Best High Schools in Decatur, MI

Decatur, Michigan is home to two high schools serving grades 6-12 and 7-12 respectively, offering a stark contrast between a large traditional public school and a small alternative program within a rural community setting.

Decatur Junior Senior High School, part of Decatur Public Schools, is the area's primary comprehensive school with 399 students. It excels at keeping students on track, boasting a 92.3% graduation rate and a 0% dropout rate—both significantly better than state averages. However, academic proficiency tells a more mixed story. While 8th-grade ELA scores reach 55.7% proficiency, math is a persistent weakness, with all grade levels scoring 10-20 points below state averages, including an 18.6% SAT math proficiency rate. The school also spends more per student ($17,322) and has a chronic absenteeism rate of 24.5%, which is slightly better than the state average. In contrast, Volinia Outcome Base School, part of Marcellus Community Schools, is a much smaller alternative school with just 40 students. It serves a significantly more disadvantaged population, with 85% of students eligible for free/reduced lunch and a staggering 68.7% chronic absenteeism rate—nearly 2.5 times the state average. Its graduation rate of 77.7% lags behind both the state and Decatur Junior/Senior High.

Despite these challenges, Volinia shows a remarkable bright spot: its 10th-grade ELA proficiency rate of 66.67% far exceeds both the district (47.8%) and state (58%) averages, suggesting its outcome-based model may be effective for literacy. Decatur Junior/Senior High, meanwhile, demonstrates that strong graduation outcomes can coexist with academic struggles, particularly in math where intervention is clearly needed. For parents, the choice is between a traditional school with proven graduation success but math challenges, and a smaller alternative school that, despite high risk factors, achieves notable literacy gains. The spending gap—$17,322 versus $13,920 per student—raises questions about whether Volinia has adequate resources to address its students' significant non-academic needs.