Renaissance Public School Academy, Mount Pleasant MI

Original Research by School Decision on Renaissance Public School Academy

Renaissance Public School Academy is a charter school serving kindergarten through eighth grade on South Isabella Road in Mount Pleasant, Michigan. It operates as its own district under the same name. The school draws families from the surrounding Mount Pleasant area, a college town and county seat shaped by Central Michigan University and the Saginaw Chippewa Tribal Nation. The campus sits in a community that blends residential neighborhoods with commercial corridors along Mission Street, with the Chippewa River running through the city and a historic downtown distinct from the university campus.

The school's enrollment is modest for a K-through-eight building, with roughly even grade-level cohorts from kindergarten through eighth. A substantial share of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch. The student body is predominantly white, with a meaningful portion identifying as two or more races, and smaller groups of Black, American Indian or Alaska Native, Hispanic, and Asian students. The school does not report IEP or English-learner counts in the data provided, so families needing special-education or language-support services should ask the school directly about what is available.

On state assessments, Renaissance shows a clear pattern: English language arts is the stronger subject, while math is a consistent soft spot. In ELA, proficiency rates across grades three through six hover in a moderate range, with seventh grade dipping lower. Eighth grade ELA, measured through the PSAT, stands out as a bright spot with a strong proficiency rate. Math tells a different story. Proficiency rates across grades three through seven are low, with the seventh-grade rate being the weakest. Eighth-grade math, also PSAT-based, improves relative to the middle grades but still trails the school's own ELA performance. Science and social studies results are mixed. Fifth-grade science and fifth-grade social studies are both on the lower side, while eighth-grade results in both subjects are considerably stronger, suggesting the school's older students perform better in these content areas as they approach high school transition.

Measured against its comparison set, the school's overall proficiency across tested subjects and grades places it above the midpoint among districts in Isabella County. It sits below the county median but above the lowest-performing district in the set, a grouping of five county districts. This positions Renaissance as a middle-tier performer academically within its immediate region. No graduation rate applies here because the school does not serve high school grades. Chronic absenteeism data was not available.

The housing market around the school is relatively affordable compared with both state and national benchmarks. Home values in the school's zip code sit below the Michigan state average, and rents are similarly modest. Both home values and rents have been appreciating year over year, with rents climbing at a faster clip. For families considering a move into the attendance area, housing costs are likely to be less of a barrier here than in many Michigan communities, though rising rents may be a factor for renting families.

Mount Pleasant itself offers a layered environment for families. Central Michigan University is the dominant employer and cultural force, and the student population nearly doubles the city during the academic year. The Saginaw Chippewa Tribal Nation operates the Soaring Eagle Casino and Resort nearby, and the city serves as the Isabella County seat with corresponding government employment. The city's population has declined slightly in recent years, and its poverty rate is elevated, likely influenced by the large student population. Several educational options coexist here, including Mount Pleasant Public Schools, Sacred Heart Academy as a private Catholic option, and community college and tribal college campuses. Families weighing Renaissance against these alternatives should consider that its charter status means it operates independently of the traditional public district, with its own governance and academic approach.

The district brief turned up no recent parent-relevant changes of lasting impact, so there is little to report on strategic shifts, program launches, or facility changes. This absence may simply reflect a period of operational continuity. A parent considering Renaissance may want to ask the school directly about math intervention supports, given the consistently lower proficiency rates in that subject across the middle grades, and about how the K-through-eight structure handles the transition to high school for its graduates.

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Academic performance

How students perform on state tests, by grade, set against the district.

Math

Grade 327%

School 27% · District 27%

▼ 15 pts below state median · ▼ 17 pts below county median

Grade 418%

School 18% · District 18%

▼ 20 pts below state median

Grade 524%

School 24% · District 24%

▼ 7 pts below state median

Grade 619%

School 19% · District 19%

▼ 9 pts below state median

Grade 716%

School 16% · District 16%

▼ 12 pts below state median

Grade 834%

School 34% · District 34%

▲ 7 pts above state median

English language arts

Grade 333%

School 33% · District 33%

▼ 5 pts below state median · ▼ 7 pts below county median

Grade 436%

School 36% · District 36%

▼ 5 pts below state median

Grade 538%

School 38% · District 38%

▼ 5 pts below state median

Grade 636%

School 36% · District 36%

▲ 3 pts above state median

Grade 727%

School 27% · District 27%

▼ 7 pts below state median

Grade 877%

School 77% · District 77%

▲ 15 pts above state median

Science

Grade 544%

School 44% · District 44%

▲ 5 pts above state median

Grade 853%

School 53% · District 53%

▲ 16 pts above state median

Social studies

Grade 522%

School 22% · District 22%

▼ 6 pts below state median

Grade 856%

School 56% · District 56%

▲ 13 pts above state median

This schoolRenaissance Public School Academy, same grade

Graduation rate (ACGR) reflects the federally published Adjusted Cohort Graduation Rate for the most recent year available. We refresh this data annually at the close of each academic year in June. The federal source publishes a banded rate (for example, "90-94%") instead of an exact number for cohorts small enough to risk identifying individual students. The state distribution chart, where shown, plots every school in the state with a published rate or band; schools whose rate is federally suppressed are excluded. Where the federal source publishes a band rather than an exact rate, the school is placed within its band using a stable, ID-derived offset, so its position is consistent across visits.

Proficiency by household income

English language arts

Grade 3Lower-income18%Higher-income67%49 pp gap

Grade 4Lower-income33%Higher-income43%10 pp gap

Grade 5Lower-income18%Higher-income57%38 pp gap

Grade 6Lower-income15%Higher-income62%47 pp gap

Grade 7Lower-income16%Higher-income38%22 pp gap

Mathematics

Grade 3Lower-income15%Higher-income53%39 pp gap

Grade 4Lower-income14%Higher-income29%15 pp gap

Grade 5Lower-income14%Higher-income35%21 pp gap

Grade 7Lower-income12%Higher-income21%9 pp gap

Grade 8Lower-income24%Higher-income44%20 pp gap