Summary:
Zip code 48228 in Detroit, Michigan, is served by 12 schools—9 elementary schools, 3 high schools, and no standalone middle schools—that collectively educate about 4,798 students across both Detroit Public Schools Community District and several charter networks, in a community where 80-98% of students qualify for free or reduced lunch.
For parents, the standout elementary option is Warrendale Charter Academy, which posts the strongest overall academic trajectory in the area—improving from the 9th to the 24th percentile over three years—and leads all elementary schools with 3rd-grade ELA proficiency at 30.6% and math at 34.7%. Its 7th-grade ELA proficiency of 40.4% actually beat the state average. KIPP Detroit Imani Academy, though small (91 students, K-3), achieves the highest 3rd-grade ELA rate in the zip at 37%, nearly matching the state. Meanwhile, Detroit Innovation Academy is a notable outlier at 8th grade, with PSAT ELA proficiency of 63.3% (state: 64.8%) and social studies at 53.3% (state: 50.3%)—all while spending the least per student ($12,215). On the other end, Henderson Academy ranked last in the state in 2024-2025, and WAY Academy Chicago Site has a 29.1% graduation rate and 81.5% chronic absenteeism.
The defining crisis across every school is chronic absenteeism, ranging from 58.2% at KIPP to 81.5% at WAY—all more than double the state average of 27.9%. High school transition is a breaking point: Cody High School posts just 7.7% SAT reading proficiency versus the state's 52.1%, and 9th-grade PSAT ELA drops to 12.3%. Notably, spending does not predict success—Gardner Elementary School spends $24,447 per student yet achieves only 8.6-23.1% ELA proficiency, while lower-cost charters like Warrendale and KIPP outperform. Early grades show promise, but proficiency erodes by middle school, suggesting cumulative gaps and disengagement. For families, the charter sector offers the strongest options, but results vary widely by school culture and attendance, not funding levels.
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