Uplift Michigan Academy, Stephenson MI

Original Research by School Decision on Uplift Michigan Academy

Uplift Michigan Academy is a public charter school serving kindergarten through twelfth grade, located in Stephenson, a very small rural city in Michigan's Upper Peninsula. The school operates as its own district, a single-school charter entity, and draws students from across the surrounding area. Its enrollment is moderate for the region, with students spread fairly evenly across grade bands, and the upper grades are actually somewhat larger than the elementary grades. The student body is majority white, with a substantial Black population and a smaller but present Hispanic and multiracial presence. A very large share of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, which places this school among the higher-need populations in its county.

The setting is rural and quiet. Stephenson sits along the Little Cedar River in Menominee County, with a compact downtown strip along US-41 that holds a bakery, grocery, banks, a movie theater, restaurants, and churches. Manufacturing is the largest local employment sector, followed by health care and social assistance. The town has been losing residents gradually, and no major housing developments or commercial construction projects are publicly reported. Home values in the school's zip code are well below both the state and national benchmarks, which may make the area relatively accessible for families looking to buy, though the housing market is thin and the broader economic picture is one of a slow demographic contraction rather than growth. The community is car-dependent, with no public transit identified and volunteer-based fire and EMS services.

Academically, the most recent state assessment results tell a difficult story. Math proficiency is very low across every tested grade, with most grades showing only a handful of students reaching proficiency. English language arts is somewhat stronger, with the eighth-grade cohort standing out as a relative bright spot, but the elementary and middle grades still show limited proficiency overall. Science and social studies results follow a similar pattern of low attainment, with eighth-grade science and social studies performing somewhat better than the elementary science result. When placed relative to districts in Menominee County, the school's overall proficiency sits in the bottom quartile, well below the county median. A parent weighing this school may want to look into what academic supports and interventions are in place, and to ask the school directly how it is responding to these results.

Several data points that would help a parent round out the picture are missing. No graduation rate is reported for this school, so families of high school students will need to ask the school directly about completion and post-graduation outcomes. IEP and English learner counts are also absent from the available data. No information on course access, staffing ratios, attendance, chronic absenteeism, discipline, or Title I status was available in the materials reviewed, so those questions should go straight to the school. The district brief search turned up no parent-relevant changes or strategic initiatives, which itself is a gap worth noting.

What Uplift Michigan Academy offers is a charter option in a part of the state where alternatives may be limited. For families in or near Stephenson who want something other than the traditional local district, it provides a full kindergarten-through-twelfth-grade pathway under one roof. The academic results, as currently reported, are a central concern, and any family considering enrollment should treat that as the primary question to explore with school leadership before deciding whether the fit is right.

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Academic performance

State test results and graduation outcomes.

Graduation rate (ACGR)

50-59%Cohort of 33 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 313%

School 13% · District 13%

▼ 29 pts below state median

English language arts

Grade 413%

School 13% · District 13%

▼ 28 pts below state median

Grade 520%

School 20% · District 20%

▼ 22 pts below state median

Grade 616%

School 16% · District 16%

▼ 18 pts below state median

Grade 717%

School 17% · District 17%

▼ 17 pts below state median

Grade 848%

School 48% · District 48%

▼ 14 pts below state median

Science

Grade 830%

School 30% · District 30%

▼ 7 pts below state median

Social studies

Grade 510%

School 10% · District 10%

▼ 18 pts below state median

Grade 822%

School 22% · District 22%

▼ 21 pts below state median

This schoolUplift Michigan 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 7Lower-income11%Higher-income29%19 pp gap

Grade 8Lower-income46%Higher-income60%14 pp gap