Frontier International Academy

The Frontier International Academy district in Michigan consists of two schools—Frontier International Academy, an alternative school serving grades K-12, and Frontier International Academy Elementary, a traditional elementary school serving grades K-8—together enrolling 1,132 students in a predominantly low-income area.

These two schools tell very different stories. Frontier International Academy Elementary is the clear standout, earning a 4-star rating in two of the last three years and ranking in the 73rd percentile statewide. In the most recent testing year, it beat the state average in nearly every subject and grade, with 5th graders posting an exceptional 80% proficiency in ELA (nearly double the state’s 43.8%) and 54.3% in science. This success is especially notable given that 99% of its students qualify for free or reduced lunch. Meanwhile, Frontier International Academy (the alternative school) excels at keeping students on track—its 91.5% graduation rate and 10.2% chronic absenteeism rate are both far better than state averages—but its test scores lag dramatically, with only 10.9% of 11th graders proficient in SAT math and 16.3% in science.

Comparing the two, the elementary school achieves far more with less: it has a 28.2:1 student-teacher ratio versus 16.4:1 at the alternative school, yet produces vastly superior academic outcomes. The elementary school is also improving quickly—5th-grade ELA jumped 30 points in one year—while the alternative school’s scores remain flat or declining. One shared weakness is social studies, where both schools fall below state averages. For parents, the elementary school offers a strong, improving education despite large class sizes, while the alternative school provides excellent support and graduation outcomes but struggles with academic proficiency, suggesting it may be better suited for students needing credit recovery or a non-traditional path to a diploma.