Summary:
Zip code 49544 in Grand Rapids, Michigan, is home to two high schools serving grades 9-12 within the Kenowa Hills Public Schools district, which holds a 3-star rating and ranks in the 54th percentile statewide.
Kenowa Hills High School is the clear standout, serving 876 students and showing exceptional recent improvement. The school jumped from the 40th to the 74th percentile in a single year, now earning a 4-star rating. It boasts a 95.1% graduation rate—11 points above the state average—and a dropout rate of just 1.4%. Academic gains were consistent across subjects, with 9th grade math proficiency at 50% versus the state's 33.5%, and 11th grade science and social studies scores also exceeding state averages. In contrast, Kenowa Hills Pathways High School, an alternative program with only 99 students, ranks in the 19th percentile with a 1-star rating. Pathways students score significantly lower in science (23.8% vs. 39.9%) and social studies (19.05% vs. 45.4%) compared to the main high school, though it did improve from the 5th percentile the prior year. Pathways also serves a higher percentage of economically disadvantaged students (58.59% free/reduced lunch) and has a larger student-teacher ratio of 24.3:1 versus 18:1 at the main school.
Despite the academic gap, both schools outperform state graduation averages, with Pathways graduating 88.6% of students. Interestingly, Pathways has lower chronic absenteeism (21.0%) than both the main high school (26.2%) and the state (27.9%), suggesting the alternative program successfully engages at-risk students. The district's overall positive trajectory is driven by the main high school's turnaround, but the two-tier system—4 stars versus 1 star—highlights equity concerns worth monitoring. For parents, Kenowa Hills High School offers strong academics and impressive graduation outcomes, while Pathways provides a smaller, alternative setting that keeps students engaged despite lower test scores.
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