Enrollment
161
Michigan · 2024-25 NCES data
Other / mixed grade configuration · Detroit, MI
Joy Preparatory Academy
Federal NCES profile for Joy Preparatory Academy, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators - Resource Investment Index 29/100.
2024-25 NCES dataOther / mixed grade configurationNCES 260024401663Charter school
👥 S:T ratio 57
🌟 Gifted program 30
📋 Attendance 0
Scored 0–100 from federal NCES and CRDC indicators, resource allocation, not test scores. Full methodology →
The verdict
Joy Preparatory Academy earns 29/100 on the Resource Investment Index, even as it posts class sizes smaller than 91% of Michigan schools. It is also less racially and ethnically mixed than most Michigan schools.
- #19 of 75
- schools in Detroit · Resource Index
- 29
- Resource Index · Lower
- 10.7:1
- small classes for Michigan
- 99.4%
- free-lunch eligible
Joy Preparatory Academy has class sizes smaller than 91% of Michigan schools. Computed live against every Michigan school reporting to NCES.
By Resource Investment Index, Joy Preparatory Academy ranks #19 of 75 schools in Detroit, MI.
School address
District: Joy Preparatory Academy · Michigan
NCES ID 260024401663 Verify on NCES CCD record →
Teachers (FTE)
15.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
10.7:1
vs 17.5:1 Michigan avg
-39% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
99.4%
vs 54.3% Michigan avg
+83% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Joy Preparatory Academy compares with Michigan and U.S. medians
What stands out at Joy Preparatory Academy
Small campus with unusually lean teacher staffing
Joy Preparatory Academy sits near the smaller end of the Michigan enrollment distribution while also reporting a lower student-teacher ratio than most state schools. That pairing is consistent with a compact, teacher-dense setting, though small scale can limit the number of specialized courses or support roles a campus can sustain. The program and staffing sections below show whether the lean ratio extends beyond classroom teachers into broader student services.
Need and resources require a component-level read
Joy Preparatory Academy falls within the wide middle of the Michigan distribution on both free-meal eligibility and the Resource Investment Index. Neither measure supplies an honest headline by itself. The useful distinctions are in the components: classroom staffing, counselor availability, attendance, gifted-program access, and district spending. Those fields can pull in opposite directions even when the overall percentile looks ordinary.
Attendance is the dominant support signal
Joy Preparatory Academy's 75.8% chronic-absence rate is more consequential than a generic staffing label: at least one quarter of students missed 10% or more of school days in the 2021-22 collection. That level can affect instruction, counseling demand, and continuity even when other reported resources look ordinary. The dataset records the scale of absence but not its causes, so it should prompt a current-year question rather than a conclusion about school management.
Joy Preparatory Academy is a high-poverty, mid-sized charter combined-grade school in Detroit, Michigan, enrolling 161 students.
Classes run notably small here: at 10.7:1, Joy Preparatory Academy is leaner than roughly 91% of Michigan schools and 39% under the state's 17.5:1 norm, more adult attention per pupil than most peers.
Economic need is high: 99.4% of students qualify for free meals, 83% above the Michigan average, a Title I-weighted population that federal funding formulas prioritise.
Enrollment of 161 puts it in the smaller third of Michigan schools by headcount.
Its Resource Investment Index sits near the middle of the pack among 3,375 scored Michigan schools.
Against 113 statewide peers matched on enrollment and economic need, it ranks in the upper tier at #45.
Its student body is predominantly African American (99% of enrollment), among the less diverse in the state (diversity index 2/100).
Chronic absenteeism is elevated: 75.8% of students missed 10% or more of school days (2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection).
The surrounding Joy Preparatory Academy spends $19,128 per pupil, 27% above the Michigan average, a better-resourced district than most.
Its district draws 37.9% of revenue from federal sources, an above-typical federal share that tends to track a higher-need student population.
Discipline events run high: 34 in- and out-of-school suspensions were reported for 161 students in the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection.
Among Detroit's public schools, it stands alongside Earhart Elementarymiddle School (1,002 students): Joy Preparatory Academy is smaller than that campus by headcount and runs leaner classes (10.7:1 vs 20.4:1).
Joy Preparatory Academy is a single-school charter district, so Joy Preparatory Academy operates independently rather than alongside district-mates.
Sourced from NCES CCD, CRDC, and F-33 (federal records, not a quality verdict). How we source and compute this.
Source: National Center for Education Statistics Common Core of Data + CRDC + F-33 · 2024-25
How Joy Preparatory Academy compares
Joy Preparatory Academy on the metrics families compare, against Michigan and U.S. means.
| Metric | This school | vs Michigan | Michigan avg | U.S. avg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Students per teacher | 10.7:1 | ▼ 39% | 17.5:1 | 15.7:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 99.4% | ▲ 83% | 54.3% | 51.7% |
| Enrollment | 161 | top 80% | - | - |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data School-level CCD + state/national means from Public School Universe · 2024-25
10.7:1
Leaner classes than 85% of US schools, among the more generously staffed nationally.
