Lighthouse Academy Waalkes
GRAND RAPIDS · MI · Lighthouse Academy · Public charter · K-12 combined
Similar nearby schools
Most similar nearby schools
Union High Transition → Grand Rapids Learning Center → Lincoln School → Hope Academy of West Michigan → Kent Education CenterBeltline → East Lee Campus → Northview Next Career Center → Comstock Park Flex Academy →At a glance
- AP rigor: Bottom 18% of US high schools
- SAT/ACT participation: Bottom 4% by test-taker volume
Composed from federal CRDC offerings, and other public data. Full breakdowns below.
How Lighthouse Academy Waalkes compares for families
What families should know about Lighthouse Academy Waalkes.
- ▸ LocallyMI sits right at the US average on NAEP 8th-grade math — local school quality will set your kid apart.
- ▸ vs Similar SchoolsThe closest comparables nearby: Union High Transition, Grand Rapids Learning Center, Lincoln School and 5 more. See the sidebar to compare side-by-side.
For Parents
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Objective, government-grade data — no school pays us for placement.
SAT / ACT participation
CRDC federal data · 2020-21Bottom 4% by test-taker volume
Source: federal Civil Rights Data Collection (CRDC 2020-21). Volume — not score — is what's reported here. A higher count means more students at this school are entering the college admissions pipeline. Note: 2020-21 was COVID-disrupted; some districts (especially those that stayed remote longer) report unusually low or zero takers.
Teacher workforce · federal CRDC
Teacher experience & reliability
Source: federal Civil Rights Data Collection (CRDC 2017-18 — the most recent vintage that publishes per-school teacher quality fields; the 2020-21 sweep had them suppressed). "Inexperienced" = teachers in their first or second year. "Chronic absence" = teachers absent 10+ days/year.
Federal Title I context
High-poverty school
Title I Schoolwide eligible
≥75% of students qualify for free/reduced lunch. These schools qualify for the highest tier of federal Title I funding and typically receive extra wraparound services. Academic outcomes vary widely — check the state assessment + grad-rate tiles.
Source: NCES Common Core of Data, free/reduced-price lunch eligibility. The actual Title I designation is a district decision and may differ from eligibility — but the federal eligibility math is what we show here. We don't claim to assert whether the district formally chose to enroll this school in Title I.
Your state's public flagship
University of Michigan-Ann Arbor
The in-state tuition gap is the flagship's biggest draw — most in-state families pay far less than the out-of-state sticker. Average net price after aid runs about $13,138/yr. Admission odds depend on your student's GPA and test scores, not which high school they attend.
Source: IPEDS admissions, tuition & enrollment + College Scorecard net price. Flagship = the state's primary public research university.
Enrollment trend & projection
Total enrollment + grade 12, NCES Common Core of Data (2021–2024).
If the recent trend holds…
At its recent rate of +8.9%/year, projecting from 2024's 73 students:
An extrapolation of the recent trajectory, not a forecast of the school's plans; ignores one-off shocks.
Most similar nearby high schools
The schools most like this one — same type, blended on distance and size — and where their enrollment is heading. These are the schools families here weigh against each other.
| School | Type | Miles | HS enrollment | Trend |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Union High Transition GRAND RAPIDS |
Public | 4.0 | 49 | — |
| Grand Rapids Learning Center GRAND RAPIDS |
Public | 1.8 | 39 | — |
| Lincoln School GRAND RAPIDS |
Public | 3.7 | 36 | — |
| Hope Academy of West Michigan GRAND RAPIDS |
Public · charter | 3.8 | 82 | -24.8% |
| Kent Education CenterBeltline GRAND RAPIDS |
Public | 1.9 | 32 | — |
| East Lee Campus WYOMING |
Public | 4.4 | 87 | -10.3% |
| Northview Next Career Center GRAND RAPIDS |
Public | 4.1 | 32 | — |
| Comstock Park Flex Academy COMSTOCK PARK |
Public | 5.3 | 33 | — |