International Academy of Flint K12, Flint MI

Original Research by School Decision on International Academy of Flint K12

International Academy of Flint K12 is a charter school serving students from kindergarten through twelfth grade on South Saginaw Street in Flint, Michigan. It operates as its own district under the name International Academy of Flint. The school sits in a city whose story most readers will know in broad strokes: a former General Motors manufacturing powerhouse that lost the bulk of its industrial workforce over decades, with a population that has fallen sharply since mid-century. Publicly reported sources note that the city has worked through a lead water crisis and continues revitalization efforts centered on downtown cultural assets along Saginaw Street, including the Capitol Theatre and events like Back to the Bricks. The school's address places it along that same Saginaw corridor, though the campus itself is separate from the downtown core.

The student body is sizable for a single charter campus spanning all grade levels. A large majority of students are Black, with smaller shares identifying as two or more races, and a very small number of white and Hispanic students. Nearly all students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, which reflects the economic conditions of the surrounding community. Data on English learners and students with individualized education programs was not available, so those populations cannot be characterized here. The neighborhood's housing market is among the most affordable in the state. Home values in the school's zip code sit far below both the Michigan and national benchmarks, and rents are similarly modest. For families already in Flint, housing costs are unlikely to be a barrier to choosing this school. For families considering relocation, the cost of living is low, though the city's long-term recovery trajectory and limited walkability outside downtown are part of the trade-off.

On state assessments, the school's results are weak across tested grades and subjects. In math, proficiency rates are in the single digits or near zero from third through eighth grade, with the highest reported rate still only a fraction of what state test takers typically achieve. English language arts shows a somewhat different pattern: most grades are also in the single digits, but eighth grade stands apart with a meaningfully higher proficiency rate. Science and social studies results are also low, with fifth-grade science and social studies falling into a range near zero. When measured against other districts in Genesee County, the school's overall proficiency sits in the bottom quartile. A parent reviewing these results may want to ask the school directly how it plans to address these outcomes and what interventions are underway.

That question is not abstract. The school has been publicly identified for Comprehensive Support and Improvement, a federal designation under ESSA for the lowest-performing schools. This means the school is required to develop and implement a comprehensive improvement plan with ongoing oversight. For a family, that designation is a double signal: the current academic results are low, and the school is under formal pressure to improve them with a structured plan.

We looked for information on program offerings, course access, staffing, discipline, attendance, and chronic absenteeism, and none of it was available in the data provided. The same is true for graduation rate, which was not reported for this school. The absence of a graduation rate at a school that serves through twelfth grade is something a parent should ask about directly. It may reflect reporting gaps or the specific characteristics of this charter's accountability status. We also looked for the school's strategic priorities or improvement plan details beyond the CSI designation and did not find them, so we left that out rather than guess.

What this school offers is a continuous kindergarten-through-twelfth-grade pathway under one roof in a city where many families are navigating economic hardship. Its strengths, as the data frame them, are not yet visible in academic outcomes. Its context is one of formal improvement requirements, an affordable housing market, and a community working to rebuild. For a family considering enrollment, the most useful next step is a direct conversation with school leadership about the CSI improvement plan, how the school supports students reading and doing math below grade level, and what the upper-grade experience looks like given the absence of reported graduation data.

See more original research from School Decision →

Academic performance

State test results and graduation outcomes.

Graduation rate (ACGR)

80-89%Cohort of 40 students · Class of 2021

The federal source publishes a banded range instead of an exact rate when the graduating cohort is small enough that an exact number could risk identifying individual students.

How this school compares to all schools in this state

Each dot is one school’s SY 2020-21 graduation rate, binned by integer rate. Taller columns mean more schools at that rate. This school is highlighted.

1,027 schools plotted. 80 additional schools' rates are federally suppressed and not shown. Data: EDFacts SY 2020-21.

Math

Grade 311%

School 11% · District 11%

▼ 30 pts below state median · ▼ 22 pts below county median

Grade 47%

School 7% · District 7%

▼ 31 pts below state median · ▼ 26 pts below county median

Grade 76%

School 6% · District 6%

▼ 23 pts below state median · ▼ 12 pts below county median

English language arts

Grade 37%

School 7% · District 7%

▼ 31 pts below state median · ▼ 26 pts below county median

Grade 414%

School 14% · District 14%

▼ 27 pts below state median · ▼ 26 pts below county median

Grade 58%

School 8% · District 8%

▼ 34 pts below state median · ▼ 25 pts below county median

Grade 68%

School 8% · District 8%

▼ 26 pts below state median · ▼ 18 pts below county median

Grade 715%

School 15% · District 15%

▼ 19 pts below state median · ▼ 9 pts below county median

Grade 830%

School 30% · District 30%

▼ 32 pts below state median · ▼ 26 pts below county median

Science

Grade 89%

School 9% · District 9%

▼ 29 pts below state median · ▼ 19 pts below county median

Social studies

Grade 812%

School 12% · District 12%

▼ 31 pts below state median · ▼ 25 pts below county median

This schoolInternational Academy of Flint, 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.