Original Research by School Decision on Invest Roosevelt Alternative High School
Invest Roosevelt Alternative High School is an alternative public high school in Hazel Park, Michigan, serving students in grades nine through twelve. It operates within the Hazel Park School District of the City of Hazel Park and carries the alternative school designation, which means it is designed to serve students who may benefit from a nontraditional pathway to graduation rather than the standard comprehensive high school model. The school sits on South Chrysler Drive in a compact, primarily residential inner-ring suburb of Detroit.
Hazel Park itself is a small, dense city bordering Detroit to the north. Single-family homes on tree-lined streets define the residential fabric, with commercial activity concentrated along Nine Mile Road, which functions as the central business district with shops and offices. Civic life clusters at the intersection of Nine Mile Road and John R Road, where city hall, the public library, the police station, and the post office all sit on the same block. The city has seen its population decline slightly in recent years. The most visible development shift is the conversion of the former Hazel Park Raceway site into warehouse space for an Amazon distribution center, adding a commercial and industrial element to what has been a predominantly residential community. Schools in the district have been recently renovated, and the Hazel Park Promise Zone, publicly reported by the city, guarantees resident graduates of Hazel Park Schools a tuition-free path to an associate's degree.
The student body at Invest Roosevelt is modest in size for a high school, with enrollment spread fairly evenly across the four grade levels. A very large share of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, reflecting the economic profile of the surrounding community. The student population is overwhelmingly white, with small representation from other racial and ethnic groups. Data on individualized education programs and English learner status was not available, so those dimensions of student support cannot be characterized here.
State assessment results were not available for this school. This is common for alternative schools, which frequently sit outside standard state testing and accountability frameworks because of their specialized mission and the transitory nature of their enrollment. A graduation rate was also not reported in the available data, and the same logic often applies. Chronic absenteeism figures were similarly absent. We looked for the district's strategic priorities or recent parent-relevant changes but found little of lasting impact, so that context is left out rather than guessed.
In the neighbor comparison set, which places this school relative to districts in Oakland County, all three standard metrics (overall proficiency, four-year graduation rate, and chronic absenteeism) were marked not applicable because the entity's own values were missing. This should not be read as a negative signal about the school. It reflects the nature of an alternative school that may not generate the same data footprint as a comprehensive high school, and a parent looking to evaluate academic outcomes may want to ask the school directly about how it tracks student progress, credit recovery, and post-graduation pathways.
The housing market around the school is notably affordable compared with both state and national benchmarks. Home values in the school's zip code sit well below the statewide median, and rents are also moderate relative to broader Oakland County. The county-wide market has seen active listings grow and median listing prices soften somewhat in recent months, with homes moving at a measured pace. For families considering the area, housing costs are likely to be a relative strength, with ownership and renting both within reach for many households compared with the wider region.
What this school offers is a focused alternative pathway within a district that has invested in its facilities and has built a promise program extending through the first two years of college. Families considering Invest Roosevelt should approach it as a school serving a specific purpose, and the absence of standard proficiency and graduation data means the most productive next step is a direct conversation with the school about its approach to credit accumulation, student supports, and where graduates go next.
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