The top reported proficiency rate is 29% in English language arts. The lowest is 21% in Math.
Original Research by School Decision on Rutherford Winans Academy
Rutherford Winans Academy is a charter school on Detroit's west side, serving pre-kindergarten through eighth grade from its Curtis Street location in the 48235 zip code. It operates as its own single-school charter district rather than falling under Detroit Public Schools Community District. The enrollment is small for a school spanning that many grade levels, and the student body is almost entirely Black. Nearly every student qualifies for free or reduced-price lunch, reflecting the economic conditions of the surrounding neighborhood.
The school sits in a part of Detroit where housing values run well below both state and national benchmarks, and home prices have been softening modestly year over year. Rents in the area are also low relative to the state. Detroit as a whole is a major urban center shaped by its automotive industrial history, with the Big Three automakers and large health systems among the regional employers. The city has seen renewed population growth in recent years after decades of decline, with revitalization concentrated in areas like Midtown, Corktown, and the East Riverfront. Walkability varies sharply by neighborhood, and the area around Curtis Street is more car-dependent than the downtown core. Civic anchors such as the Detroit Institute of Arts, the Detroit Public Library, and the Detroit Riverwalk are clustered in Midtown and downtown, some distance from the school.
On state assessments, Rutherford Winans Academy's results are generally low, with a few brighter spots. In English language arts, eighth grade stood out as a relative strength, with a meaningful share of tested students reaching proficiency on the PSAT. Third and fourth grade ELA also showed some students meeting the bar. Most other grade levels in ELA had very few or no proficient students, with results reported in suppressed ranges. Mathematics was weaker across the board. Third grade had a small fraction of students proficient, and grades four through eight showed no proficient students in the reported counts. Science and social studies results, tested in grades five and eight, were also low. A parent may want to look into this further with the school, particularly in math, where the pattern was consistent across every tested grade.
When positioned relative to districts in Wayne County, the school's overall proficiency index lands above the midpoint among the county's districts. This is a comparison against a large set of over a hundred districts, and the school's index sits above the county median despite the low absolute proficiency levels. That positioning reflects the wide variation in performance across Wayne County districts rather than strong absolute results. Because the school does not extend through twelfth grade, there is no graduation rate to report, which is expected for this grade band. Chronic absenteeism data was not available.
Several categories of information that parents often ask about were missing from the available data. No program offerings, such as advanced coursework, arts, or extracurricular activities, were reported. Staffing details, including teacher experience or student-to-staff ratios, were absent. Discipline data, course access information, and attendance figures were also not available. Special population data, including individualized education program rates and English learner counts, were missing. The district brief search found no evidence of recent curriculum changes, facility investments, or other parent-relevant shifts at the charter district level.
What the available picture shows is a small, community-based charter school serving a predominantly Black, low-income student population in a Detroit neighborhood with very affordable housing. State test results are low in absolute terms, with eighth grade ELA as the clearest bright spot, and the school's standing relative to Wayne County districts is above the median for proficiency. Families considering this school would benefit from asking directly about academic support strategies, available programs, staffing, and how the school addresses the proficiency gaps visible in the state data.
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