Grand Traverse Academy, Traverse City MI

Original Research by School Decision on Grand Traverse Academy

Grand Traverse Academy is a public charter school serving students from prekindergarten through twelfth grade on Traverse City's east side. As a charter, it operates as its own district rather than falling under a traditional public school system, and it draws families from across the Traverse City area who choose it over their geographically assigned schools. The school sits on Hammond Road, a short drive from downtown Traverse City but set in a more suburban stretch of the community.

Academically, the school's state assessment results from the most recent year paint a mixed but generally encouraging picture. In English language arts, proficiency is solid across the elementary and middle grades, with the eighth grade standing out as particularly strong, most students reaching proficiency on the PSAT-based measure. Math results are more uneven, with some grades performing well above the state midpoint and others landing closer to it or below. Science and social studies results fall in a middling range, with fifth grade social studies being the weakest reported area. Taken together, the school's overall proficiency index places it in the top quartile among districts in Grand Traverse County, which is a genuinely strong standing for a charter school competing against the area's traditional public districts. A parent evaluating younger grades may want to look into math instruction further, since the dip in the middle elementary grades is a pattern worth understanding.

One gap in the available data is the graduation rate. The state did not report a four-year graduation rate for this school in the comparison set, and because charter schools serving wide grade ranges sometimes report this measure differently or on a delayed cycle, the absence here does not necessarily indicate a problem. Still, families with high schoolers or soon-to-be high schoolers should ask the school directly about its graduation and college enrollment outcomes. Data on individualized education program participation, English learner status, chronic absenteeism, discipline, and staffing was also not available, so the portrait of student support services remains incomplete from public sources. Course access information, including any Advanced Placement, dual enrollment, or career pathway offerings, was not provided in the data.

The student body is predominantly white, with small numbers of students from other racial and ethnic backgrounds. A moderate share of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, below the state average, which suggests the school serves a broadly working- and middle-class population rather than a concentrated low-income one. Enrollment is distributed fairly evenly across the grades, though the high school grades are smaller, which is common for charter schools that see some students transfer to larger traditional high schools as they get older.

Traverse City itself is a small but regionally dominant community anchoring northern Michigan. The economy runs on tourism, cherry production and processing, a growing wine industry, healthcare anchored by Munson Medical Center, and some light manufacturing. The downtown core sits along the Boardman River where it meets Grand Traverse Bay, giving the city a waterfront character that intensifies in summer during the National Cherry Festival. Surrounding townships like Garfield and East Bay are primarily suburban bedroom communities growing as the region expands. Northwestern Michigan College provides a higher education presence within the city, which can matter to families thinking about dual enrollment down the line.

The housing market in the school's zip code runs well above the state benchmark and modestly above the national benchmark, with home values reflecting Traverse City's desirability as a place to live. Rents are also elevated relative to the state. This means families considering the area should expect housing costs to be a real factor in their budgeting, even though the school itself, as a public charter, charges no tuition.

Grand Traverse Academy fits a family looking for a charter alternative in a region where the traditional public schools are generally strong, who values a continuous prekindergarten through twelfth grade pathway under one roof, and who is comfortable with a smaller high school cohort. The academic results are competitive within the county, particularly in reading. The open questions about graduation reporting, specialized student supports, and upper-grade course offerings are the areas where a prospective parent should dig deepest before deciding.

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Academic performance

State test results and graduation outcomes.

Graduation rate (ACGR)

80-89%Cohort of 55 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 348%

School 48% · District 48%

▲ 7 pts above state median · ▼ 1 pts below county median

Grade 455%

School 55% · District 55%

▲ 16 pts above state median · ▲ 11 pts above county median

Grade 545%

School 45% · District 45%

▲ 14 pts above state median · ▲ 8 pts above county median

Grade 640%

School 40% · District 40%

▲ 12 pts above state median

Grade 766%

School 66% · District 66%

▲ 37 pts above state median

Grade 849%

School 49% · District 49%

▲ 22 pts above state median

English language arts

Grade 349%

School 49% · District 49%

▲ 12 pts above state median · ▼ 1 pts below county median

Grade 460%

School 60% · District 60%

▲ 20 pts above state median · even with county median

Grade 556%

School 56% · District 56%

▲ 14 pts above state median · even with county median

Grade 645%

School 45% · District 45%

▲ 11 pts above state median

Grade 755%

School 55% · District 55%

▲ 21 pts above state median

Grade 884%

School 84% · District 84%

▲ 21 pts above state median

Science

Grade 551%

School 51% · District 51%

▲ 11 pts above state median · even with county median

Grade 865%

School 65% · District 65%

▲ 28 pts above state median

Social studies

Grade 538%

School 38% · District 38%

▲ 9 pts above state median · ▲ 1 pts above county median

Grade 855%

School 55% · District 55%

▲ 12 pts above state median

This schoolGrand Traverse 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-income56%Higher-income45%11 pp gap

Grade 4Lower-income43%Higher-income67%24 pp gap

Grade 5Lower-income36%Higher-income65%28 pp gap

Grade 7Lower-income47%Higher-income58%11 pp gap

Grade 8Lower-income71%Higher-income87%16 pp gap

Mathematics

Grade 3Lower-income50%Higher-income47%3 pp gap

Grade 4Lower-income29%Higher-income65%37 pp gap

Grade 5Lower-income27%Higher-income53%26 pp gap

Grade 7Lower-income68%Higher-income64%4 pp gap

Grade 8Lower-income50%Higher-income49%1 pp gap