Academy of The Americas High School

Academy of The Americas High School is a large alternative public school in Detroit, MI, serving 874 students in grades 4 through 12 as part of the Detroit Public Schools Community District, where 86% of students qualify for free or reduced lunch.

The most striking thing about this school is its graduation success. In 2024-2025, the graduation rate reached 86.9%, which actually beat both the district average (83.1%) and the state average (84.0%). This is a real achievement for an alternative school serving a predominantly low-income population, and it shows the school is effective at keeping students on track to finish. However, this positive story is complicated by serious academic challenges. Proficiency rates in core subjects like English and math are far below state averages, and the problem gets worse as students get older. For example, 4th-grade reading proficiency was 22.9%, but by 6th grade it dropped to 9.4%. In high school, PSAT/SAT scores are in the single digits—only about 7.5% to 9.1% of 9th, 10th, and 11th graders are proficient. This suggests that while students are graduating, many may not be fully prepared for college-level work. Chronic absenteeism is also a major concern, affecting over half the student body (53.4%), which is nearly double the state average of 27.9%.

Compared to nearby schools, Academy of The Americas shows a mixed picture. It significantly outperforms the DPSCD Virtual School, which has a 57.1% graduation rate and a 35.7% dropout rate. However, Universal Academy, a charter school just 1.77 miles away, boasts a 97.9% graduation rate and a 0% dropout rate, with a far lower chronic absenteeism rate of 19.0%. The school spends a substantial $18,709 per student—higher than most nearby charters—yet academic outcomes remain low, raising questions about how resources are being used. On a positive note, 8th-grade social studies proficiency has shown a strong upward trend, rising from 4.35% to 25.5% over three years, suggesting that targeted improvements in one subject area are possible and could serve as a model for others.