The top reported proficiency rate is 50% in Science. The lowest is 29% in Social studies.
Original Research by School Decision on Muskegon Montessori Academy for Environmental Change
Muskegon Montessori Academy for Environmental Change is a single-school charter district in Muskegon County, Michigan, serving students from pre-kindergarten through eighth grade. The school is small, with enrollment across grade levels that shrinks as students move toward the upper grades. Its racial and ethnic mix is fairly diverse for the area, with a white majority and substantial Black and Hispanic representation, plus a small share of students identifying as two or more races or as American Indian or Alaska Native. Free-or-reduced-price lunch data was not available, so the economic profile of the student body cannot be characterized from the data provided. Special-population figures, including students with individualized education programs and English learners, were also missing.
The school operates as a charter authorized by Ferris State University. Publicly reported records indicate the charter was reauthorized in July 2023 and extended through June 2030, which gives families a window of several years during which the school's continued operation is secured. The school is managed by Choice Schools Associates, a charter management organization. No information about the locale, housing market, or broader community context was available in the data, so those dimensions cannot be described here.
On Michigan's M-STEP assessments for the most recent school year, the school's results vary meaningfully by subject and grade. In English language arts, proficiency is strongest in the middle elementary grades, with a majority of fourth and fifth graders reaching proficiency, and roughly a third to nearly half of third and sixth graders doing so. Seventh-grade ELA results were reported only as a range with zero proficient students identified, and eighth-grade results were suppressed entirely because no students were tested under the PSAT assessment for that grade. In math, the story is softer. Proficiency rates across grades three through six fall in a modest range, with sixth grade the strongest. Fourth and seventh grades were reported as ranges with zero proficient students identified. Eighth-grade math was suppressed with no students tested. Science was tested only in fifth grade, where half of students reached proficiency, and social studies was tested only in fifth grade as well, with a lower share proficient. Eighth-grade science and social studies results were suppressed for the same reason as the other eighth-grade assessments.
Taken together, the school's overall proficiency index places it in the top quartile among Muskegon County's districts, above the county median. This is a strong relative position for a small charter school, though the small number of students tested in each grade means individual results can swing considerably from year to year, and the suppressed and range-reported results for several grades make a complete picture hard to assemble. A parent looking for a fuller read on upper-grade performance may want to ask the school directly about eighth-grade testing participation and seventh-grade outcomes.
Chronic absenteeism sits above the midpoint among the county's districts, though below the county's higher end, which means a meaningful portion of students are missing substantial instructional time. Per-pupil current spending falls in the lower range among county districts. No data was available on staffing, course access, discipline, or attendance beyond the chronic absenteeism figure.
Because the school does not serve high school grades, there is no graduation rate to report, and that absence reflects the grade band rather than a missing metric. No program offerings were listed in the data, so specific details about the Montessori method's implementation, environmental science focus, extracurriculars, or specialized supports cannot be confirmed from what was provided.
This is a small, diverse Montessori-focused charter school with a solid relative standing on proficiency for its size and some clear soft spots in math and in the upper grades where testing participation drops off. Families drawn to a Montessori approach in a small, mixed-grade setting will find a school whose authorization is stable for the next several years, but whose upper-grade academic picture is incomplete and whose absenteeism and spending levels warrant questions.
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