Original Research by School Decision on Way Oasis
WAY Oasis is an alternative school serving grades six through twelve within the Mt. Pleasant City School District, located on South Isabella Road in Mount Pleasant. As an alternative school, it serves students who are seeking a different pathway from the traditional secondary program, and the enrollment is small, with the largest concentrations in the upper grades, particularly tenth through twelfth. A substantial share of students qualify for free or reduced-price meals. The student body is predominantly white, with a meaningful American Indian and Alaska Native presence, reflecting in part the city's location within the Isabella Indian Reservation, home of the Saginaw Chippewa Tribal Nation. Hispanic and multiracial students also make up smaller portions of the enrollment. Data on individualized education programs and English learner status was not available.
State assessment results for this school are largely suppressed, which is common for alternative schools and small tested populations. In the grades where no students were tested, results are not reported. For eighth grade, where a small number of students did sit for the assessments, proficiency rates in math, English language arts, and science were reported in a range at the very bottom of the scale, with no students scoring proficient or above. Average scale scores were reported for those tested groups. No multi-year trend data was available. A parent may want to look into how the school supports academic growth and remediation directly with the school, since the available test picture is sparse and reflects the alternative setting.
We looked for graduation rate data and chronic absenteeism data, and neither was available. The neighbor comparison set, which positions this school relative to districts in Isabella County, could not produce a proficiency index, graduation rate, or attendance metric for WAY Oasis because the underlying values were missing. This does not necessarily indicate a weakness; alternative schools often sit outside the standard accountability framework or report through different channels. A parent considering this school should ask the district directly about completion rates and post-secondary outcomes for its students.
No program offerings, course access details, staffing information, or discipline data were provided. The school environment section carried no locale classification, attendance figures, or Title I status. These gaps mean a family would need to contact the school or the Mt. Pleasant City School District to understand what the academic program looks like day to day, what support services are available, and how the school approaches attendance and student behavior.
The surrounding community context is available and relevant. Mount Pleasant is a college town and the county seat of Isabella County, home to Central Michigan University, which nearly doubles the city's population during the academic year. The city blends residential neighborhoods with commercial corridors along Mission Street, and a Downtown Historic District provides a civic and commercial center separate from the university campus. The Chippewa River runs through the city. Beyond the university, major employers include the Saginaw Chippewa Tribal Nation, which operates the Soaring Eagle Casino and Resort in nearby Chippewa Township, along with the public schools, Mid Michigan Community College, and county government. The city's population has declined modestly in recent estimates, and the poverty rate is elevated, likely influenced by the large student population.
Housing in the school's zip code is relatively affordable compared with state and national benchmarks. Typical home values sit below the state median, and rents are lower still, with the estimated monthly rent coming in well below the estimated monthly mortgage payment. The price-to-income ratio is favorable against the national figure. For families connected to the university or tribal community, or those seeking an affordable small-city setting, the housing market here is comparatively accessible.
The district brief returned little of lasting impact regarding recent changes, so there is nothing to report on new initiatives, boundary adjustments, or program launches at the district level.
What WAY Oasis appears to be, from the available evidence, is a small alternative secondary program serving a modest number of students, many from lower-income households, in a college-town setting with affordable housing and a diverse cultural backdrop including a strong tribal presence. The academic data is thin and what exists points to very low proficiency among the small number of students tested. A family considering this school should treat it as a starting point and seek direct conversation with the school and district about what the program offers, how it supports students who have struggled in traditional settings, and what completion and transition outcomes look like for its graduates.
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