Benzie Academy

Benzie Academy is a small alternative school in Benzonia, MI, serving just 85 students in grades 6 through 12 as part of the Benzie County Central Schools district, where over two-thirds of students qualify for free or reduced lunch.

The most important thing for parents to understand is that Benzie Academy faces serious challenges with student success. For the 2024-2025 school year, only 50% of students graduated, and the dropout rate was a staggering 26.3%—nearly four times the state average of 7.1%. This isn't a one-year problem; graduation rates have stayed below 50% for four straight years, including a devastating 18.5% rate in 2021-2022. The contrast with nearby schools is stark. Benzie Central Senior High School, located just 0.1 miles away in the same district, boasts an 84.9% graduation rate and a 7.5% dropout rate. Even Bear Lake High School (69.5% graduation) and Frankfort High School (87.5% graduation) dramatically outperform Benzie Academy. The school also reports an extraordinarily high student-teacher ratio of 80.9:1, compared to 16.2:1 at Benzie Central Senior High, suggesting a model that relies heavily on independent study with limited direct teacher interaction.

Academic performance is mixed but generally low. While 40.9% of 11th graders were proficient in SAT reading and writing (closer to the state average of 52.1%), only 13.6% were proficient in science and 18.2% in social studies. Chronic absenteeism—affecting 31% of students—helps explain these struggles. Perhaps most concerning is the funding disparity: Benzie Academy spends just $5,299 per student, a fraction of the $18,695 spent at Benzie Central Senior High, $22,327 at Bear Lake, and $23,209 at Frankfort. This raises serious questions about whether the school has adequate resources to support students facing significant academic and economic challenges.