Flex High Burton

Flex High Burton is a public high school in Burton, MI, serving 236 students in grades 9-12, and operates as part of the Flex High School of Michigan district. The school serves a predominantly low-income population, with about 71% of students qualifying for free or reduced lunch.

The most critical information for parents is that Flex High Burton has a four-year graduation rate of just 9.0% for the 2024-2025 school year, compared to the state average of 84.0%. This means only about 1 in 11 students graduates on time. The dropout rate is a staggering 63.6%—nearly nine times the state average of 7.1%. This is dramatically worse than nearby alternatives like Atherton Junior Senior High School (92.9% graduation rate) or Bentley Senior High School (86.2% graduation rate). Even WAY Academy Flint, another alternative school serving a similar population, graduates students at nearly seven times the rate of Flex High Burton (61.1%).

Interestingly, the school reports a relatively low chronic absenteeism rate of 17.4% (below the state average of 27.9%), which suggests students who are enrolled do attend regularly. However, they are not accumulating enough credits to progress toward graduation. The school also spends an extraordinary $63,706 per student—more than four times what nearby schools spend—yet achieves the worst outcomes in the region. While Flex High Burton shows some relative strength in English Language Arts on the PSAT, outperforming several comparable schools, this does not offset the fundamental challenge: students face only a 9% chance of graduating within four years. For families seeking a reliable path to a diploma, nearby schools like Madison Academy High School (89.6% graduation rate) or Mott Middle College High School (87.5%) offer dramatically better outcomes.