The top reported proficiency rate is 25% in Math. The lowest is 21% in English language arts.
Original Research by School Decision on Cole Academy
Cole Academy is a charter elementary school serving kindergarten through fifth grade on Lansing's south side, along West Mount Hope Avenue. It is a small school, with an enrollment spread fairly evenly across its six grade levels. As a public charter, it operates as its own district under the same name, which means parents looking at this school are looking at the entire institution rather than one building within a larger system.
The student body reflects the surrounding community. A substantial share of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, which positions the school as serving a predominantly low-income population. The racial and ethnic mix is diverse, with Black students forming the largest group, followed by White and Hispanic students, and a meaningful portion of students identified as two or more races. The school does not report data on English learners or students with individualized education programs, so a parent would need to ask the school directly about special education services and language support.
On state assessments, the most recent M-STEP results paint a difficult picture. In third grade, roughly a quarter of students reached proficiency in math and about a fifth in English language arts. In fourth and fifth grades, the reported proficiency range fell into the lowest bracket the state uses, with zero students recorded as proficient in math, ELA, science, or social studies at those grade levels. The tested groups are small, which means each year's results can swing sharply based on a handful of students, but the pattern across grades and subjects is consistent and below what most neighboring schools are producing. Against the comparison set of districts in Ingham County, Cole Academy's overall proficiency sits in the bottom quartile. A parent considering this school may want to look into how the school is responding to these results and what instructional supports or interventions are in place.
Because Cole Academy serves only elementary grades, there is no graduation rate, and the school does not report chronic absenteeism, discipline, staffing, or course access data in the records available. The absence of graduation data is expected for this grade band and does not reflect a gap in performance. The missing absenteeism and staffing figures, though, mean a parent has limited information to assess the school's climate and adult support from public records alone.
Lansing itself is Michigan's state capital and a regional center for government, higher education, insurance, and health care. The city's economy draws on state employment, major insurers like Auto-Owners and Jackson National Life, General Motors manufacturing, and Sparrow and McLaren health systems, with Michigan State University just over the border in East Lansing. The Grand River runs through downtown, and the Lansing River Trail offers a popular biking and walking path. The school's surrounding neighborhood, near Mount Hope Avenue, is part of a largely auto-oriented city where walkability is limited outside the downtown core. Publicly reported civic anchors include the Capitol building, Impression 5 Science Center, Potter Park Zoo, and the Library of Michigan.
The housing market in the school's ZIP code is affordable relative to both state and national benchmarks. Home values and rents sit well below Michigan's statewide medians, and both have shown modest year-over-year increases. For a family looking to buy or rent near the school, costs are comparatively low, which may be a practical draw for families whose priority is an affordable neighborhood with a small charter option.
The school's district brief turned up little publicly reported information about recent programmatic changes or strategic initiatives, so there is limited visibility into whether leadership has specific plans underway to address the academic results. A parent weighing Cole Academy would benefit from visiting the school, asking about classroom instruction and intervention strategies, and understanding what the charter's approach to elementary education looks like in practice, since the available records leave much of that story untold.
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