of Environmental Science as its own district.
By race and ethnicity, West MI Academy of Environmental Science is 59% White. The school is also 27% Hispanic, 9% Black, and 2% multiracial. That is lower than the 73% White share among all Kent County residents. By the diversity index, West MI Academy of Environmental Science comes in at 57%.
The teaching staff at West MI Academy of Environmental Science is 51.2 full-time-equivalent teachers, and the ratio is 13.0:1. That ratio is under the 17.3:1 average for combined schools in Michigan. The percentage of students eligible for free or reduced-price lunch is 47%. That is close to the 47% average for public schools in Kent County.
allk12 grades West MI Academy of Environmental Science a B-. The grade compares the school only with Michigan public K-12 schools, because each state gives its own test.
BeatsExpectations compares each school's average proficiency rate on state tests with a prediction based on free or reduced-price lunch eligibility. For West MI Academy of Environmental Science, the prediction is 45.7% and the result is 49.5%.
Census estimates describe Kent County this way: median household income is about $82,631, the share of adults with a bachelor's degree or higher is 41%, and roughly 6% of residents are in poverty. The public schools of Kent County number 239 and enroll about 97,253.
Zinser Elementary School is the nearest neighboring public school, about 0.6 miles away. Counting only straight-line distance, at least 8 other public schools are within five miles. Of 6 schools in the immediate area with test results, West MI Academy of Environmental Science ranks 3rd on average proficiency.
The school's locale code, Suburb: Large, means it is in a suburban area outside a principal city, within an urbanized area with a population of 250,000 or more. Federal records list West MI Academy of Environmental Science as a charter school.
Between 2020-21 and 2024-25, the student count dropped from 755 to 666.
The West MI Academy of Environmental Science community page is open for posts about enrollment questions, class placement, and PTA news. Anyone with firsthand experience at this school can post or comment.
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
- Zinser Elementary School0.6 mi · 443
- Blandford School1.8 mi · 60
- Kenowa Hills Central Elementary School1.9 mi · 538
- CA Frost Environmental Science Academy Elementary1.9 mi · 476
- Grandville Cummings Elementary School1.9 mi · 366
- Shawmut Hills School2.6 mi · 267
Frequently asked questions
About West MI Academy of Environmental ScienceHow many students attend West MI Academy of Environmental Science?
West MI Academy of Environmental Science enrolls approximately 666 students in grades PK-12.
What age range does West MI Academy of Environmental Science serve?
West MI Academy of Environmental Science serves students from grade PK through grade 12.
How many students per teacher at West MI Academy of Environmental Science?
Approximately 13.0:1 students per teacher at West MI Academy of Environmental Science.
What is the racial breakdown of students at West MI Academy of Environmental Science?
At West MI Academy of Environmental Science, the student body is approximately 59% White, 27% Hispanic, 9% Black, 1% Asian, 2% Two or more.
Is West MI Academy of Environmental Science public or private?
West MI Academy of Environmental Science is a public K-12 school operated as a charter, overseen by West MI Academy of Environmental Science.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.