Middle Schools in Hazel Park School District of the City of

The Hazel Park School District of the City of contains just one middle school, Hazel Park Junior High School, serving grades 6 through 8 with 413 students in a predominantly low-income community where 71% of students qualify for free or reduced lunch.

For parents considering this school, the most pressing concern is attendance: a staggering 58.1% of students are chronically absent, compared to 39.4% district-wide and 27.9% statewide. This directly impacts learning, as proficiency rates lag state averages by 20 to 28 percentage points in every subject. For example, only 9.2% of 6th graders and 17.9% of 7th graders are proficient in ELA on the M-Step, while state averages are 37.5% and 38.4%, respectively. Math proficiency is similarly low, with just 7.4% of 6th graders and 9.8% of 7th graders meeting standards. The school has ranked in the bottom 13% of Michigan middle schools for three consecutive years, holding a 1-out-of-5 star rating.

There are a few bright spots worth noting. Eighth-grade PSAT math proficiency more than doubled from 4.6% to 9.4% year-over-year, and 8th-grade ELA on the PSAT is the school's strongest area at 40.6% proficiency. Science (21%) and social studies (22.5%) also outperform math in 8th grade. However, 6th-grade ELA dropped sharply from 17.8% to 9.2%, which warrants investigation. The school spends a substantial $20,482 per student and maintains a favorable 12.3:1 student-teacher ratio, yet these resources have not translated into academic gains. Since the district's proficiency rates closely mirror the school's, this appears to be a systemic challenge rather than a school-specific issue. Addressing chronic absenteeism should be the top priority, as no amount of funding or staffing can overcome students missing more than half the school year.