Summary:
Virtual Learning Academy of St. Clair County is a single virtual school in Port Huron, Michigan, serving grades 6 through 12 with 187 students and operating as its own district. This school faces severe academic and operational challenges that parents should understand before enrolling their child.
The most urgent concern is the graduation crisis. Only 26.4% of students graduate, compared to the state average of 84.0%, while the dropout rate of 22.6% is more than triple the state's 7.1%. This means roughly three out of four students are not completing their education on time. Academic proficiency is also critically low across every subject. In the most recent testing year, just 9.68% of 10th graders were proficient in math, and only 27.27% of 9th graders met ELA standards—a 32.9-point gap behind the state. SAT reading and writing proficiency fell sharply from 46.9% to 31.0% in one year, while science and social studies proficiency remain roughly 17–20 points below state averages. The school's state ranking has plummeted from the 52nd percentile to the 21st percentile over two years, dropping its star rating from 3 to 1.
Several structural factors likely contribute to these outcomes. The school serves a high-poverty population, with 71.66% of students qualifying for free or reduced lunch. Its student-teacher ratio of 31.1:1 is exceptionally high, especially for a virtual model where students typically need more individualized support, not less. Per-student spending is $7,384, which is lower than many traditional districts, raising questions about whether adequate resources are being directed toward student success. The data also shows a troubling pattern where 9th-grade ELA proficiency (27.27%) is significantly lower than 10th-grade proficiency (38.7%), suggesting either that students struggle immediately upon entry or that the most vulnerable students are leaving before 10th grade. For parents considering this school, the combination of low graduation rates, declining test scores, high poverty, and limited staffing presents substantial risks that warrant careful consideration of alternative educational options.
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