High Schools in Lakeview School District (Calhoun)

The Lakeview School District (Calhoun) in Michigan is home to two high schools serving grades 9-12: Lakeview High School, the district's comprehensive campus with about 1,241 students, and Lakeview Alternative High School, a much smaller program serving just 67 students.

These two schools represent vastly different educational experiences. Lakeview High School is the clear academic anchor, boasting a 95.8% graduation rate that far exceeds the state average of 84.0%, and a dropout rate of just 1.0%. It also outperforms the alternative school in every academic subject—for example, 35.8% of its 11th graders are proficient in science versus just 13.0% at the alternative school. In contrast, Lakeview Alternative High School is in crisis: only 57.4% of its students graduate, and a staggering 76.9% are chronically absent. The alternative school also has an alarming student-teacher ratio of 47.8:1, meaning students receive far less individual attention despite typically needing more support. While the alternative school serves a higher percentage of economically disadvantaged students (68.7% free/reduced lunch vs. 48.5% at the main high school), its outcomes appear worse than demographics alone would predict.

Even at the more successful Lakeview High School, there are concerns. Chronic absenteeism affects 30.6% of students—above the state rate—and math proficiency is a systemic weakness, with only 19.8% of 11th graders proficient in SAT math compared to 43.3% in reading/writing. The school also showed year-over-year declines in science, social studies, and SAT scores from 2024-2025 to 2025-2026, causing its state ranking to slip from the 59th to 50th percentile. Notably, the district spends about $3,000 more per student at the main high school ($14,829) than at the alternative school ($11,813), raising questions about equitable resource allocation. For parents, this district offers a solid traditional high school option, but the alternative program requires urgent attention to staffing, attendance, and academic support.