161
Bigger than 16% of US schools by enrollment, a small campus.
Equity indicators (what these measure)
Economic need
99.4%
free-lunch eligible
- 83% above the Michigan average of 54.3%
Well above the 40% Title I schoolwide threshold, among the highest-need profiles in the state; federal funds support the whole school, not individual students.
Staffing depth
10.7:1
students per teacher
- 39% below state mean
Top 9% in Michigan - lower ratio than 91% of state schools
Well under the widely cited 15:1 individualized-attention benchmark, among the leaner class loads nationally.
Engagement
75.8%
chronically absent (missed 10%+ of school days)
At or above 20%, the commonly used threshold for "high" chronic absenteeism, signaling significant barriers to regular attendance.
Funding equity
$19,128
per pupil, district-wide
- above Michigan avg of $15,012
Somewhat above the U.S. public-school average, reflecting higher local or state investment per enrolled student.
Support staff
Counselors0.0 FTE
Student-support staffing from the Civil Rights Data Collection.
Discipline context
0
in-school suspensions + 34 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 0.0 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 21.1 per 100 students. Reported via the Civil Rights Data Collection.
Student demographics
African American 98.8%
Hispanic or Latino 0.6%
American Indian / Alaska Native 0.6%
Largest group: African American at 98.8% of enrollment.
Student-body diversity index 2.4/100
Simpson diversity index - at 2.4, Joy Preparatory Academy is less mixed than the Michigan school average of 36.2.
Programs
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Joy Preparatory Academy, which includes Joy Preparatory Academy.
$19,128
Per student
+27%
vs Michigan
Avg $15,012
+8%
vs U.S.
Avg $17,658
Revenue mix
Local 3.3%
State 58.8%
Federal 37.9%
Source: NCES F-33 School District Finance Survey District-level finance · FY 2022-23 Per-pupil expenditure reflects the district-wide average. Individual school budgets are not reported at the federal level.
Similar other schools in Detroit
6 comparable other schools (grades Mixed) serving the same city.
Earhart Elementarymiddle School
Standard public school
1,002 students 20.4:1 students per teacher
Munger Elementarymiddle School
Standard public school
954 students 19.9:1 students per teacher
Mackenzie Elementarymiddle School
Standard public school
876 students 19.9:1 students per teacher
University Preparatory Art Design Middlehigh
Standard public school
855 students 17.1:1 students per teacher
Davison Elementarymiddle School
Standard public school
765 students 18.7:1 students per teacher
Hope of Detroit Academy Middlehigh
Standard public school
582 students 17.1:1 students per teacher
Similar other schools statewide
Matched by enrollment size and by staffing ratio across all of Michigan, not just this city - a different peer set than the local comparisons above.
Similar enrollment (~161 students)
Next steps
Verify locally before acting on Joy Preparatory Academy's federal record.
- Compare Joy Preparatory Academy against another school. Compare schools
- Joy Preparatory Academy's spending and staffing shape this school. District profile
- Confirm current enrollment and boundaries with the school. Choosing guide
Federal record (CCD 2024-25, CRDC 2021-22) - PlainSchools assigns no subjective rating; the composite quality score is a transparent, reproducible index computed from this cited federal data.
Frequently asked questions about Joy Preparatory Academy
How many students attend Joy Preparatory Academy?
Joy Preparatory Academy has 161 students enrolled. It is a public school in Detroit, MI.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Joy Preparatory Academy?
The student-teacher ratio at Joy Preparatory Academy is 10.7:1, which is 39% lower than the Michigan average of 17.5:1 and 32% lower than the national average of 15.7:1. Lower ratios generally mean more individual attention per student.
What percentage of students receive free lunch at Joy Preparatory Academy?
99.4% of students at Joy Preparatory Academy are eligible for free lunch, compared to the Michigan average of 54.3%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Joy Preparatory Academy?
The largest demographic group at Joy Preparatory Academy is African American at 98.8% of enrollment, in Detroit, MI.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Joy Preparatory Academy?
Joy Preparatory Academy has a Resource Investment Index of 29/100 (lower reported resources relative to schools nationally) based on 3 factors: student-teacher ratio, gifted-program reporting, chronic absenteeism. Not a test-score or academic measure (national median ~41/100, see methodology).
How does Joy Preparatory Academy rank among schools in Detroit?
By Resource Investment Index, Joy Preparatory Academy ranks #19 of 75 schools in Detroit, MI. This compares federal resource and staffing data among local peers; it is not a test-score or academic ranking. See all schools in Detroit on the city page.
What other schools are in Joy Preparatory Academy?
None; Joy Preparatory Academy is a single-school charter district, and Joy Preparatory Academy is its only campus.
Related tools
Every figure on PlainSchools is rendered directly from the source NCES, CRDC and F-33 federal records, no number is typed in by an editor. Each school's figures reflect its most recent NCES/CRDC submission on file. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, the data changelog, or report a data error. Data current as of August 2026.