Crescent Academy

The Crescent Academy district in Michigan operates three schools - Crescent Academy Elementary, Crescent Academy Middle School, and Crescent Academy PK1 - that serve students from pre-kindergarten through 8th grade. Unfortunately, the data reveals that these schools are struggling, with consistently low academic performance, high poverty and racial concentration, and concerning attendance issues.

Across all three Crescent Academy schools, test scores are significantly below state averages, with the highest proficiency rate being just 27.9% in 5th grade English Language Arts at the elementary school. Math proficiency is particularly low, with the best performance being 22.2% in 3rd grade. These schools also face extremely high chronic absenteeism rates, ranging from 49.3% to 62.9%, which likely contribute to the poor academic outcomes. Additionally, all three Crescent Academy schools are ranked in the bottom 20% of their respective school types in Michigan, with the elementary and middle school receiving the lowest possible ratings from SchoolDigger.

The student population at Crescent Academy is overwhelmingly African American, ranging from 98.45% to 99.53% across the three schools, and the percentage of students eligible for free or reduced-price lunch is extremely high, between 97.11% and 97.83%. This high concentration of poverty and racial homogeneity raises concerns about equity and access to resources within the district. While spending per student varies, with the middle school spending the most at $25,702 per student, the challenges facing these schools appear to be systemic and persistent, requiring a comprehensive approach to address the root causes of the low performance and lack of improvement over time.