The top reported proficiency rate is 22% in English language arts. The lowest is 17% in Math.
Original Research by School Decision on Timberland Academy
Timberland Academy is a single-school charter district in Muskegon County, Michigan, serving kindergarten through eighth grade. Publicly reported sources describe it as managed by National Heritage Academies, a charter management organization. The district operates one school under the same name. Because it ends at eighth grade, there is no graduation rate to report, and that gap reflects the grade band rather than a missing measure.
The enrollment is moderate for a K-8 charter, with fairly even distribution across the nine grade levels. The student body is predominantly Black, with a smaller Hispanic presence and a comparable share of students identifying as two or more races. White students make up a smaller portion of enrollment. Economic disadvantage data through free or reduced-price lunch was not available, and neither were IEP nor English-learner counts, so the picture of student need is incomplete from what was provided.
On Michigan's M-STEP and PSAT assessments, the most recent results show proficiency sitting below the Muskegon County median across tested subjects and grades. In math, proficiency rates are in the teens to mid-twenties range across grades three through eight, with the higher marks in grades three and four and the lower ones in grades five and six. English language arts follows a similar pattern, though eighth grade stands out as a relative bright spot, with the highest proficiency rate among ELA grades. Science results are mixed: grade five is quite low, while grade eight is noticeably stronger. Social studies shows the same pattern, with a low grade-five result and a stronger grade-eight showing.
Placed among Muskegon County's districts, Timberland Academy's overall proficiency lands in the bottom quartile. Chronic absenteeism is also in the bottom quartile, meaning a substantial share of students are missing a concerning amount of school. Per-pupil current spending sits in the lower range compared to county peers. A parent may want to look into these areas further with the school, particularly the absenteeism figure, since attendance and academic outcomes tend to move together.
The district brief searched for recent parent-relevant changes such as policy shifts, curriculum updates, referenda, or tax measures and found little of lasting impact. Available sources describe static demographics and enrollment rather than new initiatives. This means there is not much to report in the way of recent strategic direction from the district's own materials.
Several pieces of context a parent might want were absent from the data. There is no locale brief for the surrounding community, so housing values, rents, and neighborhood character are not covered here. Program offerings such as extracurriculars, arts, sports, or specialized academic tracks were not provided. Staffing ratios, course access details, discipline data, and civil-rights indicators were also not available. Participation rates for the state assessments were missing across all tested grades and subjects.
What the data does convey is a K-8 charter serving a predominantly Black student population in Muskegon County, with academic results below county medians and an absenteeism rate that merits attention. The strongest results tend to appear in the upper elementary and middle grades, particularly eighth grade, while the intermediate grades show the most room for growth. Families considering this school would benefit from asking directly about attendance interventions, academic support structures, and enrichment offerings, since those details are not captured in the available data.
See more original research from School Decision →