Westwood Heights Schools

Westwood Heights Schools is a small, high-poverty Michigan district serving roughly 1,185 students in grades K-12 across five schools in the Flint area, including two elementary schools, one middle school, and two high schools. The district ranks in the bottom 6% of Michigan schools, with chronic absenteeism affecting roughly half of all students and proficiency rates in core subjects running 20-40 points below state averages, despite per-student spending that exceeds $17,000.

The standout success is Hamady Community High School, which graduates 90.6% of its students—well above the state average of 84%—and has a dropout rate of just 5.2%. This is remarkable given that 84% of its students qualify for free/reduced lunch and it feeds from Hamady Middle School, where only 10.2% of 7th graders are proficient in ELA. In stark contrast, Academy West Alternative Education is in crisis: only 32.5% graduate, 46.8% drop out, and 63.2% are chronically absent—the worst metrics in the district despite serving the same high-poverty population. At the elementary level, Colonel Donald McMonagle Elementary School shows the most progress, jumping from the 2nd to 11th percentile in state rankings over two years, with 4th grade ELA proficiency doubling to 28%. Michael Hamady Elementary School serves only grades K-1 and has no test data, but its 58.3% chronic absenteeism rate among the district's youngest learners is deeply troubling.

For parents, the key takeaway is that outcomes vary dramatically within this district. Hamady High proves that graduation success is possible even in challenging circumstances, while Academy West appears to be failing its most vulnerable students. The middle school years represent a critical bottleneck—students arrive at Hamady High with significant academic deficits, yet still graduate at high rates, raising questions about diploma rigor. District-wide, chronic absenteeism (45.6% to 63.2%) is roughly double the state average and likely drives much of the low achievement. While McMonagle Elementary offers genuine hope with its steady improvement, the district's high spending hasn't translated into results, suggesting that resources alone can't overcome the compounded effects of poverty and disengagement. Parents should investigate each school individually, as the experience at Hamady High is vastly different from Academy West, and consider how attendance challenges might affect their child's education.