The top reported proficiency rate is 51% in English language arts. The lowest is 23% in Math.
Original Research by School Decision on Bellaire Middlehigh School
Bellaire MiddleHigh School sits in the village of Bellaire, the county seat of Antrim County, where the Intermediate River winds between Forest Home and Kearney townships. The school serves grades six through twelve as part of Bellaire Public Schools, a small rural district whose building sits along Forest Home Avenue within or near the village's compact downtown. This is a place where school, government, and civic life share the same small footprint rather than occupying a separated campus.
The enrollment is small, consistent with the village's modest permanent population. The student body is predominantly white, with a small number of students identifying as Hispanic, Native American, Black, or multiracial. A substantial share of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch. Data on English learners and students with individualized education programs was not reported, so those population details are not available here.
State assessment results for the most recent year are available for the middle school grades and present a mixed picture. In English language arts, proficiency varies widely across the tested grades. The strongest result comes from eighth grade, where a clear majority of tested students reached proficiency. Sixth grade also shows a solid share of proficient students. Seventh grade, by contrast, shows a much smaller portion meeting the standard. In mathematics, the proficiency rate is low and fairly flat across the three tested middle grades, with only a modest share of students demonstrating proficiency at each level. Eighth-grade science and social studies results land closer to the middle of the range, with roughly half of tested students proficient in social studies and slightly fewer in science. Participation rates were not reported for any of these assessments.
When placed against other districts in Antrim County, the school's overall proficiency across tested subjects and grades sits below the midpoint. This does not mean the school is at the bottom of the county; it falls within the lower portion of a relatively narrow band among the county's districts. A parent evaluating academic outcomes may want to look into the math results further with the school, and ask what supports are in place for students performing below proficiency, particularly given that eighth-grade ELA results suggest the school can produce strong outcomes when conditions align.
We looked for the school's four-year graduation rate, chronic absenteeism rate, and any multi-year trend data, but none was available in the provided information. The absence of a graduation rate is worth noting for families considering the high school grades; a parent may want to request this directly from the district. We also found no program offerings, advanced course access, staffing ratios, or discipline data in the materials provided, so those dimensions cannot be described here.
The community context shapes what kind of environment a student enters. Bellaire is a small rural village whose economy is increasingly tied to tourism, with Short's Brewing Company, Shanty Creek Resort, and county government as anchors. The permanent population has seen slight decline over recent decades, yet summer brings a dramatic influx of visitors and vacation homeowners. Home values have risen appreciably, reflecting the area's appeal as a second-home destination. The typical home value in the school's zip code is near the national benchmark and well above the Michigan state benchmark, which means the housing market may feel less affordable than the village's rural setting might suggest. There is no meaningful public transit, so daily life is car-dependent.
The district brief turned up no parent-relevant changes from the recent past with lasting impact, so there is little to report on strategic shifts, building projects, or program expansions.
What this school offers is a small, community-embedded setting where students attend a combined middle and high school with a small peer group across seven grades. That size means close proximity to teachers and likely deep familiarity among classmates, but it also means thinner program breadth than a larger school can sustain. The academic results show real strength in some grades and subjects and clear soft spots in others, particularly mathematics. Families drawn to a small northern Michigan village with a tourism-driven economy and outdoor-recreation access may find the setting appealing, and will want to supplement the publicly available picture with direct conversations with the school about graduation outcomes, high school course pathways, and support structures for students who are not yet proficient.
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