Mill Creek Academy

Mill Creek Academy is a small, K-5 elementary school in Williamsburg, MI, serving 233 students as its own single-school district, and it holds a strong 4-star rating with a 76th percentile statewide rank for 2025-2026.

This school truly shines in the early grades. In 3rd grade, an impressive 74.5% of students are proficient in math—a whopping 31.6 percentage points above the state average—and 63.8% are proficient in English Language Arts, which is 25.6 points higher than the state. That puts Mill Creek right up there with top area schools like Courtade Elementary and Eastern Elementary. However, there's a notable dip in 4th grade, where proficiency in both subjects drops to 34.9%—below the state average. This is a unique pattern compared to other high-performing schools in the area, which typically maintain or improve their scores from 3rd to 4th grade. It's a key area for parents to ask about, especially regarding curriculum transitions or support for older elementary students.

On the positive side, Mill Creek has remarkably low chronic absenteeism at just 9.3%—less than half the rate of nearby Central Grade School (25.6%) and Woodland School (23.3%), suggesting a highly engaged community. The school is also very efficient with its budget, spending $10,270 per student—far less than the $14,502 to $19,376 spent by Traverse City Area Public Schools elementary schools—yet still achieving comparable overall results. Mill Creek also does well supporting all its students, with male, female, and low-income subgroups all performing above their statewide peers. For parents, this school offers a strong, cost-effective foundation in the early years, though the 4th-grade transition is worth watching closely.