Summary:
The Flex High School of Michigan district operates two small, alternative high schools serving grades 9-12 in the Flint-Burton area of Michigan, enrolling a combined 396 students who are predominantly from low-income households.
Both schools are facing an educational emergency. Flex High Burton is the larger school with 236 students and shows somewhat better academic results, with 35.9% of 9th graders and 29.2% of 10th graders proficient in English Language Arts, compared to just 13.8% and 26.7% respectively at Flex High North Flint. However, both schools remain far below state averages of roughly 60% proficiency. The graduation rates are catastrophic at both schools—just 9.0% at Burton and 10.0% at North Flint, compared to the 84% state average—while dropout rates exceed 63% at both campuses, roughly nine times the state rate of 7.1%. Burton holds a slightly better state ranking (661st of 800) compared to North Flint (774th of 800).
Several striking contradictions emerge from the data. Despite the dire graduation and dropout statistics, chronic absenteeism is remarkably low—just 7.5% at North Flint and 17.4% at Burton, both well below the 27.9% state average—suggesting students attend school but still fail to progress academically. Per-student spending is extraordinarily high at $63,706 for Burton and $55,108 for North Flint, yet student-teacher ratios remain high at roughly 28:1, indicating funds may not be reaching classroom instruction. Both schools serve highly vulnerable populations, with 70.8% of Burton students and 85.6% of North Flint students qualifying for free or reduced lunch. For parents, these schools are struggling fundamentally: students show up, but the educational model is not translating into graduation or academic success, demanding urgent reconsideration of how these students are being served.
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