Baseline Middle School

Baseline Middle School in South Haven, MI, serves 377 students in grades 6-8 and is part of the South Haven Public Schools district. The school is on a clear upward trajectory, improving from a 2-star to a 3-star rating recently and climbing from the 39th to the 53rd percentile statewide—a positive trend that suggests recent changes are making a real difference for students.

The most impressive story at Baseline is its work with students who receive special education services. The school now ranks in the 98th percentile statewide for this group—4th out of 236 schools—a dramatic leap from the 41st percentile just a few years ago. Similarly, African American students have seen remarkable gains, moving from the 36th to the 86th percentile over the same period. These results point to targeted, effective support systems that are clearly working. Another standout area is 8th-grade social studies, where 62.5% of students scored proficient on the M-Step—well above the state average of 50.3% and a 15-point jump from the prior year. That said, there is a persistent gender gap, with female students consistently outperforming male students by a significant margin, which may be an area for future focus.

Compared to nearby schools, Baseline sits in the middle of the pack. It outperforms Hartford Middle School, Bangor Middle School, and Covert Middle School, but trails the high-performing Saugatuck Middle School (89th percentile). The school invests more per student ($14,674) than Saugatuck ($9,180) and maintains a favorable student-teacher ratio of 14.6, which likely contributes to its special education success. However, chronic absenteeism remains a hurdle at 31.1%—higher than the state average and several neighboring schools. With about 59% of students qualifying for free or reduced lunch, the school faces real economic challenges, but its recent academic gains suggest those obstacles are being met with effective, resource-rich support.