Sampsonwebber Leadership Academy, Detroit MI

Original Research by School Decision on Sampsonwebber Leadership Academy

SampsonWebber Leadership Academy is a pre-kindergarten through eighth-grade regular public school in the Detroit Public Schools Community District, located on Tireman Street on the city's west side. It serves a predominantly Black student body with a small Hispanic enrollment, and nearly all of its students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch. The school is small for its grade band, with enrollment spread fairly evenly across grades. Data on English learners and students with individualized education programs was not available, so those populations could not be characterized here.

On Michigan's M-STEP and PSAT assessments in the most recent school year, proficiency rates at SampsonWebber were low across every tested subject and grade. In math, several grades fell within the lowest reported band, and the grades with exact figures showed only a small fraction of students reaching proficiency. English language arts results were somewhat stronger, with one middle grade reaching a quarter of students proficient, but most grades remained in the lower single digits to teens. Science and social studies results followed a similar pattern, with most grades in the lowest reported range. When measured against other districts in Wayne County, the school's overall proficiency index sits in the bottom quartile. A parent weighing this school may want to look into what academic supports and interventions are in place and how the school plans to address these results.

No graduation rate applies here, since the school does not serve high school grades. Chronic absenteeism data was not available, nor were discipline, course access, staffing, or attendance figures. Program offerings such as Advanced Placement, dual credit, or career pathways were not reported, which is expected for a pre-K through eighth-grade building but limits what can be said about enrichment opportunities beyond the core curriculum.

The surrounding neighborhood is in a part of Detroit that has experienced decades of disinvestment and population loss, part of the broader arc the city has traveled since its mid-century peak. Housing values near the school are very low compared with both state and national benchmarks, and the immediate zip code has seen a recent year-over-year decline in home values. Rents are modest. Wayne County's broader housing market shows a median listing price well below the state benchmark, with active listings rising and demand cooling, suggesting a buyer's market with ample supply. For a family considering this area, housing affordability is a real advantage, though the tradeoff is a neighborhood where reinvestment has been slower to arrive than in higher-profile corridors like Midtown or the East Riverfront.

Detroit itself is a major urban center undergoing a widely reported revitalization, with new mixed-use development downtown, riverfront expansion, and recent population growth after decades of decline. The Detroit Public Schools Community District has announced a multi-year facilities improvement plan to renovate and modernize school buildings across the city, which could eventually mean a better physical environment at SampsonWebber, though parents should ask about the timeline and scope for this particular building.

What this school offers is a neighborhood-based, full pre-K-through-eighth pathway in a community where housing costs are among the most affordable in the region. The academic results, though, are a serious consideration. Families looking at SampsonWebber should ask direct questions about the school's academic improvement strategy, available tutoring and intervention programs, and how leadership and enrichment activities named in the school's title translate into the daily student experience.

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Academic performance

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

Math

Grade 412%

School 12% · District 13% · ▼ 1 pts below district

▼ 26 pts below state median · ▼ 16 pts below county median

Grade 513%

School 13% · District 9% · ▲ 3 pts above district

▼ 19 pts below state median · ▼ 6 pts below county median

Grade 715%

School 15% · District 13% · ▲ 2 pts above district

▼ 13 pts below state median · even with county median

English language arts

Grade 412%

School 12% · District 15% · ▼ 2 pts below district

▼ 29 pts below state median · ▼ 16 pts below county median

Grade 525%

School 25% · District 17% · ▲ 8 pts above district

▼ 17 pts below state median · ▼ 3 pts below county median

Grade 613%

School 13% · District 17% · ▼ 4 pts below district

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

Grade 719%

School 19% · District 16% · ▲ 3 pts above district

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

Grade 815%

School 15% · District 31% · ▼ 15 pts below district

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

Science

Grade 517%

School 17% · District 13% · ▲ 4 pts above district

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

This schoolDetroit Public Schools Community District, 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.