Success Virtual Learning Centers of Michigan

Success Virtual Learning Centers of Michigan is a large, statewide public virtual high school (serving grades 9-12) with 1,644 students, operating under its own district of the same name and based in Vestaburg, MI.

For parents considering this option, the most critical information is that student outcomes are dramatically lower than state averages and nearly all nearby schools. The 4-year graduation rate is just 32.5%, compared to the state average of 84.0% and rates of 72.2% at Flextech High School Shepherd and 93.3% at Shepherd High School. The dropout rate is 33.9%—nearly five times the state average of 7.1% and more than double the rate at Gratiot Continuous Learning Center (23.5%). Academic proficiency is also extremely low: only 16.2% of 11th graders were proficient in SAT Reading and Writing (state average: 52.1%), and just 2.37% of 10th graders were proficient in PSAT Math (state average: 31.5%). The student-teacher ratio is exceptionally high at 78.2:1, meaning students have very limited direct teacher interaction.

This school serves a highly at-risk population (71.5% free/reduced lunch), and chronic absenteeism has been severe—79.2% in 2020-2021 and 63.9% in 2021-2022. A useful comparison is Vestaburg Community Alternative Education School, located at the same address, which serves a similar demographic but achieves a higher graduation rate (37.6%), a much lower dropout rate (14.8%), and better test scores. Even more striking, Flextech High School Shepherd—a much smaller virtual school with 79 students and a 16.1:1 student-teacher ratio—achieves a 72.2% graduation rate and far stronger proficiency (60% in 11th-grade Science vs. 9.6% here). This suggests that the large-scale, low-touch virtual model at Success Virtual is not producing positive results for most students, and families may want to explore smaller, more supportive alternatives in the area.