Summary:
Joseph K Lumsden Bahweting Anishnabe Academy is the sole school in the Joseph K. Lumsden Bahweting Anishnabe Academy district, serving 601 students in grades K-8 in Sault Sainte Marie, Michigan.
This school presents a mixed academic profile. Its strongest performance is in 8th grade Social Studies, where 71.2% of students are proficient, far exceeding the state average of 50.3%. The school also outperforms the state in 8th grade Science (53.8% vs. 39.2%) and shows smaller advantages in 6th and 7th grade English Language Arts. However, mathematics is a significant weakness across all grade levels. For example, only 21.7% of 4th graders and 21% of 6th graders are proficient in math, trailing state averages by roughly 11 to 18 percentage points. The school also saw declines in 13 of 16 tested areas from the 2024-2025 to 2025-2026 school years, with particularly sharp drops in 7th grade ELA (-14.7 points) and 7th grade math (-12.6 points). This volatility suggests that performance can vary significantly from one cohort of students to the next.
Despite spending a substantial $23,713 per student and maintaining a favorable 12.4:1 student-teacher ratio, the school's overall state ranking has remained stable in the 42nd to 49th percentile over the past three years. A key challenge is chronic absenteeism, with 31.7% of students missing significant school time, which is above the state rate of 27.9%. Nearly half of the student body (49.58%) qualifies for free or reduced lunch. For parents, this means the school offers clear strengths in specific subjects and grade levels, particularly 8th grade social studies and science, but faces persistent challenges in math and attendance that families should be aware of when considering academic support.
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