Flex High School of Michigan

The Flex High School of Michigan district contains just two alternative high schools serving grades 9-12 in the Flint area, both of which face severe academic and retention challenges despite very high per-student spending.

Between the two campuses, Flex High Burton is the stronger performer, with 236 students, a 35.9% 9th-grade ELA proficiency rate (versus 13.8% at Flex High North Flint), a lower dropout rate (63.6% vs. 66.6%), and a higher state ranking (17th percentile vs. 3rd). Burton also has a lower poverty rate (70.8% free/reduced lunch) and spends more per student ($63,706 vs. $55,108). However, Burton's graduation rate is actually slightly lower (9.0% vs. 10.0%), and its chronic absenteeism is more than double North Flint's (17.4% vs. 7.5%). North Flint, with just 160 students and an 85.6% poverty rate, posts the worse academic numbers but notably has far better attendance, suggesting students show up but still struggle.

The most alarming takeaway is that both schools have catastrophic graduation rates below 10%—compared to the state average of 84%—and dropout rates above 63%, roughly nine times the state norm. This crisis persists despite extraordinary funding: Burton spends nearly $64,000 per student, several times the national average, yet sees almost no graduates. The academic gap between campuses narrows by 10th grade (29.2% vs. 26.7% ELA proficiency), but both remain far below state averages. Chronic absenteeism at both schools is actually below the state average (27.9%), which makes the poor outcomes even more puzzling—students are attending but still failing. With the district ranked in the bottom 7% statewide and a 0-star rating, these schools appear to need comprehensive restructuring rather than incremental fixes, as poverty alone cannot explain the magnitude of underperformance when even the "better" campus fails so dramatically.