The top reported proficiency rate is 21% in English language arts. The lowest is 4% in Social studies.
Original Research by School Decision on Hope of Detroit Academy
Hope of Detroit Academy is a charter school district in Wayne County, Michigan, serving students from kindergarten through twelfth grade across two buildings: an elementary school and a combined middle-high school. The district is authorized by Ferris State University and operated by The Leona Group, an education service provider. Its charter was reauthorized in the summer of 2023 and runs through the summer of 2028, which means families considering enrollment can expect the school to remain open for the next several years under its current authorization.
The student body is predominantly Hispanic, with a smaller Black enrollment and very small shares of white, Asian, and multiracial students. The total enrollment is moderate for a single-district charter spanning all grade levels. Data on free or reduced-price lunch eligibility was not available, nor were figures for English learners or students with individualized education programs, so the picture of student needs and supports is incomplete from what was provided.
On Michigan's state assessments, the most recent results show a district where proficiency is low across subjects and grade bands. In English language arts, proficiency rates across the tested elementary and middle grades land in a band that runs from the low teens to the high twenties, with the strongest showing in eighth grade and the weakest in fifth. Math results are lower still, with most grades in the low teens or single digits, and eighth-grade math proficiency reported at the very bottom of the state's reporting range, with no students reaching proficiency on that measure. Science and social studies results, available for fifth and eighth grades, are also very low. Taken together, the district's overall proficiency index places it in the bottom quartile among Wayne County's districts, which is a large comparison set of well over a hundred districts and charter schools.
Chronic absenteeism is a concern that a parent may want to look into further with the school. The district's rate sits just above the midpoint among Wayne County districts, meaning a substantial portion of students miss enough school to fall into the chronically absent category. Per-pupil current spending is in the lower range compared with the county's districts, which may bear on the resources available for instruction, intervention, and enrichment, though spending levels alone do not determine outcomes.
No graduation rate was available for this district in the comparison data, and the reason for the gap is not specified. Because Hope of Detroit Academy serves high school grades, a graduation rate would ordinarily be expected, so a parent would want to ask the school directly about its four-year graduation rate and what supports exist for students progressing through the upper grades.
The locale brief and community context for this district were not available in the data provided, so there is no sourced information here about the surrounding neighborhood, housing market, or broader economic conditions. Similarly, no program offerings, course access details, staffing data, or civil-rights-related information were included. What is clear is that this is a small charter district with a distinct community identity, serving a largely Hispanic student population across the full K-through-12 span, and operating with below-county-median spending and academic results that trail most of its peers in Wayne County. Families drawn to a smaller, community-centered charter environment with continuity from kindergarten through graduation may find the model appealing, but the academic data suggests a parent should ask detailed questions about how the school supports grade-level achievement, what intervention and tutoring structures exist, and how the school is working to improve proficiency and attendance.
See more original research from School Decision →