Oakside Prep Academy

Oakside Prep Academy is a large alternative public school in Waterford, MI, serving 1,424 students in Kindergarten through 12th grade, and it operates as its own district, meaning all district-level data reflects this single school.

The most defining characteristic of Oakside Prep is the economic profile of its student body. A staggering 95.44% of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, the highest rate among all comparable schools in the area. For context, nearby Arts and Technology Academy of Pontiac has a rate of 77.76%, while Renaissance Virtual School serves a far more affluent population at just 25.4%. This extreme poverty level is paired with an exceptionally high chronic absenteeism rate of 55.2% for the 2024-2025 school year—nearly double the state average of 27.9%. While other alternative schools in the area also struggle with attendance (Arts and Technology Academy at 60.0% and Virtual Learning Academy Consortium at 58.1%), Renaissance Virtual School reports a much lower rate of 11.7%, highlighting how different alternative schools serve vastly different student populations.

Academically, Oakside Prep shows proficiency rates substantially below state averages across most subjects and grade levels. For example, only 6.8% of 11th graders were proficient in SAT Mathematics compared to the state average of 26.5%. The school's graduation rate of 73.4% falls well below the state's 84.0%, and its dropout rate of 14.0% is nearly double the state average of 7.1%. However, there is a glimmer of relative strength in early grades: 4th-grade ELA proficiency (42.2%) was actually slightly above the state average (41.3%) in the 2025-2026 school year, suggesting the school's early elementary programs may be relatively effective, with gaps widening as students progress. The school spends $12,526 per pupil, indicating resources are being allocated, though likely toward addressing non-academic needs stemming from poverty. Compared to Childrens Village School—which has a 60% dropout rate and 5% graduation rate—Oakside Prep serves a less severely challenged population, but the combination of high poverty and high absenteeism creates formidable barriers that require substantial, targeted support beyond academic instruction alone.